The University of Arizona women’s hockey (6-15-1) fell to ASU (15-9) 6-1 and 5-1 on Thursday, Feb. 20, and Friday, Feb. 20 in the Tucson Convention Center. These were their final games of the inaugural season and the Wildcats ended seated at fifth in the Women’s Western Colligate Hockey League.
Game 1
The Wildcats struggled offensively against rival ASU. With the Sun Devils pressuring tight, it was hard for Arizona to get shots on goal. They ended the match with 17 shots compared to ASU’s 46.
The first period of the game landed in ASU’s favor. With two penalties against the Wildcats, their rhythm was broken up, allowing the Sun Devils to find openings in the net. They scored two goals in the period, giving them momentum and a lead early on in the game.
Mara Draper, a freshman forward/defenseman, put ASU’s first goal in with seven minutes of play remaining. Less than three minutes later, Sydney Paulsen, a senior forward for the Sun Devils, scored their second goal of the game.
Entering the second period, Arizona needed a goal to put them back in the game. Unfortunately, their goal didn’t come until later.
On a power play opportunity five minutes into the second period, ASU scored their third goal shot by sophomore forward, Paige Ring. With a comfortable 3-0 lead with over a period remaining in the match, ASU had found their groove on the ice.
Arizona fought to find opportunities offensively but continuously fell short against the Sun Devil defense. Halfway through the period, Sam Murphy, a senior forward, scored another goal for ASU who now led 4-0.
The rest of the period stayed scoreless, as Arizona was able to hold off the Sun Devils.
Arizona came out strong in the third period, competing for a goal. They earned their first and only goal of the game in the fifth minute of play from Britney Bridel, a junior forward. While this was a big goal for the Wildcats, it didn’t stop ASU from finding two more goals to close out the game.
Less than a minute after the Wildcat’s goal, ASU’s Paige Brien scored their fifth goal of the game. Three minutes later, Hannah Kunz, a sophomore defenseman, scored ASU’s sixth and final goal.
Arizona wasn’t able to come back following the Sun Devils’ back-to-back goals and found little success on the offensive side of the rink. Their defense held up for the remaining 10 minutes of the game. As the time ran out, the final score was in ASU’s favor, 6-1.
Game 2
The Wildcats played a strong defensive first period of the game with only a few offensive opportunities, getting five shots on goal. ASU pressured Arizona’s Karsyn Hellman with 22 shots.
Due to several Wildcat penalties, ASU got power play opportunities throughout the period and was able to find the net in the 11th minute of play. Kylie Brown, a freshman forward, scored the only goal of the period for the Sun Devils.
The Wildcats tried to retaliate but were unsuccessful in their attempts. However, they were able to keep ASU to one goal for the remainder of the period, a small victory on its own.
Arizona came into the second period eager to put in a goal. ASU received several penalties that gave the Wildcats power play opportunities. In the fourth minute of play, Arizona’s Leila Schultz, a freshman forward, scored the Wildcats’ first goal of the game. This tied the score 1-1.
With an incline in momentum from Arizona, they pressured ASU’s goal and got several more close shots off. However, on a short-handed breakaway, ASU scored their second goal of the game, putting them back in the lead. Paulsen was able to find the opening for the Sun Devils.
The programs went back and forth in goal attempts. The Wildcats held ASU to 13 shots for the period despite them only earning six.
The rest of the period played out equally as neither team was able to find the net, leaving the score 2-1 going into the third period of the game.
Within the first ten seconds of the third period, ASU would find the net again with Brown finding her second goal off of a power play, now leading 3-1.
The Wildcats knew they needed a goal to put them back in the game but struggled with penalties that left them down a player on the ice. While suffering from a penalty in the fifth minute of play, ASU was able to score their fourth goal of the game from Paulsen, her second.
The Wildcats now trailed 4-1 with 15 minutes left in the game.
Shortly after two more penalties were dealt out to both programs, ASU found the net for the fifth time in the game from Kunz.
As the game neared its end, both teams’ aggression levels heightened. Fouls were being called left and right and two players were removed from the game due to off-setting penalties. Wildcat Sofie Thompson and ASU Elle McKenna were the recipients.
The game ended shortly after with a 5-1 victory for ASU.
