No. 4 Denver Scores Four in Third to Defeat Sun Devils

Friday, November 6

Tempe, Ariz.

7 p.m. MT

University of Denver

6-2-1, 3-0-0

Arizona State

5-4-0, 1-2-0

Team	1	2	3	F
Denver	0	2	4	6
Arizona St.	0	2	1	3

The DU hockey team celebrates a goal during its win at Arizona State on November 6, 2026.

11/6/2026 11:30:00 PM | #4 Ice Hockey

Box Score Highlights Sam Harris Postgame Pregame Notes

Hockey wins 6-3 after five Pioneers record multiple points

By: Ron Knabenbauer

TEMPE, Ariz. – Freshman defenseman Daxon Rudolph scored twice during a major power play in the third period to lift the No. 4 Denver Pioneers hockey team to a 6-3 win against the Arizona State Sun Devils on Friday night at Mullett Arena.

The Pioneers (6-2-1, 3-0-0 NCHC) complete their weekend series against Arizona State (5-4-0, 1-2-0 NCHC) with a mid-day face-off on Sunday at 12 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast on NCHC.tv and regionally on Altitude Sports.

Rudolph was one of five Pioneers to record multiple points in the victory, with sophomore Clarke Caswell registering a career-high four points (one goal, three assists), classmate Kristian Epperson netting a goal and two helpers, Kyle Chyzowski picking up a pair of assists and senior Sam Harris scoring and adding an apple on the scoresheet to reach 100 career points.

Junior James Reeder also tallied for Denver while sophomore goaltender Johnny Hicks made 22 saves in the win to remain unbeaten in his college career at 20-0-1. Junior netminder Tyler Kritvsov played the final 1:12 of the game in net for DU.

Denver took advantage of just its second man advantage of the evening midway through the third period as ASU's Landon Hafele was given a major penalty for elbowing Ryan Lin at 10:49. Rudolph tallied his first goal with an outside shot at 11:55 of the frame and buried his second marker at 14:22 with a highlight-reel score that saw him drive to the net and bury a backhand shot far-side.

Harris recorded his 100th point with an assist on Caswell's empty-net goal with 1:12 left in the third. He evened the score at 1-1 earlier in the contest at 6:35 of the second frame, as the San Diego, California, native buried his fifth goal of the season just eight seconds after Nathan Behm opened the night's scoring for the Sun Devils.

After a scoreless opening stanza, the teams played to a 2-2 tie through 40 minutes, with Epperson extending his goal streak to four games by also finding the back of the net for the Pioneers in the middle period.

DU tallied four times in the third period, beginning with Reeder giving DU its first lead of the evening at 7:07 by chipping in Lin's pass into an open net backdoor.

The Pioneers fired a season-high 52 shots on goal and recorded double-digit totals in each period. Arizona State goalie Samuel Urban finished with 45 saves in the loss.

UP NEXT: Denver and Arizona State have a day between their games in the weekend series as the squads wrap up the two-game set on Sunday at 12 p.m. MT. The Pioneers then open a four-game homestand the following week with matchups against Lindenwood on Nov. 13-14 and St. Thomas on Nov. 20-21.

POSTGAME NOTES

Denver has now won three straight games against ASU in the all-time series and is 5-1-0 in the last six meetings, with its lone loss coming in overtime.
The Pioneers are now 4-3-0 all-time at Mullett Arena.
Sam Harris recorded two points to reach 100 career points and became the 106th player in program history to hit the century mark in scoring.
Harris now has 12 goals and 17 points (12g/5a) in 12 career contests vs. ASU.
Harris is on a three-game assist/point streak (1g/3a).
Clarke Caswell's four points (1g/3a) were a career high and also marked his first game where he recorded three or more points in a contest. It was his ninth career multi-point outing and the first four-point game since Samu Salminen on Jan. 21, 2025 at Arizona State (1g/3a).
Kristian Epperson stretched his career-long goal streak to four games. It's now the longest point streak of his career.
Goaltender Johnny Hicks remains unbeaten in his college career as he has won 17 straight games and is 20-0-1 in his first 21 decisions dating back to Jan. 24 vs. St. Cloud State.
Daxon Rudolph scored twice for his first career multi-goal game and the first such game by a defenseman since Eric Pohlkamp tallied a hat trick on Oct. 11, 2025 vs. Bentley.
Ryan Lin is on a three-game assist/point streak, the longest of his career.
DU's 52 shots on goal were a season high and the most since the team also had 52 on Nov. 29, 2025 vs. Minnesota in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Ball Arena.
Brendan McMorrow missed his second game with a lower-body injury and will be out two-to-four weeks.

GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
No Scoring

2nd Period
6:26 ASU (0-1) – Nathan Behm tapped in Landon Hafele's pass backdoor and into an open net during a drive to the net.
6:34 DU (1-1) – Sam Harris buried a one-time snapshot from the right circle off a pass from Kristian Epperson.
9:38 ASU (1-2) – Lukas Sawchyn buried a wrist shot from the slot after taking a pass from Daniel Shlaine.
15:18 DU (2-2) – Kristian Epperson scored in the low slot off a wrister following an ASU player misplaying the puck near his own crease due to pressure applied from Epperson and Clarke Caswell.

3rd Period
7:07 DU (3-2) – James Reeder chipped in Ryan Lin's pass backdoor and into an open net while stationed at the right of the crease.
11:55 DU (4-2) – PPG, Daxon Rudolph fired a wrist shot top shelf from the high slot after taking passes from Clarke Caswell and Kyle Chyzowski.
14:22 DU (5-2) – PPG, Daxon Rudolph took a stretch pass from Kyle Chyzowski in the neutral zone and drove down the right-wing side before attacking to the net and going far-side with a backhand shot to complete the highlight goal.
17:22 ASU (5-3) – Cade Littler hit twine with an outside shot.
18:48 DU (6-3) – ENG, Clarke Caswell tallied into an open net after DU cleared the puck out of its own zone from passes by Kristian Epperson and Sam Harris.

QUOTABLES
Senior Forward Sam Harris
On the team sticking with its gameplan after getting down: "Our confidence never wavered. We were on top of the game all night. The (ASU) goalie made some nice saves, but we ensured to keep putting the puck to the net and we were able to find the back of the net."

On the momentum swing in the game with him scoring right after ASU made it 1-0: "I think it was big. It was important for us; my line emphasizes getting in the zone right away and putting the pressure on. I just put my head down and shot it as hard as I could."

On reaching 100 career points: "It's really special to be a part of that club and to be a part of Denver itself is all really special to me. It's something that I hope that many people get to experience."

On why he's had success vs. ASU in his career: "Probably the weather. I'm from San Diego, so I like the warm weather. Coming down here and playing is always fun. It's close for family, they were able to come out too. It's always a lot of fun coming down here."

TICKETS: Single-game tickets as well as mini plans and group packages for the DU hockey's championship-defense campaign in 2026-27 are on sale now. Click here for more information.

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