Arizona men’s hockey split two games against ASU this past weekend. The first game was at the Tucson Convention Center on Friday and the second game was on Sunday at Mullet Arena in Tempe.

Game 1

Arizona started the game with goaltender Haydn Gould in net, making his second start of the season. Forward Michael Pizzo continued his hot streak with a first period goal that opened the scoring and put the Wildcats up 1-0 after the first. Pizzo has already doubled his goal total from last year with 4 goals through the first two series.

The second period saw senior forward Will Josephson extend the Wildcats lead with his second goal of the season. This 2-0 lead stood till the end of the period with Gould looking extremely sharp in net.

Forward Justin Hughes scored in the third period to extend the Wildcats extending the teams lead to 3-0 and securing the victory. Through the teams first two series, Hughes is tied with defensemen Chris Magovern for the team lead in points with 6 respectively. In his first rivalry game, the freshmen Gould posted a shutout improving his record to 2-0-0 on the season.

Game 2

In the teams first road game of the season, Coach Chad Berman put freshman Adam Stevenson in net. ASU jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead with a goal less than three minutes into the game. Arizona would respond just minutes later with a goal by forward Jack Kurrle to tie the game at 1. The Wildcats then found themselves short handed and ASU made them pay with a power-play goal with 10:46 left in the first period. Arizona trailed heading into the second period 2-1.

Arizona got on a power-play less than two minutes into the second period and forward Dylan Walker who tied the game at 2 with his second goal of the season. With 13:54 left in the second period, Will Josephson put the Wildcats in front 3-2. After Arizona was unable to capitalize on another power-play, ASU tied the game at 3 with 9:37 left in the period. As the period ended with the teams tied, both teams would be forced to start the third period with four on four due to penalties. 

In the third period ASU took the lead 4-3 with 14:56 left in the game. Just four minutes later, ASU scored again giving them a 5-3 lead and forcing Arizona to call a timeout. The timeout, however, did not help Arizona as they couldn’t get another goal and fell 5-3 for their first loss of the season.

Looking Ahead

Arizona is now second in the Western Collegiate Hockey League standings with 6 points on the season. The Wildcats will have one more game against ASU on Oct. 12 in Tempe. Wildcats will then come home for a two game series against University of Navada Las Vegas on Oct. 24 and 25. 

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