Not only did No. 13-ranked Arizona State hockey lose its final two regular-season games by combined 10-3, it lost defenseman Jacob Wilson to suspension for two postseason games and took a hit from Minnesota’s coach for what he described as dirty play.
That’s when ASU coach Greg Powers had heard enough.
“We play hard, we play with a chip, we’re physical,” Powers said. “That’s our identity. We’re not dirty, but we play hard.”
So hard that the Sun Devils drew 15 penalties in the Minnesota series to five for the Gophers. Three ASU penalties were for kneeing, one of those on a play in which Gophers freshman Nathan Burke, a freshman forward from Scottsdale, suffered an injury.