Sun Devils battle to the wire in St. Cloud
Friday night's game was highlighted by a strong resilience as the Sun Devils battled back from a first period deficit to claim the weekend-opening win. Saturday night's rematch did not yield the same results, as St. Cloud adjusted their strong defensive blueprint, holding on for the 2-1 win and a weekend split.
The Huskies set the tone very early, striking just 14 seconds into the game on the second goal of the season from Hayden Paupanekis. The lead would grow to two just over 4 minutes later when William Ahlrik recorded his second goal of the season. That score would hold with the help of some excellent goaltending from Yan Shostak until the final minute of the period when Richard Baran ripped his second goal of the season from the left-wing faceoff circle. Jonas Woo and Michael Barron were credited with the assists, Woo's assist tying Josh Doan for assist streak by a freshman at 5 straight games.
The final 40 minutes turned in to classic St. Cloud defensive structure. The Sun Devils kept the shot volume up, firing 28 shots on Shostak over the second and third periods. Nick Oliver's team forced Arizona State to work from the perimeter, not allowing the Sun Devils to get traffic in front to disrupt Shostak. Landon Hafele nearly had the tying goal in the opening minute of the second period on an excellent individual effort to chip the puck around the defense, but the goal was overturned after a challenge by the Huskies.
Sam Hillebrandt played excellent in his second start of the season, stopping 23 of the 25 shots from St. Cloud; the Sun Devils were just unable to overcome the opening five minute flurry from the Huskies.
Arizona State will host the defending national champion Denver Pioneers on Friday November 6th and Sunday November 8th, avoiding a scheduling conflict with Sun Devil football hosting the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday the 7th. Friday's puck drop will be at the usual 7pm, with Sunday coming at a 12pm matinee.
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