TEMPE – Arizona State ice hockey (2-0-0) tallied three goals in the final ten minutes of the third period to sweep the No. 15/13 Merrimack Warriors (0-2-0), 4-2, Saturday night at Mullett Arena. Coming off an emphatic season-opening overtime victory the night before, Lukas Sillinger snuck in the equalizer in the third period then senior alternate captain Matthew Kopperud's heroics put away the win in the final minute of regulation.
The Colorado native buried his fifth career game-winning goal, and managed his first multi-point game since Oct. 29, 2022 with a goal and an assist. His assist in the third period to Sillinger was his 40th career assist. Kopperud's goal became his 25th career power play goal which ties the program record set by Johnny Walker.
"Just to have belief. It's a team that the entire preseason, all you hear is them say how tight-knit they are and how well they gel off the ice in the room," said head coach Greg Powers, "It's a good start. As an independent, every win matters and to get two against the team that is going to get a lot of wins this season, which Merrimack will, you'll see that."
Ryan O'Reilly scored his first goal of the season that helped knot the game at 1-1 in the second period. His second-period goal was his 40th career point. Brian Chambers excelled in his second game as a Sun Devil with three assists on the night, tying a career-high that he achieved at UMass Lowell on Oct. 8, 2022 against Miami (OH).
Sillinger netted his tenth goal since arriving at ASU last season which tied the contest in the third period. The alternate captain skated in his 100th NCAA game on Saturday - 65 of those games at Bemidji State and the remaining 35 games in the maroon and gold.
SERIES NOTABLES
The Sun Devils continue their stay at Mullett Arena and host Northern Michigan on Oct. 20-21. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m for both games, the game can be seen on ASU Live Stream and heard on Fox Sports 910, the home of Sun Devil Hockey.
PERIOD BREAKDOWN
1st Period
Unlike Friday night, the Sun Devils matched the Warriors' pace to open the game as both teams traded shots within each other's zone. The Sun Devils first man-up advantage came with 13 minutes in the opening frame, but Merrimack was able to withstand ASU's power play unit. Toward the end of the period, Semptempfelter was called for a rare tripping penalty but the Sun Devils penalty kill unit withstood the flutter of shots from the Warriors as they led the shot advantage 11-5 going into the second frame.
2nd Period
Just two minutes into the middle frame, another penalty from the Sun Devils put the Warriors on the advantage. Freshman defenseman Anthony Dowd was assessed the infraction for elbowing. The scoreless draw was broken by the Warriors with 11:39 remaining in the period, but the Sun Devils responded a mere 60 seconds later. Senior forward and alternate captain Ryan O'Reilly swiftly faked out the Merrimack netminder to tie the score at one apiece with assists from Brian Chambers and Benji Eckerle.
Merrimack managed to add another goal to take a 2-1 lead with 4 minutes remaining in the frame. Before the intermission, penalties on both sides resulted in 4-on-4 hockey to crossover into the final period.
3rd Period
Returning to full strength after 40 seconds of 4-on-4 hockey both sides traded shots until the Warriors' were sentenced with a 5-minute major with 11:07 remaining in regulation for head contact. Three minutes into the power play, Sillinger welcomed a perfect pass from Kopperud to level the game at 2-2 with 8:03 remaining. Chambers also was credited with his second assist of the night. The play was challenged by MC for goaltender interference but was confirmed a goal after further review.
As time dwindled in the final period, the Warriors' were nullified for having too many players on the ice enforcing a power-play with 1:04 remaining. Similar to the night before, Kopperud buried a slapshot with 45 seconds remaining to give the Sun Devils their first lead of the night after gathering a pass from Tim Lovell and Chambers on the assist, then electrifying the Sun Devil faithful. For good measure, Young secured the victory for good with an empty netter to give the maroon & gold the sweep over the Warriors'.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Arizona State head coach Greg Powers:
On his message to his team was in the second intermission:
"Just to have belief. It's a team that the entire preseason, all you hear is them say how tight-knit they are and how well they gel off the ice in the room. Those are the moments where that has to pay off, just the inner belief, the support for each other and the belief that we can get it done."
On Kopperud's performance this weekend and how rewarding it is to see his early season play:
"Well he'll be the first to tell you, I think five on five, he wasn't himself, he wasn't as good as he was last night. That's a sign of a good leader, a mentally tough kid that grinded through some struggles and didn't quite have his legs tonight. But he helped win us the game, had a big assist there to tie it and then pounded it on the goal that put us ahead. So really proud of the kid."
On what the point of emphasis was in front of the net (power plays):
"It's a simple game, get pucks to the net and go to the net. It's a simple game and that's what I think the power play was doing was complicating that, it was trying to make everything look perfect and pretty and we are doing that a lot five on five as well. Not just putting pucks in the kid's feet, he's 6-foot-8. He's a really good goalie, but it takes this kid that is 6-foot-8 a little bit more time to come down, right? So if you can get pucks in his feet and just drive the net, you're going to have some success and we didn't do that enough."
On ASU Defenseman Anthony Dowd:
"He is a huge recruit. He chose us over some big time programs and to get him cleared to play tonight was a huge boost. He led the Chicago Steel in points for defenseman last year. That's not easy to do. You put up 40 points in the USHL in the back end, you're a skilled dynamic kid and that's exactly what he is. He had a hell of a debut. He's just got so much poise and so much confidence. He defends well, he's small but he is a really good player."
On how big it is to sweep Merrimack to open the season:
"It's good. It's the second time in our NCAA that we've opened up 2 to 0. The last time it was two and zero, we made the tournament. So it's a good start. As an independent, every win matters and to get two against the team that is going to get a lot of wins this season, which Merrimack will, you'll see that."
Arizona State Forward's Matthew Kopperud and Brian Chambers
On power play and changes with Timmy Lovell: (Kopperud)
"We definitely talked. I don't know if we talked or how he got the point though. I mean he's such a good player too so you sort of have to let him do what he wants to do as well but he figured it out there towards the end and it worked."
On new environment and beating Merrimack: (Chambers)
"I love it. My teammates are awesome. Last year, Merrimack ended my season with double overtime so this one felt good. Pumped to be a part of it."
On whether the assist or goal stood out more: (Kopperud)
"Definitely the assist. It tied up the game and then getting that power play there at the end we had trust in our power play unit that we were gonna go out and score again. Definitely the tying goal to keep us in the game and keep everybody on the bench and do it."
On season openers and getting going early: (Chambers)
"I mean we work all summer so hard as a team just to prepare for the opening weekend. I mean practice is fun but nothing's better than playing games. Just winning."
On this team after a gritty win: (Kopperud)
"I mean we knew they were a ranked opponent coming in. We're gonna be a tough team to beat all year and I think it just says that we're a really good team and we're here to make it a long way."
The Colorado native buried his fifth career game-winning goal, and managed his first multi-point game since Oct. 29, 2022 with a goal and an assist. His assist in the third period to Sillinger was his 40th career assist. Kopperud's goal became his 25th career power play goal which ties the program record set by Johnny Walker.
ASU HAS TAKEN THE LEAD#BeTheTradition /// #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/mIR5TGM1Wh
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) October 15, 2023
"Just to have belief. It's a team that the entire preseason, all you hear is them say how tight-knit they are and how well they gel off the ice in the room," said head coach Greg Powers, "It's a good start. As an independent, every win matters and to get two against the team that is going to get a lot of wins this season, which Merrimack will, you'll see that."
Ryan O'Reilly scored his first goal of the season that helped knot the game at 1-1 in the second period. His second-period goal was his 40th career point. Brian Chambers excelled in his second game as a Sun Devil with three assists on the night, tying a career-high that he achieved at UMass Lowell on Oct. 8, 2022 against Miami (OH).
Sillinger netted his tenth goal since arriving at ASU last season which tied the contest in the third period. The alternate captain skated in his 100th NCAA game on Saturday - 65 of those games at Bemidji State and the remaining 35 games in the maroon and gold.
MR. 100 CALLS TIE GAME ?????#BeTheTradition /// #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/xj9YJjZ5sr
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) October 15, 2023
SERIES NOTABLES
- Friday night's victory was ASU's first program 1-0 win. ASU had never completed a shutout win with only one goal
- The victory marks the first sweep over a ranked opponent since Dec. 10-11, 2021 against No. 16 Clarkson.
- The last team to complete a shutout against Merrimack was the eventual 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey champions Quinnipiac in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 24, 2023.
- The last time Merrimack was swept by an opponent was on Jan. 20-21, 2023 against Northeastern.
- Saturday night's victory marks the second time the Sun Devils have started the year 2-0. The last time it happened was over Alaska Fairbanks on Oct. 6-7 in the 2018 season.
The Sun Devils continue their stay at Mullett Arena and host Northern Michigan on Oct. 20-21. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m for both games, the game can be seen on ASU Live Stream and heard on Fox Sports 910, the home of Sun Devil Hockey.
PERIOD BREAKDOWN
1st Period
Unlike Friday night, the Sun Devils matched the Warriors' pace to open the game as both teams traded shots within each other's zone. The Sun Devils first man-up advantage came with 13 minutes in the opening frame, but Merrimack was able to withstand ASU's power play unit. Toward the end of the period, Semptempfelter was called for a rare tripping penalty but the Sun Devils penalty kill unit withstood the flutter of shots from the Warriors as they led the shot advantage 11-5 going into the second frame.
2nd Period
Just two minutes into the middle frame, another penalty from the Sun Devils put the Warriors on the advantage. Freshman defenseman Anthony Dowd was assessed the infraction for elbowing. The scoreless draw was broken by the Warriors with 11:39 remaining in the period, but the Sun Devils responded a mere 60 seconds later. Senior forward and alternate captain Ryan O'Reilly swiftly faked out the Merrimack netminder to tie the score at one apiece with assists from Brian Chambers and Benji Eckerle.
Merrimack managed to add another goal to take a 2-1 lead with 4 minutes remaining in the frame. Before the intermission, penalties on both sides resulted in 4-on-4 hockey to crossover into the final period.
3rd Period
Returning to full strength after 40 seconds of 4-on-4 hockey both sides traded shots until the Warriors' were sentenced with a 5-minute major with 11:07 remaining in regulation for head contact. Three minutes into the power play, Sillinger welcomed a perfect pass from Kopperud to level the game at 2-2 with 8:03 remaining. Chambers also was credited with his second assist of the night. The play was challenged by MC for goaltender interference but was confirmed a goal after further review.
As time dwindled in the final period, the Warriors' were nullified for having too many players on the ice enforcing a power-play with 1:04 remaining. Similar to the night before, Kopperud buried a slapshot with 45 seconds remaining to give the Sun Devils their first lead of the night after gathering a pass from Tim Lovell and Chambers on the assist, then electrifying the Sun Devil faithful. For good measure, Young secured the victory for good with an empty netter to give the maroon & gold the sweep over the Warriors'.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Arizona State head coach Greg Powers:
On his message to his team was in the second intermission:
"Just to have belief. It's a team that the entire preseason, all you hear is them say how tight-knit they are and how well they gel off the ice in the room. Those are the moments where that has to pay off, just the inner belief, the support for each other and the belief that we can get it done."
On Kopperud's performance this weekend and how rewarding it is to see his early season play:
"Well he'll be the first to tell you, I think five on five, he wasn't himself, he wasn't as good as he was last night. That's a sign of a good leader, a mentally tough kid that grinded through some struggles and didn't quite have his legs tonight. But he helped win us the game, had a big assist there to tie it and then pounded it on the goal that put us ahead. So really proud of the kid."
On what the point of emphasis was in front of the net (power plays):
"It's a simple game, get pucks to the net and go to the net. It's a simple game and that's what I think the power play was doing was complicating that, it was trying to make everything look perfect and pretty and we are doing that a lot five on five as well. Not just putting pucks in the kid's feet, he's 6-foot-8. He's a really good goalie, but it takes this kid that is 6-foot-8 a little bit more time to come down, right? So if you can get pucks in his feet and just drive the net, you're going to have some success and we didn't do that enough."
On ASU Defenseman Anthony Dowd:
"He is a huge recruit. He chose us over some big time programs and to get him cleared to play tonight was a huge boost. He led the Chicago Steel in points for defenseman last year. That's not easy to do. You put up 40 points in the USHL in the back end, you're a skilled dynamic kid and that's exactly what he is. He had a hell of a debut. He's just got so much poise and so much confidence. He defends well, he's small but he is a really good player."
On how big it is to sweep Merrimack to open the season:
"It's good. It's the second time in our NCAA that we've opened up 2 to 0. The last time it was two and zero, we made the tournament. So it's a good start. As an independent, every win matters and to get two against the team that is going to get a lot of wins this season, which Merrimack will, you'll see that."
Arizona State Forward's Matthew Kopperud and Brian Chambers
On power play and changes with Timmy Lovell: (Kopperud)
"We definitely talked. I don't know if we talked or how he got the point though. I mean he's such a good player too so you sort of have to let him do what he wants to do as well but he figured it out there towards the end and it worked."
On new environment and beating Merrimack: (Chambers)
"I love it. My teammates are awesome. Last year, Merrimack ended my season with double overtime so this one felt good. Pumped to be a part of it."
On whether the assist or goal stood out more: (Kopperud)
"Definitely the assist. It tied up the game and then getting that power play there at the end we had trust in our power play unit that we were gonna go out and score again. Definitely the tying goal to keep us in the game and keep everybody on the bench and do it."
On season openers and getting going early: (Chambers)
"I mean we work all summer so hard as a team just to prepare for the opening weekend. I mean practice is fun but nothing's better than playing games. Just winning."
On this team after a gritty win: (Kopperud)
"I mean we knew they were a ranked opponent coming in. We're gonna be a tough team to beat all year and I think it just says that we're a really good team and we're here to make it a long way."