TEMPE, Ariz. - For a few minutes at Mullett Arena on Saturday, it looked like the same old story for Arizona State hockey. 

After giving up two goals in 11 seconds in the final minutes of a 2-1 loss to Holy Cross the night before, the Sun Devils surrendered a late goal with 15 seconds remaining in regulation, pulling the Crusaders even at 4-4. 

Making matters worse for ASU, the game-tying goal came off the stick of Holy Cross senior forward David Hymovitch, a Scottsdale native who began his collegiate career in the Valley.

As the game extended into overtime, it appeared that the Sun Devils were on their way to blowing a late lead to the Crusaders for the second night in a row, this time after a furious ASU comeback in the third period. 

However, Sun Devils senior forward and alternate captain Jack Beck made sure his team came out of its first home series with a win. 

Just 46 seconds into the extra period, Beck buried a wrist shot for his first goal of the year, lifting ASU (2-2-0) to a wild 5-4 victory over Holy Cross (2-2-0) and splitting the weekend series on Saturday, Oct. 10, at Mullett Arena. Beck’s decisive tally also marked his first goal of the season after netting five goals in the 2025 campaign. 

Moments before he found the back of the net, Beck almost sealed the deal for the Sun Devils, but hit the post on an empty net late in the third period, eventually leading to the Crusaders forcing overtime with that late score. 

Beck felt relieved to have found a way to lift ASU to a win after the miss. 

“Obviously, it felt good,” Beck said. “I kind of let the boys down hitting the post late, so I kinda wanted to redeem myself a bit there.” 

Saturday continued a recent pattern of the bonus period proving kind to the Sun Devils, who went 4-1-1 in overtime last season. 

Before ASU’s first overtime period of the season, assistant coach Mike Corbett lit a fire under his team.

“I challenged them,” Corbett said. “These young men want to be coached and they want to be challenged … I went in there and challenged them.” 

Before Corbett provided a challenge heading into extra time, the Sun Devils had already faced their fair share of trouble on Saturday, trailing 3-1 with under eight minutes remaining. 

However, Beck and his fellow leaders guided the Sun Devils through a rollercoaster ride that ultimately turned in their favor. 

After a coast-to-coast goal by freshman forward Nathan Behm cut the Crusaders’ lead in half, senior forward and captain Kyle Smolen converted a rebound off his own shot to tie the game with 4:31 left in the period. 

Shortly after, junior forward and alternate captain Ben Muthersbaugh capitalized on a turnover by Holy Cross freshman goalkeeper Connor Towle to give ASU its first lead since early in the second period. 

Corbett showed his appreciation for the Sun Devils’ perseverance on Saturday. 

“They showed me what they’re made of,” Corbett said. “They stuck with it and we just battled back.” 

Before the late flurry of goals, Towle caught fire in the crease for the Crusaders, saving 26 straight shots over a 46-minute stretch in his collegiate debut. 

During that span, Towle collected multiple saves while Holy Cross played down a man, keeping the Sun Devils off the board on their first four power-play chances of the game. 

Power-play conversion has been a lingering issue for ASU this season, and those stops pushed the Sun Devils to 0-for-7 on the advantage in the series. 

ASU turned that storyline on its head in the third period, connecting on back-to-back power-play goals from Behm and Muthersbaugh during its comeback. 

Behm thought the Sun Devils were finding gaps on the power play all day, even during the cold stretch.

“I think we were doing a lot of good things on the power play,” Behm said. “I think it was just about sticking with it and doing what we know works, and it ended up working.” 

Saturday marked the third time in four tries ASU has netted five-plus goals this season, with the outlier coming in Friday’s 2-1 loss. 

The Sun Devils needed every last bit of offense to secure the split, as sophomore goalkeeper Sam Hillebrandt’s ASU debut didn’t go as planned. 

Even though the Sun Devils outshot the Crusaders 35-17 on Saturday, Holy Cross put four pucks past Hillebrandt, placing the Ohio State transfer’s save percentage at .765. 

Hillebrandt’s start put sophomore goaltender Samuel Urban on the bench for the first time this season after Urban had manned the net for the first three games. 

Urban also had a rough showing against the Crusaders, allowing two goals on 22 shots in Friday’s loss. 

With the comeback win now in the rear-view mirror, the Sun Devils hit the road for a series at UMass Lowell on Oct. 16-17. 

The Riverhawks feature former ASU defenseman Anthony Dowd, who tallied four points in 26 games last season. 

With the status of defenseman Matthew Mayich still uncertain, Beck and the Sun Devils aren’t losing sight of the reason they take the ice every day. 

“We are playing for something bigger,” Beck said. “Everything’s for Matthew (Mayich). There’s people going through a lot harder things in the world, so giving your all for 20 minutes isn’t too hard.”