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SUN DEVILS SNAP LOSING STREAK
BY SCOTTY S. KEISER
TEMPE, AZ., November 27, 2023 — The Arizona State Sun Devils improved to 4-6-4 after a much needed 3-0 win over Providence Friars.
The victory snaps a four-game winless run that had dampened hopes of ASU making the postseason.
The Sun Devils scored twice in the second period with Ryan O’Reilly’s powerplay marker adding to Brandon Tabakin’s opener.
Ty Murchson closed out the win in the final seconds, with a short-handed empty-netter and Gibson Homer (3-4) recorded his first shutout of the season with 16 saves.
Friday night’s 2-1 loss to Providence resulted in coach Benjamin Ayala reshuffling ASU’s forward lines.
Center Luke Sillinger moved up to the top line with Ryan Alexander dropping to the second line. Ty Jackson returned to center the third line after missing the past four weeks recovering from a neck injury.
“We made some changes and I’m pleased we’ve picked up a win”, said Ayala post-game.
“We haven’t had the results we’ve wanted the past few weekends, but there hasn’t been much difference between us and the teams we’ve faced.
“We decided to freshen up our top-two lines a little and hope that gives us a lift.”
The Sun Devils start December with a weekend road visit to Colorado College (5-4-3).
AROUND THE NCAA…
Last week’s College Hockey Poll has Boston College (10-2-0), Princeton (5-1-0), RPI (8-2-0), Denver (9-2-1) and St Cloud State (8-1-3) occupying the top-five places. ASU are yet to feature in the top-20 this season.
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