ASU Hockey: Sun Devils ties Wisconsin-Eau Claire, drops shootout 4-3

The Arizona State Sun Devils welcomed Division III Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Friday for the first of a two game series that kicked off the final six games of the season, all of which will be in the state of Arizona.

When 60 minutes wasn't enough, the Sun Devils and Blugolds needed overtime to decide this one.

And even that wasn't enough.

While the game officially goes down as a tie, Wisconsin Eau-Claire took it down in a shootout, 4-3.

"It is what it is," said ASU coach Greg Powers. "We tied them tonight and they're a Division 3 team, but they're a very good Division 3 team that is an establish program and has an established culture, a lot of old guys."

The first period was bit of testing the waters for both teams in the early going, especially for the Sun Devils. The Blugolds were very aggressive with their forecheck, heavilyapplying the pressure on the Sun Devils' ability to breakout of their own zone.

After getting their legs under them, ASU's offense began to form, which culminated with a Nick Gushue blast that found its way into the back of the net.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire responded a little over six minutes later with a power-play goal from Garrett Clemment after a Matt Kennedy tripping penalty.

In the second period, the Blugolds put themselves in front with a goal from Mac Jansen. The Sun Devils had two power play opportunities, but weren't able to capitalize on either. They got a third power play as the second period was closing, but didn't capitalize before the horn sounded.

The final frame saw the Sun Devils tie it up right after their power play ended when Joey Raats kept a puck in and made a shot-pass to Ryan Belonger who put the puck home to tie it at two. Clemment scored his second of the game to put Wisconsin-Eau Claire back in front, but the Sun Devils wouldn't go down fighting.

Joe Lappin scored the game-tying goal, forcing the game into overtime.

Overtime was a back-and-forth contest with both teams generating chances, but nothing finding the back of the net. The shootout went seven rounds, with the Blugolds taking it down.

"We need to score more than three," Powers said. "Generally, when we've score three or more,we've won. We should score more."

The Sun Devils will get a chance to get this game back, as these two teams will meet again tomorrow night at Oceanside.