UND Athletics
TEMPE, Ariz. – (UND Athletics) No. 14/17 North Dakota stumbled for the first time in NCHC play this season, dropping a 4-1 decision at No. 16/15 Arizona State on Friday night from Mullett Arena in Tempe, Ariz.
UND (11-8-1, 6-3-0 NCHC) struggled to solve Arizona State (11-7-1, 6-3-0 NCHC) goaltender Gibson Homer, as the redshirt junior finished with 27 saves on 28 shots to hand the Fighting Hawks only their second loss in the last nine games (6-2-1).
Dylan James struck in the defeat for the visitors, scoring his sixth goal of the season in highlight fashion. The junior was able to fight off his defender before going between his legs for the shorthanded tally late in the second period to get UND on the board and cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Fighting Hawks had a pair of breakaways in the contest, including one early in the third that would have tied the game, but Homer held off the charge to help the Sun Devils win their eighth straight tilt.
T.J. Semptimphelter finished with 27 saves on 31 shots against in his first game against his former team while defenseman Abram Wiebe continued his torrid play as of late with his seventh point over the last five contests.
Despite a dominant start from the visiting side, it was Arizona State who broke the scoreless draw when Cullen Potter finished off a slick feed from Bennett Schimek to give the Sun Devils a 1-0 lead just over eight minutes into the contest. It looked to be staying that way heading into the first intermission, but Brasen Boser scored his first goal of his career in the final 80 seconds of the frame to give the hosts a 2-0 lead after one.
UND finally got rewarded for its strong play late in the second, as James raced past his defender and tucked a shot past the goaltender for the shorthanded tally and trimmed the lead to 2-1 with 40 minutes complete.
Louis Jamernik V nearly brought the game level in the opening minutes of the third period, but his breakaway attempt was thwarted by Homer to keep the Sun Devils in front. A few minutes later, the hosts took advantage of a breakaway of their own to grab back the momentum and take a 3-1 lead early in the final stanza.
ASU added a power play goal just past the midway point of the third to close out the 4-1 victory and hand UND its first road loss in NCHC play.
North Dakota will look to earn a series split on Saturday night at 6:05 p.m. (CT) on NCHC.tv, Midco Sports and the Fighting Hawks Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
- Cameron Berg returned to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 9 at Minnesota Duluth
- UND dropped its first road NCHC game of the season, dropping to 4-1-0
- Arizona State leads the all-time series, 2-0
- Dylan James scored his third shorthanded goal of his career
- Abram Wiebe has seven points over his last five games with an assist
- Shots were 31-28 in favor of Arizona State
- T.J. Semptimphelter finished with 27 saves, but allowed four goals for the first time since Dec. 6
- ASU finished 1-for-4 on the power play while UND was 0-for-2
- Faceoffs were 25-21 UND, with Jake Schmaltz leading everyone at 9-3
How It Happened
First Period
08:32 | ASU – Cullen Potter (7) from Bennett Schimek (12) and Cruz Lucius (1)
18:44 | ASU – Brasen Boser (1) from Kyle Smolen (11) and Lukas Sillinger (12)
Second Period
19:19 | UND – Dylan James (6, SHG) from Abram Wiebe (11)
Third Period
04:51 | ASU – Artem Shlaine (6) from Ryan Kirwan (6)
13:04 | ASU – Smolen (5, PP) from Noah Beck (16) and Sillinger (13)
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com
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