Edwall comes up big after hard-luck loss
The Arizona men's club hockey team split its first home series of the season, winning 3-1 Saturday night over in-state rival ASU in the Tucson Convention Center Arena.
Freshman goaltender Nick Boddy was supposed to start Saturday, but sophomore Luke Edwall, coming off Friday's 3-2 loss, asked Icecats head coach Leo Golembiewski for a chance in the net instead.
A former goaltender himself, Golembiewski decided to give him the start, and Edwall turned out to be the deciding factor in the victory.
"I was extremely upset with (Friday) night," Edwall said. "I felt like it was unfinished business, and I wanted to come out here and show the guys, show Tucson, what I was all about."
Freshman forward Tom Connell iced the game with 1:35 left when he slapped the puck between ASU goaltender Colin Cook's legs for a 3-1 lead.
Penalties on Matt Conover and D.J. Pelletier left the Icecats (3-2) down two men for the final minute of the game, giving ASU (2-4) the opportunity to pull their goaltender and play six-on-three hockey for the rest of the game.
Edwall made many of his 51 saves in that span to preserve the outcome.
"He wanted me to play him, he wanted the puck," Golembiewski said. "The deciding factor in that game was Luke."
The physical play in Friday night's matchup spilled over to Saturday, as tempers flared and fans were treated to a few scrums typical of the teams' rivalry.
ASU dominated play early in the first period, gaining a 1-0 lead on an odd-man rush when Sun Devil sophomore Joe Ahern scored off a cross from senior Josh Grahn.
Wildcat sophomore forward Scott Marshall tied the game at one 8:36 into the second period on a goal that ignited the home crowd.
A fast pace marked Friday's game as the Icecats showed off their speed, out-shooting the Sun Devils 40-28.
Unfortunately for the Icecats, only two of those shots saw their way past the Sun Devils' 6-foot-4 senior goaltender.
"Cook is a heck of a goaltender, and he takes up a lot of space in the net," senior co-captain D.J. Pelletier said Friday.
The Icecats led 1-0 after the first period after a D.J. Pelletier goal with two minutes remaining. The Icecats out-shot the Sun Devils 12 to 6 in the first period.
Play grew more physical as the game went on. Five penalties were called in the second period, and the Sun Devils capitalized when forward Richard Ferroni scored off a rebound with a one-man advantage to even the score at one.
The Icecats took a 2-1 lead 30 seconds into the third period on a power play when freshman forward Robbie Nowinski slipped in a pass from senior Mike Pelletier.
Sun Devil captain Ray Corey evened the score six minutes into the third period on an odd-man rush.
The game stayed tied until Paul Chadwick scored the game-winner off a pass from defenseman Tony Biffignani with 1:15 remaining.
"Sometimes they fall your way, sometimes they don't," D.J. Pelletier said. "It just hurts more when it's ASU."