Three takeaways from Arizona State hockey vs Stonehill

TEMPE, Ariz. – No. 16 Arizona State hockey survives in a thrilling 5-4 overtime victory over Stonehill College last Friday. The Sun Devils improve their record to 5-1-1 on the season while the Skyhawks fall to 0-8. Here are the three biggest takeaways from Arizona State avoiding the upset.

New look lineup for Arizona State hockey

Arizona State employed a lineup filled with freshmen and sophomores taking the place of numerous upperclassmen. Both Tim Lovell and Jackson Niedermayer served as healthy scratches and were replaced by sophomore Tucker Ness and freshman Josh Niedermayer.

Gibson Homer made his second consecutive start in net (and first home start) as Coach Powers sticks to his goal of giving star goaltender TJ Semptimphelter more rest this season than last year. There was an NCAA debut in the forward group tonight as freshman Cole Helm drew into Arizona State’s lineup for the first time this season.

The young lineup proved to have mixed results as the Sun Devils never held a lead in the game and needed to fight through some sloppy play to comeback against the winless Skyhawks. There were a plethora of flashes that should get Sun Devil fans excited about the future, but this game showed how important some of the veterans are to the team’s success.

Anthony Dowd

Anthony Dowd had another impressive game for the Sun Devils as he was named the first star of the game. He finished with one goal and two assists including his first NCAA goal in overtime. After tonight’s performance, Dowd is up to six points in six games which is an impressive feat for any player at the NCAA level, let alone a freshman defenseman.

Dowd looked like the fastest Sun Devil on the ice and was in the correct defensive position during nearly all the Skyhawks’ odd-man rushes. The freshman filled Tim Lovell’s role as the power-play quarterback and looked good in the role as he assisted on Matthew Kopperud’s game-tying power-play goal in the third period.

Brian Chambers

Brian Chambers had one of his best games as a Sun Devil as he finished with 1 goal and two assists on his way to being named the third star of the game. Chambers’ goal in the third period to cut the deficit to one goal energized the crowd and seemed to be a spark for his team. The goal was Chambers’ first at Arizona State and the 16th of his NCAA career. His three points on the night bring him to seven points in seven games.

Chambers played a key role in the third-period comeback as he was winning faceoffs down the stretch and was part of a strong penalty kill in overtime. Despite Stonehill scoring on the power play in the first period, the Skyhawks only mustered 2 shots total on their 3 power play opportunities in large part due to the effort put in by Chambers as he was in passing lanes all night.

Arizona State hockey completed the sweep over Stonehill with another win on Saturday. Next up is a home series against No. 2 Denver.

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