For the second consecutive night, the Sun Devils were forced into a shootout. And for the second consecutive night, they came out on top.
The Sun Devils were able to defeat the Stony Brook Seawolves 2-1 in a come from behind effort that was capped off by captain Colin Hekle’s game winning shoot out wrister.
“Yesterday I didn’t really have a plan and it didn’t turn out well,” Hekle said. “Today I knew that I was going to go so I had a plan of what I was going to do before I actually got the chance. It turned out well.”
ASU bombarded Stony Brook goaltender Brendan Jones’s net with 52 shots. However, it was not until the last minute of regulation that forward Kale Dolinski was able to score the game-tying goal. Dolinski got a rebound on a shot from Jordan Young and popped it over the left shoulder of Jones.
“[Jones] had a good game. He was very good tonight, and definitely held them in it,” head coach Greg Powers said. “When you put 52 shots on goal, and their kid lets in one goal there’s not much you can do other than keep plugging away like we did…we found a way to get the win.”
Neither team was able to capitalize on scoring opportunities in the first period. Despite getting 12 shots, ASU was unable to produce a legitimate scoring opportunity. On the defensive end, the Sun Devils were able to kill six penalty minutes. D’Elia was not tested too much, but did have a couple of crucial saves.
The first goal in the game came at the 3:57 mark in the second period when Stony Brook forward Ryan Cotcamp put in a rebound from a shot by forward Mike Cacciotti. The Seawolves held the 1-0 lead going into the third period.
In the third period, the Sun Devils tried their hardest to get a goal but they struggled to finish. The team controlled possession and was in Stony Brook territory the majority of the period.
With just under two minutes to go, while ASU was on the power play, they were able to get a goal. However it was waived off because the net was knocked off its bearings before the puck went in. Seconds later, defenseman Darcy Charrois, who was the hero the night before, nearly scored the game tying goal on a shot that ricocheted off the inside of the post.
With 1:39 left in the game, the Sun Devils pulled D’Elia out of the net to get the man advantage. The move paid off as Dolinski was able to put in a rebound with 51 seconds to spare.
Neither team was able to score in overtime, which sent the game into shootouts. Stony Brook’s first shooter Cacciotti scored with a top shelf goal. Forward Dan Anderson then answered with a goal of his own to tie the shootouts 1-1.
D’Elia then had two consecutive shootout saves to set the stage for Hekle to win it.
“I try to keep a clear mind, because if you think too much you get beat…If I can keep my head clear, I can react to what they’re trying to do.”
Hekle then hit a quick wrister to secure the Sun Devil’s ACHA best 24th win.
The Sun Devils will return to the ice tonight at 7 p.m. for the series finale against Stony Brook.
