“I think everyone bought in today,” head coach Joe Lappin said after the game. “I think we had all 20 guys working hard.” 

Sunday’s matinee was the third of six meetings between these crosstown rivals this season – the teams split a home-and-home series two weeks ago, with each team winning in the other’s rink.

Both the Sun Devils and Antelopes played Saturday night, so each team had to turn around quickly for Sunday’s early-morning puck drop.

However, Lappin believes his team got the rest they needed in preparation for today’s contest. 

“It’s never easy to turn around and come ready in the morning [after] playing at night, but they seemed ready to go and they seemed well-rested,” Lappin said. 

ASU forward Jason Horner shared the same sentiment as his coach. 

“It was definitely a quick turnaround, but the boys brought energy in the first and it worked out well,” Horner said. “It ended up being good for us.” 

The Sun Devils came out on fire, burying three goals in the first period to take a 3-0 lead into intermission and set the tone for the rest of the game. ASU added two more goals in the second period to extend the lead to 5-0, and each team scored one goal in the third period.

Sun Devil forward Cole Allison scored two goals, both of which were short-handed, and Horner, defenseman Dylan Wendt, James Dilulio and forward Tyler Tremeroli all found the back of the net as well. Jordan Watt scored GCU’s lone goal. 

As dominant as ASU was on offense, it also controlled the game on the defensive side of the puck, consistently preventing the Antelopes from finding opportunities to score and get themselves back into the game.

“The [defense] stood strong back there, and our goalie [Alexander Frink] played out of his mind,” Horner said.

After splitting two games against GCU earlier in the year, the Sun Devils made a statement with their performance today, taking control and dominating in all facets of the game from early on.