After a disappointment in Duluth their last time out, The Huskies came into the series against the Sun Devils by making some changes. With new lines and some absences due to injuries, a two-game slate against the top team in the NCHC was as good of a time as any to right the metaphorical ship.

To kick off the first period, SCSU would find themselves behind early, with ASU’s highly touted NHL draft prospect Cullen Potter beating Huskies netminder Gavin Enright to give the Sun Devils the early 1-0 lead. Huskies forward Mason Salquist would draw a penalty on the very next shift, with the resulting powerplay seeing Adam Ingram tie the game at 1. SCSU would keep pushing, highlighted by a series of events in dying seconds of the first ate in the period; where Tyson Gross would generate two grade-A scoring chances, but Richter Award watchlist goaltender Gibson Homer would keep the game knotted at one through the first 20 minutes.

In the second, to put it bluntly, it was a wild one. The Huskies would dominate the first ten minutes, with Gavyn Thoreson and Mason Salquist both finding the back of the net for SCSU, giving them their first two-goal lead for the first time in a couple of months. Unfortunately, the comeback kids in the Sun Devils would fire back, scoring three goals in a five-minute span on three straight shots, giving ASU a 4-3 lead that would hold heading into the final 20. Notably, Arizona State had not lost after leading through 40 minutes on the season, so SCSU would have a tall task heading into the third and final frame.

Early on into the final 20, Arizona State would prove why they’ve been so consistent with a lead, getting an early goal from Kyle Smollen to give them their first two-goal lead of the game, at 5-3. St. Cloud State would look relatively defeated after that, with an extended 6-on-5 session to end the 3rd period resulting in the 5th unanswered goal from Arizona State, ending the game with an unmerciful 6-3 loss. On the collapse, Huskies captain Josh Luedtke would say that the effort “was just not good enough.”

With the loss, SCSU drops their third straight game and falls to 7th in the conference.

Up Next: St. Cloud State will finish up the two-game set with ASU tomorrow, with puck drop scheduled for 6:00 p.m. with Brian Moos and Alexander Fern on the call. You can find that game online at KVSC.org or on the main airways 88.1 FM.