Ryan Kirwan is Hockey's Clutch Finisher in Series Sweep of the Wildcats
MARQUETTE, MI – The Arizona State ice hockey team (3-4-1) went up north and collected a road sweep, complete with a 2-0 shutout victory for Gibson Homer against the Northern Michigan Wildcats (1-5-0) on Saturday night. On Saturday night at Berry Events Center, Ryan Kirwan continued to serve as ASU's clutch finisher. Kirwan tallied his second-game winning goal of the weekend to finish the series with three lamp-lighters.
Kirwan has scored six goals this season and all of them have come in the final five minutes of the third period. His two game-winning goals on the season came this weekend against Northern Michigan and ranks second in the NCAA. The two-goal night on Saturday is the seventh multi-goal game of Kirwan's career. His teams are 7-0-0 when he scores at least twice in a single game.
Kirwan's six goals is an eight-way tie for most goals in the country. The winger has taken 42 shots this season which leads all skaters in the NCAA.
Gibson Homer made his fifth start of the season and picked up a 22-save shutout – the second shutout of his NCAA career.
The 2-1 and 2-0 wins in the Upper Peninsula combine to become the first sweep for ASU this season and the first road sweep for the Sun Devils since Dec. 17-18, 2023 at Robert Morris.
Bennett Schimek jumped to a tie for team lead in points with 10 (5G, 5A) through eight games played. Noah Beck is tied with Schimek for points from one goal and nine assists. The duo is tied at ninth in the NCAA in points while Beck leads all defensemen in point-scoring across the country.
First period
Unlike Friday night's bout, the opening period was riddled with penalties in the Sun Devils' favor as the Wildcats were assessed three within the first 10 minutes of play. ASU mounted a strong offensive start with 13 shots on net while holding NMU to only five. Cullen Potter was also called for interference at the eight-minute mark.
Second Period
NMU turned up their offensive push in the middle frame with 14 shots on goal through 20 minutes. The Sun Devils gave up one power play opportunity after a tripping call was assessed to Benji Eckerle. ASU continued to lead the total shot chart, 25-19.
Third Period
Six minutes into the period, the ASU bench was called for too many men on the ice, giving NMU its second power play chance of the night. ASU continued to push the needle, putting up 13 shots on NMU's netminder. Once again with only three minutes remaining in regulation Ryan Kirwan scored the game-winning goal for the second-straight night with assists from Bennett Schimek and Sam Court. Two minutes later, Kirwan tallied an empty net goal with help from Kyle Smolen.
UP NEXT: The team enjoys an off-week over Nov. 1-2 before embarking on the third and final away series in the four-week road stint. ASU travels to fellow pod member Colorado College (3-0-0) on Nov. 8-9. The series will be ASU's first-ever conference games in program history after officially joining the National Collegiate Hockey Conference on July 1, 2024.