Sun Devils hold off Riverhawks in a night of firsts

The lights were shining bright on the bench as new head coach Dave Hakstol returned to a college bench for the first time since a Frozen Four semifinal loss to Boston University in 2015, but the Sun Devils shined on the ice at the Tsongas Center, riding a three-goal first period outburst on the way to a 5-4 win for the new bench boss.

What an outburst that first period was, as the Sun Devils jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on goals by Daniel Shlaine (4th goal in 5 games) and Landon Hafele (first career goal), forcing Lowell's head coach Norm Bazin to use his timeout early to give goaltender Austin Elliott a chance to catch his breath.

That didn't keep the Devils at bay, as Jack O'Brien notched his first career goal with just over 4 minutes left in the period, giving this game the look of an early runaway.

All good things come to an end at some point, in more ways than one. After starting the season by killing off their first 14 penalties against, the streak would be snapped on a goal by Tobias Pitka with Jonas Woo in the box for a tripping call. Jacob MacDonald would cut the lead to one just 49 seconds later, but that would be all that would get past goaltender Samuel Urban in the opening frame.

The tables would turn as the Riverhawks looked to control the pace of play to open the second period, helped by penalties against Nathan Behm and Hunter Hady. The Sun Devils killed off both chances, and converted on one of their own thanks to Jack Beck's shot from the point in the closing minutes of the middle 20, putting the Devils back up by two at the second intermission break.

The Riverhawks clawed their way back once again as captain Jak Vaarwerk circled the net, catching Urban scrambling to cover the other post as he found the open net to bring the lead back down to one. A critical penalty against Lowell disrupted the momentum, and late in the period, another first career goal would come for the Sun Devils. This one came courtesy of Lukas Sawchyn, who also recorded an assist for the first multi-point game of his young NCAA career.

The Riverhawks weren't done yet, getting a goal from Kuzma Voronin with the extra attacker in the final minute to get back within one, but a late penalty to Dalyn Wakely sealed the deal, giving the Sun Devils back-to-back wins, and a first win in the Maroon and Gold for Dave Hakstol.

Quick Hits

• Jack Beck and Lukas Sawchyn led the way with two points apiece for the Sun Devils, with Beck recording his second multi-point game of the season. Beck now has points in four of five games this season, two points shy of his 8 points in 10 games in his injury-shortened 2025-26 season.

• Kyle Smolen matched Beck with points in four of five games, registering an assist on Landon Hafele's first period goal for his 70th career point, becoming the 10th player in program history to reach that mark.

• Daniel Shlaine is the only Sun Devil to record a point in every game so far this season, leading the team with four goals in five games.

• The volume shooting for the Sun Devils continues to pay off, with Friday's game being the 5th consecutive game with at least 35 shots on goal.

Up Next

The Sun Devils will be back in action at the Tsongas Center looking for the sweep. Puck drop is set for 3:05pm Arizona Time, streaming on ESPN+. Tyler Paley and Alex Coil will have the radio call for Fox Sports 910 AM Phoenix.