TEMPE, Ariz. – It was a busy night in Mullett Arena on Friday night, as both the Division I men’s hockey team and the Division I men’s club hockey team played in a game. Ultimately, neither team achieved a favorable result.
Despite the end of a 5-2 loss, Arizona State (7-12, 2-2) found the early ice breaker on a beautiful toe-drag finish by senior forward Carson Kuche, his first of the season. Only one minute later, Kuche was sent to the box for an interference penalty, which sparked the futility for the remainder of the game.
Later in the period, a holding penalty by ASU freshman defenseman Anthony White led to a top-shelf snipe from Utah defenseman Matthew Delany.
Despite Utah (11-8-0-1) having a 19-7 shot advantage in the first period, the Sun Devils managed to keep the score deadlocked at one going into the intermission.
Two of Utah’s leading scorers, Paul Waldhauser and Cion Goray, both notched a goal in the second period. Goray’s goal came from a 5-on-3 power play, which resulted from two ASU penalties in a span of 41 seconds.
These two penalties would be two of many for the Sun Devils as they racked up 24 penalty minutes in the game.
Utah’s leading scorer, Paul Waldhauser, increased his point total to 35 when he scored his second goal of the game early on in the third to make it 5-1. The Sun Devils would receive a late consolation goal from junior forward Ryan Quast.
However, the main focal point in the third period was the tensions boiling over late.
A scrum ensued with three minutes to go in regulation between ASU defenseman Luke Chase and Utah forward Tyler Sunagel. In the end, Chase would be assessed a game misconduct.
These tensions could prove to be an important development, as these two squads face off once again on Saturday night.
With the 5-2 win, Utah extended its winning streak to three, as the Sun Devils lost their second consecutive contest.