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History Made in 3-1 Road Sweep of Big Ten's Wisconsin

by thesundevils.com
Nov 29, 2020

MADISON, Wisc.- The Sun Devils closed their trip to The Badger State with a win and new marks in the program's record book. In Sunday's matinee 3-1 win, Arizona State (2-3-1) collected two program firsts against Wisconsin (4-4-0) - a sweep of a USCHO.com Poll ranked team on the road and a sweep of a Big Ten team on the road for the first time in program history. 

Sophomore forward Jax Murray and freshman forward Matthew Kopperud sparked Arizona State's (2-3-1) offensive game, scoring the three goals for ASU, while junior goaltender Evan DeBrouwer held the Sun Devils together on defense, posting a .966 save percentage. 

"That's a legit sweep right there and I'm really proud of our guys," said head coach Greg Powers."That's probably our best road sweep as a program against a team that talented." 
 

Murray scored his two goals the day after recording his first collegiate point, as Kopperud also became the first freshman to score in consecutive games since Johnny Walker at Michigan on Feb. 23-24, 2018.

"It's a huge confidence booster knowing that we can score now; that everyone is starting to score and everyone is starting to roll," Kopperud reflected. "We have all four lines that are scoring goals which makes it a lot easier moving down the road." 

The Sun Devils will travel to South Bend, Indiana to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Thursday, December 3rd and Friday, December 4th at 5 P.M. MST on NHL Network and NBCSN. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

  • The Sun Devils killed off the power play as freshman forward Matthew Kopperud carried the puck over the blue line and netted a top shelf goal for the Sun Devils from the top of the circle. Senior defensemen Gvido Jansons earned the assist and his first point of the season. 
  • Sophomore forward Jax Murray scored his first collegiate goal and second point of the series to extend the lead to two at 17:57 in the first period. Senior forward Willie Knierim and junior defenseman Jarrod Gourley tallied the assist. 
  • Netminder Evan Debrouwer faced 12 shots by the Badger offense in the first period. 
  • Minutes into the second period, Wisconsin cut the lead in half with a bad bounce goal off the blade of a Badger skater. 
  • Halfway through the second period Murray scored off a shot from senior defenseman Jacob Wilson at the blue line giving him his first career multi-goal game and putting the Sun Devils ahead by two. 
  • Debrouwer stopped 16 out of 17 shots from the Badger offense through the second and third period to secure the win for the Devils.  

GAME NOTES:

  • The Sun Devils finished 0-for-3 on the powerplay and the Badgers went 0-for-1. Shots were 28-29. 
  • Junior netminder Evan Debrouwer put up a .966 save percentage with 28 saves on 29 shots for the Sun Devils. 
  • Last time ASU swept was at home vs. Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 14-15, 2020
  • The Sun Devils last swept on the road on Jan. 11-12, 2020 at Brown 
  • The last time the Sun Devils swept a ranked opponent while being unranked was Nov. 1-2, 2019 against No. 9 Quinnipiac at Oceanside Ice Arena. 
  • The last time the Sun Devils swept a Big Ten opponent was against Michigan State on Nov. 9-10, 2018 at home. 
  • Kopperud is the first freshman since senior forward Johnny Walker to score in consecutive games. 
  • This weekend is the first sweep of a Big Ten team on the road and the first road sweep of a ranked team in program history. 

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