Notre Dame’s No.16 hockey scores with five seconds left to edge ASU No.20

Notre Dame’s No.16 hockey scored three goals in the third period on Friday, including the game-winning goal with five seconds left for a 5-4 win over No.20 Arizona State.

Nick Leiverman scored at 19:55 of the third, completing Rally Ireland after a 4-2 deficit after the second period.

ASU (3-4-1) scored all of their goals in the second period while Notre Dame (3-3) scored the only two goals in the first period.

The Sun Devils’ three-game winning streak, all against nationally ranked teams, has come to an end.

Freshman Matthew Kopperud scored two goals and an assist for the second game in a row. Jordan Sandhu and Ryan O’Reilly also scored for the Sun Devils.

With six goals, Kopperud is tied for first nationally with Cole Caulfield of Wisconsin.

The Irish finished with a 47-37 lead even though they were outscored 19-4 in the second period. Freshman Cole Brady was in the goal for ASU.

The Sun Devils went 1 of 4 on the power play, scoring on Kopperud’s second goal. Notre Dame was 0 to 1 with a male advantage.

ASU initially planned to return after the Notre Dame series, but will continue their extended road trip for games at Penn State (1-5) on December 11 and 13 and in Ohio State on December 17-18.

ASU # 20 hockey starts quickly for third consecutive victory at Notre Dame # 16

The Arizona state’s No.20 hockey scored twice in the opening two minutes Thursday night and held on for a 6-3 win at Notre Dame’s No.16.

ASU (3-3-1) won a third straight game against an opponent from the Big Ten and placed the team on the road for the first time in school history. The Sun Devils also earned their first victory against Notre Dame after losing twice in an opening series in the 2016-17 season. They swept last week at No. 14 Wisconsin.

“What I’m most proud of is that as the game progresses we got better defensively,” said ASU coach Greg Powers. “We did what we had to do. We weren’t doing this first period. As the game progressed we were more disciplined and so much smarter with the puck. This is how you close the games.

“We are now where we are and have enough confidence to not just get one (win), especially this season. In normal season you want a road split. We don’t have that luxury, we have to do sweeps on the road. Every game is a tournament game for us as always, but this year we are all on the road. “

Freshman Ryan O’Reilly scored 11 seconds into the game, taking the first face-off at the net and beating goaltender Ryan Bischel. Freshman Matthew Kopperud made it 2-0 at 1:55, and the Irish (2-3) spent the rest of the game chasing but not even shooting.

“It could have been our second game scoring the first goal,” Kopperud said. “It gives you a lot more confidence, you can just keep going. They were all over us, but we had a solid two-goal cushion. They were always trying to catch up.

Notre Dame has scored three times – 2-1 and 3-2 in the first period and 4-3 in the second. Kopperud took a shot past Bischel at 9:06 of the third for 5-3, then Jax Murray added a goal into an empty net at 5:23 pm for his second straight two-goal game.

Demetrios Koumontzis had one goal and two assists, playing in the third row with Kopperud, who also had an assist in addition to his two goals, and Jordan Sandhu (an assist) who has always been very productive against Wisconsin.

“When you lose your top player (Johnny Walker) and top scorer in the country, there are a few things you have to understand,” Powers said. “The beauty of this thing is that we’re playing really well right now and our top vets are going to score, but they’re not scoring right now. We’re getting the production from guys that we knew they could do. This makes the team hard to beat when every line is a threat to the score. “

Game 2 of the series takes place Friday at 5 p.m. at the Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Indiana, with television coverage on NBC Sports Network.

The ASU will be releasing its faux-back uniforms based on the undefeated equipment of the 1975 Sun Devil football team. The ASU football team wears a 75 return uniform against UCLA on Saturday.

Contact the reporter at jeff.metcalfe@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-80 Follow him on Twitter @jeffmetcalfe.

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Catherine J. Martinez