A late push by the Sun Devils, who scored three goals in the final ten minutes of play, gave them a sweep of Merrimack in the first weekend of the regular season (Erin Hjerpe / Inferno Intel).
The Mullet Arena magic was alive for the second night in a row. Arizona State (2-0-0) erased two one-goal deficits in the final two periods and scored the game-winning goal with 45 seconds left to defeat No. 15 Merrimack (0-2-0) in game two of the series 4-2.
“The entire preseason all you hear is them say how tight knit they are,” ASU coach Greg Powers said. “And how well they gel off the ice in the room. Those are the moments where that has to pay off, just the inner belief, the support for each other and the belief that we can get it done.”
ASU senior forward Matthew Kopperud scored the overtime-winning goal in game one Friday and was the hero again Saturday. With the score tied 2-2, Merrimack received a minor penalty for too many men on the ice with 1:04 remaining in the game to put the Sun Devils on the power play.
ASU senior forward Brian Chambers won the ensuing faceoff back to senior defenseman Tim Lovell, who fed Kopperud a pass across the top of the slot. Kopperud buried his one-timed slap shot from above the right circle to give ASU a 3-2 lead with 45 seconds remaining.
“He (Kopperud) helped win us the game,” Powers said. “He had a big assist there to tie it and then pounded it on the goal that put us ahead. So really proud of the kid.”
It was the Sun Devil’s second power-play goal of the third period. The Warriors led 2-1 with 11:07 remaining and Merrimack sophomore forward Tyler Young received a 5-minute major penalty and game misconduct for elbowing ASU senior forward Lukas Sillinger around the head.
After a scoreless three minutes on the man advantage, Chambers skated the puck across ice from his own zone and dropped it off to Kopperud above the right circle.
Kopperud deked across Warriors senior defenseman Liam Dennison towards the slot and set up Sillinger in front of the net. Sillinger snapped it home to tie the game 2-2 with 8:03 remaining. The assist meant more to Kopperud than his winning goal.
“It tied up the game,” Kopperud said. Getting that power play there at the end we had trust in our power play unit that we were gonna go out and score again. Definitely the tying goal to keep us in the game and keep everybody on the bench and do it.”
Sillinger’s goal erased a Merrimack lead for the second time of the game. After a scoreless first period, the Warriors took a 1-0 eight minutes and 21 seconds into the second period. Merrimack junior forward Mark Hillier put home a rebound from senior forward Mac Welsher’s wrist shot below the slot.
Exactly one minute later, ASU senior forward Ryan O’Reilly tied the game 1-1 on a quick shot a foot above the crease. Chambers was credited with his first of three assists on the night.
“My teammates are awesome,” Chambers said. “Last year, Merrimack ended my season with double overtime so this one felt good. Pumped to be a part of it.”
Merrimack went up 2-1 six minutes later. Warriors junior forward Matt Coponni drove to the net to bury the rebound from senior forward Filip Forsmark’s shot with just over four minutes left in the second frame.
The Sun Devils were outplayed in the first two periods. The Warriors had more than twice the scoring chances and a 25-15 shot advantage. ASU regrouped after the second intermission to outshoot Merrimack 16-7 in the third period and score three unanswered goals in the final 10 minutes.
“We knew they were a ranked opponent coming in,” Kopperud said. “We’re gonna be a tough team to beat all year and I think it just says that we’re a really good team and we’re here to make it a long way.”
The victory gave ASU its second 2-0 start in program history. The last season-opening sweep was in 2018, the Sun Devils first and only appearance in the NCAA tournament.
“It’s a good start,” ASU coach Powers said. “As an independent, every win matters and to get two against the team that is going to get a lot of wins this season, which Merrimack will. You’ll see that it’ll be the gift that keeps on giving.”
ASU hosts Northern Michigan Friday and Saturday at Mullet Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. MST for both games.