TEMPE – No. 16/19 Sun Devil Hockey (6-1-1) completed the series sweep of the Stonehill Skyhawks (0-9-0) in a 3-2 victory at Mullett Arena on Saturday. The team is now 6-0-0 this season at Mullett Arena after notching a third consecutive home sweep. Alternate captain and forward Matthew Kopperud netted his fourth game-winning goal of the season to steal the country's lead for GWG.
Freshman Cole Gordon scored his first NCAA career goal on a shorthanded breakaway just 27 seconds into the game - the fastest goal for ASU from the start of a game this season. After going down 2-1 in the third period, the Sun Devils fought back to regain and hold their lead until the final buzzer. Graduate captain Tyler Gratton scored his third goal of the season to tie the game at the eight-minute mark during an ASU power play. Matthew Kopperud secured the win with his fifth goal of the season just three minutes later. Gratton and Kopperud each tallied an assist tonight along with Anthony Dowd and Brian Chambers.
"It felt awesome. Especially with my mom, sister and aunt here. So it was a really good one to get off my chest and it was awesome," said Gordon.
ASU faced its first top 10 test of the season next weekend as No. 2 Denver visits the desert. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. on Friday night and 5 p.m. on Saturday night. The game is available to stream on the ASU Live Stream and heard on Fox Sports 910, the home of Sun Devil Hockey.
"We're excited. I mean they're the blue blood, right? They have more national championships than anybody. They're playing great hockey. They hammered Colorado College this weekend," head coach Greg Powers said. "They're gonna come in here ready to go, you know, they know that we're 6-0 home and I can guarantee you they're gonna be chomping at the bit to knock us off."
GAME NOTABLES
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
ASU quickly found themselves down a man 15 seconds into the game due to a cross-checking penalty. Despite the disadvantage, Cole Gordon broke through the defensive line and went on to score his first NCAA career goal to put the Sun Devils up 1-0. Gibson Homer was able to save all 10 shots attempted throughout the period.
Stonehill was able to break a 1-1 tie to make it 2-1 early on in third on a short-handed goal. The Sun Devils found their way back on the power play where Gratton was able to slot one between the pipes to make it 2-2, getting the assists from Matthew Kopperud and Anthony Dowd. Three minutes later, Matthew Kopperud scored the game-winning goal for Arizona State to make it 3-2, his fifth goal of the season. Tyler Gratton and Brian Chambers each tallying an assist.
"They were great. Chambers and Gratton are just absolute horses and they willed us to a sweep this weekend," said head coach Greg Powers. "We got one power play and I was waiting for a call. We finally got one. And, man, they ticked it around and had a really nice goal and got us even and we took the lead right after that."
Sun Devil Head Coach Greg Powers:
On the lineup switch tonight:
"I wanted a little bit of a harder line up, putting, Romer, I thought in his first game was really good. He was reliable. I trusted him. He was engaged. The flip putting Kopp with those two guys (Gratton and Chambers) seemed to work. I thought they brought us a lot of good stuff, so, no complaints. I thought we were a million times better tonight than last night. We just couldn't score. I think we completely controlled the play of the game, the pace of the game and, you know, probably doubled the offensive zone time. They were really opportunistic. That team competed hard and credit to them. They should have nothing to be ashamed of."
On Cole Gordon's performance tonight:
"It was awesome. He's awesome. He's the kind of kid that you win with, and his best hockey is ahead of him, but he's off to a good start here."
On Gratton, Chambers, and Kopperud's line:
"They were great, you know, I mean, Chambers and Grattan are just absolute horses and they willed us to a sweep this weekend. We got one power play and I was waiting for a call. We finally got one. And, man, they ticked it around and had a really nice goal and got us even and we took the lead right after that."
On Denver next weekend:
"We're excited. I mean they're the blue blood, right? They have more national championships than anybody. They're playing great hockey. They hammered Colorado College this weekend. They're gonna come in here ready to go. They know that we're 6-0 home and I can guarantee you they're gonna be chomping at the bit to knock us off."
Freshman forward Cole Gordon and senior forward Matthew Kopperud
Gordon on his first collegiate goal:
"No, it felt awesome. Especially when my mom, sister and aunt here. So it was a really good one to get off my chest and it was awesome."
Gordon on playing at Mullett:
"I mean, from the beginning I never thought I would be here and seeing the student section being loud, and it's hard not to get up and fight for those guys and it's really awesome. It's really cool."
Kopperud on playing with Chambers and Gratton:
"It's a lot of fun playing with them. I mean, they're two heavy guys and they compliment my game very well. They do all the work pretty much and they're heavy on the forecheck. So it's nice to play with them."
Kopperud on the work he has put in:
"I mean, I was out pretty much all last year, so I had to do everything I could to make sure I'm back this year and try to help the team. So I put in a lot of work this off season to get me back to where I am."
Gordon on playing a Colorado team:
"Super exciting. All my family is coming out for that one too and you know, I got a close buddy on the team so it should be a good little test for us playing the number two ranked team."
SUN DEVIL SWEEP X3 ??#BeTheTradition /// #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/pIflpOhKDU
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) November 5, 2023
Freshman Cole Gordon scored his first NCAA career goal on a shorthanded breakaway just 27 seconds into the game - the fastest goal for ASU from the start of a game this season. After going down 2-1 in the third period, the Sun Devils fought back to regain and hold their lead until the final buzzer. Graduate captain Tyler Gratton scored his third goal of the season to tie the game at the eight-minute mark during an ASU power play. Matthew Kopperud secured the win with his fifth goal of the season just three minutes later. Gratton and Kopperud each tallied an assist tonight along with Anthony Dowd and Brian Chambers.
"It felt awesome. Especially with my mom, sister and aunt here. So it was a really good one to get off my chest and it was awesome," said Gordon.
ASU faced its first top 10 test of the season next weekend as No. 2 Denver visits the desert. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. on Friday night and 5 p.m. on Saturday night. The game is available to stream on the ASU Live Stream and heard on Fox Sports 910, the home of Sun Devil Hockey.
"We're excited. I mean they're the blue blood, right? They have more national championships than anybody. They're playing great hockey. They hammered Colorado College this weekend," head coach Greg Powers said. "They're gonna come in here ready to go, you know, they know that we're 6-0 home and I can guarantee you they're gonna be chomping at the bit to knock us off."
GAME NOTABLES
- Last ASU shorthanded goal was scored by Chris Grando vs. #17 Minnesota State on Jan. 14, 2023.
- Kopperud now leads the nation in GWG with four in 2023-24.
- Kopperud's fourth GWG of the season ties ASU's single season record for GWG. He is tied with Robert Mastrosimone (2022-23), Josh Maniscalco (2019-20), Brett Gruber (2018-19) and Johnny Walker (2018-19).
- Kopperud now has seven career GWG, which is one shy of Johnny Walker's career record of eight.
- With a 2-0 record against Stonehill, ASU boasts 12 teams that it holds undefeated records against.
- Boston College transfer junior Cade Alami and freshman Matthew Romer made their first appearance on the ice for the Sun Devils this season.
- ASU logged 46 shots over Stonehill's 25, the most shots by the Sun Devils this season.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
ASU quickly found themselves down a man 15 seconds into the game due to a cross-checking penalty. Despite the disadvantage, Cole Gordon broke through the defensive line and went on to score his first NCAA career goal to put the Sun Devils up 1-0. Gibson Homer was able to save all 10 shots attempted throughout the period.
Stonehill was able to break a 1-1 tie to make it 2-1 early on in third on a short-handed goal. The Sun Devils found their way back on the power play where Gratton was able to slot one between the pipes to make it 2-2, getting the assists from Matthew Kopperud and Anthony Dowd. Three minutes later, Matthew Kopperud scored the game-winning goal for Arizona State to make it 3-2, his fifth goal of the season. Tyler Gratton and Brian Chambers each tallying an assist.
"They were great. Chambers and Gratton are just absolute horses and they willed us to a sweep this weekend," said head coach Greg Powers. "We got one power play and I was waiting for a call. We finally got one. And, man, they ticked it around and had a really nice goal and got us even and we took the lead right after that."
Sun Devil Head Coach Greg Powers:
On the lineup switch tonight:
"I wanted a little bit of a harder line up, putting, Romer, I thought in his first game was really good. He was reliable. I trusted him. He was engaged. The flip putting Kopp with those two guys (Gratton and Chambers) seemed to work. I thought they brought us a lot of good stuff, so, no complaints. I thought we were a million times better tonight than last night. We just couldn't score. I think we completely controlled the play of the game, the pace of the game and, you know, probably doubled the offensive zone time. They were really opportunistic. That team competed hard and credit to them. They should have nothing to be ashamed of."
On Cole Gordon's performance tonight:
"It was awesome. He's awesome. He's the kind of kid that you win with, and his best hockey is ahead of him, but he's off to a good start here."
On Gratton, Chambers, and Kopperud's line:
"They were great, you know, I mean, Chambers and Grattan are just absolute horses and they willed us to a sweep this weekend. We got one power play and I was waiting for a call. We finally got one. And, man, they ticked it around and had a really nice goal and got us even and we took the lead right after that."
On Denver next weekend:
"We're excited. I mean they're the blue blood, right? They have more national championships than anybody. They're playing great hockey. They hammered Colorado College this weekend. They're gonna come in here ready to go. They know that we're 6-0 home and I can guarantee you they're gonna be chomping at the bit to knock us off."
Freshman forward Cole Gordon and senior forward Matthew Kopperud
Gordon on his first collegiate goal:
"No, it felt awesome. Especially when my mom, sister and aunt here. So it was a really good one to get off my chest and it was awesome."
Gordon on playing at Mullett:
"I mean, from the beginning I never thought I would be here and seeing the student section being loud, and it's hard not to get up and fight for those guys and it's really awesome. It's really cool."
Kopperud on playing with Chambers and Gratton:
"It's a lot of fun playing with them. I mean, they're two heavy guys and they compliment my game very well. They do all the work pretty much and they're heavy on the forecheck. So it's nice to play with them."
Kopperud on the work he has put in:
"I mean, I was out pretty much all last year, so I had to do everything I could to make sure I'm back this year and try to help the team. So I put in a lot of work this off season to get me back to where I am."
Gordon on playing a Colorado team:
"Super exciting. All my family is coming out for that one too and you know, I got a close buddy on the team so it should be a good little test for us playing the number two ranked team."