TEMPE, Ariz. — As temperatures rose across the bench, the Sun Devils itched for a much-needed first goal. 

“We had a lot of energy,” sophomore forward Kylie Brown said. “We said that we had to pick up the bench energy during that time out, everyone kind of picked it up. We really needed one to start moving, and it happened.”

On Friday, Feb. 6, Arizona State (12-6-1-1) shut out the Lindenwood Lions (0-21-1-0) in a 2-0 victory in Tempe, Arizona, with help from Brown, her 11th goal of the season, and sophomore forward Paige Brien, her fifth. However, the Sun Devils were a brick wall defensively again tonight with their fourth consecutive shutout courtesy of senior goaltender Quinn Eatinger. 

With ASU’s fourth shutout in the last five games, it’s not just about its efficiency on the ice, but its friendship in the locker room that keeps the morale alive.

“It's just really important for our team to have good locker room friendships, which keeps us rolling,” sophomore forward Kyly Laybolt said. 

In addition to the morale boost in the locker room, the moments are cherished among teammates, especially by seniors like graduate forward Sam Murphy. 

“When it comes down to the end of the season, you just have to think about the seniors, like Murphy,” sophomore forward Paige Brien said. “How don't we have that many games left and we just have to make it all count.”

With the season coming to an end and only two series remaining, and senior night on Feb. 14, the Sun Devils look to build on what they’ve already accomplished this year and make that push for nationals. 

“Just bringing our hardest every single practice, and no matter if we have games on the weekend or if we don't have games on the weekend,” Laybolt said. “Every second of ice time is going to count for us going to Nationals and just working our way there. So just building off of what we kind of already started.”

ASU’s win wasn't exactly a walk in the park; the series finale is a tougher game to close out than people may think. 

“The second game after a win is almost harder just because they want it back and they want it harder than we do," head coach Lindsey Ellis said. “We can't be content with winning games in the past now, and it's a new game, so a fresh mindset.”

Furthermore, it’s challenging to close a series finale while tied or losing; however, being ahead can boost that momentum to the ceiling for a team. 

“We had to keep the pace up,” Brown said. “It's hard to beat any team twice, and it's hard to keep momentum when you really kind of run over a team.” 

Friday night's win against the Lions gave the Sun Devils their 12th win of the season and fifth in a row. 

Keeping this momentum rolling for the next series is what they need against their crosstown rivals, Grand Canyon University. 

“We got a little bit more room on the ice to work our ways, work our power play and work our penalty kill," Laybolt said. “These were great leading up to our senior weekend that we have coming up.”