TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 2 Denver Pioneers hockey team used five unanswered goals to erase a three-goal deficit and win 8-4 at the No. 16 Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday night at Mullett Arena.
Junior forward
Carter King led Denver with four points on a goal and three assists, while fellow classmate
Jack Devine had two goals and freshman
Miko Matikka had his second consecutive multi-point performance with a marker and helper.
McKade Webster, Jared Wright, Rieger Lorenz and
Sam Harris also scored.
Goaltender
Freddie Halyk made a career-high 29 saves, as the Sun Devils outshot the Pioneers 33-28 in the game. The freshman made double-digit saves each frame and made 19 saves in the final 21 shots he faced.
"At 3-0 it could go a lot of different ways. We chose not to fold in the tent. We chose to keep going," said Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach
David Carle. "A big goal by
McKade Webster to get us going. Obviously the extra attacker goal and us scoring on a power play, that two-goal swing is a huge moment in the game as well. It just felt from there we finally got going and playing our game. Loved how we finished the game the last 15 minutes of the third. Showed some maturity in our game."
Arizona State scored twice in a matter of 51 seconds to take a 2-0 lead in the first eight minutes of the game and extended its lead to 3-0 at 5:59 of the second, but DU went on its own run soon after.
Webster started the Pioneers' comeback at 6:59 of the middle frame before Matikka and Devine tallied twice in a matter of 55 seconds to even the score at three-all with 6:43 remaining before the intermission. Devine added his second on the power play at 17:53 and Wright gave DU a two-goal advantage at 3:39 of the final stanza.
Denver native Matthew Kopperud scored for the Sun Devils to cut the deficit to 5-4 midway through the third period, but the Pios sealed the win with three goals in the final 87 seconds—empty-netters from King and Lorenz and Harris scoring on ASU goalie T.J. Semptimphelter with seven seconds remaining.
Semptimphelter finished with 20 saves for the Sun Devils, as the teams split the weekend series. ASU won 6-5 in overtime on Friday.
DU junior forward
Massimo Rizzo had an assist on Devine's first marker for his 100th career point. He is the 102nd Pioneer in program history to reach the century mark and the first since Cole Guttman on Jan. 22, 2022 at Colorado College.
UP NEXT: The Pioneers return home to begin a season-long six-game homestand starting with a series next weekend against Omaha. DU will also play Yale on Nov. 24-25 and North Dakota on Dec. 1-2.
POSTGAME NOTES
- The Pioneers scored a season-high eight goals. The last time they tallied eight times in a game was when they also erased a three-goal deficit on Feb. 4, 2022 vs. St. Cloud State.
- DU's three-goal comeback win was its largest deficit since that Feb. 4, 2022 game vs. St. Cloud when the squad trail 3-0 and won 8-5.
- Denver improved to 9-2-1 all-time against Arizona State and 3-2-1 in Tempe.
- Saturday's meeting marked the final non-conference game between the teams before ASU joins the NCHC next season.
- Carter King scored for a fifth straight game, the longest goal scoring streak by a Denver player since Cole Guttman from Dec. 7, 2019 to Jan. 4, 2020 (6g/2a).
- Goaltender Freddie Halyk made his fifth consecutive start, tied with Matt Davis most by a DU goalie this season and improved to 4-1-0 in his career.
- Alex Weiermair recorded his first career point with an assist.
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
7:05 ASU (0-1) –
PPG, Lukas Sillinger scored from the left circle.
7:54 ASU (0-2) – Tim Lovell tallied into an open net after Brandon Tabakin's shot from the point rebounded off a Denver player and right to him.
2nd Period
5:59 ASU (0-3) – Tyler Gratton scored on a breakaway.
6:59 DU (1-3) –
McKade Webster knocked in a loose puck in the low slot
12:22 DU (2-3) –
Miko Matikka tallied on a one-timer from the left side.
13:17 DU (3-3) –
PPG,
Jack Devine redirected
Massimo Rizzo's centering pass into the net.
17:53 DU (4-3) –
PPG,
Jack Devine buried a wrist shot off a faceoff win by
Carter King
3:39 DU (5-3) –
Jared Wright tipped in
Carter King's pass from the side boards
3rd Period
9:35 ASU (5-4) –
PPG, Matthew Kopperud tallied off a rebound from the right side.
18:33 DU (6-4) –
ENG,
Carter King fired a long shot from his own zone into an empty net.
19:07 DU (7-4) –
ENG,
Rieger Lorenz tallied into an open net on a rush with
Jared Wright.
19:53 DU (8-4) –
Sam Harris scored on a rush in the closing seconds.
TICKETS: Single-game tickets, as well as five-game packs are on sale now. Full and half-season ticket packages are also available.
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