On paper, No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth was in full control on Friday, Dec. 12, night at home against Arizona State.

However, the Bulldogs didn’t lock up their 14th win of the season until a late empty-net goal from freshman forward Daniel Shlaine, surviving a 3-1 slugfest over the Sun Devils at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth on Friday. Despite the close margin, Minnesota-Duluth dominated the shots-on-goal battle, 39-17, and held possession for the majority of the contest.

After ASU struck first and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, Minnesota-Duluth took the lead for good in the second period behind a 17-7 advantage in shots on goal in the middle frame.

A trio of sophomore forwards got the Bulldogs on the board, as Max Plante notched up the score with a power-play goal assisted by Callum Arnott and Jayson Shaugabay.

It was the 15th goal of the season for Plante, who leads the NCHC in both goals and goals per game at .79. On top of that, the goal put Plante tied for second in the nation in goals. 

Just eight minutes later, senior forward Kyle Gaffney netted the eventual game-winning goal off assists from freshman forward Hunter Anderson and senior forward Scout Truman.

It was Gaffney’s first goal for Minnesota-Duluth, as he spent his first three years at Alaska-Fairbanks.

The two second-period scores for Minnesota-Duluth came against Sun Devils senior goalie Connor Hasley, who finished with 36 saves on the night.

The lone goal for ASU came off the stick of sophomore forward and Scottsdale native Ty Nash, his second goal of the season. Junior center Sean McGurn and sophomore forward Noah Powell picked up assists.

The Sun Devils missed a golden opportunity after sophomore defenseman Adam Kleber was tagged with an interference penalty, setting up a five-minute power play for ASU with a chance to tie the game at two goals apiece.

However, the Sun Devils only put two shots on target, with Bulldogs sophomore goalie Adam Gajan saving both with ease.

ASU’s best opportunity came from senior forward Cruz Lucius, who drilled the pipe with a shot early in the power play.

Shlaine’s empty-netter came just one second after the game returned to even strength.

Third-period woes have been a common thread for the Sun Devils this season, and those issues returned once more in Duluth on Friday night. 

ASU was outshot 14-5 in the final frame despite holding a one-man advantage for five minutes of the period.

The second leg of the two-game series wraps up tomorrow at 4:07 p.m. MST. Despite their 3-5-1 conference record, the Sun Devils have worked at least a series split against all five NCHC opponents, suffering their last true sweep on Oct. 17-18 at Augustana.

Minnesota-Duluth has had its fair share of struggles closing out sweeps in NCHC play. The Bulldogs have opened all six of their series in conference action with a win, but have only won the second game of the series once. The win came a month ago, 3-2 at home against St. Cloud State.