The No. 13 Arizona Wildcats (1-0-0-0) defeated the San Diego State Aztecs (0-3-0-0) by a score of 6-1 to complete the two-game sweep.
“We’re competing,” head coach Dean Wilson said. “We’ve got to learn to recover when we give up a bad goal. We need to press harder, and that’s just a mental thing.”
Arizona defeated SDSU 7-0 the previous night as forward Dylan Walker led the way with a goal and two assists.
The first half of the opening frame was some of SDSU’s best hockey they have played in the young season, as they limited chances with junior goaltender Brody Hsiao making big saves and creating scoring opportunities of their own.
Aztec junior defenseman Sean Yeo cross-checked Wildcat forward Riley Ruh into the boards from behind to earn the game’s first penalty. SDSU killed all four penalties in the series opener and carried that momentum over into the second game with another successful kill. Both Hsiao and the Aztec penalty killers came up big, keeping the puck out of the net.
“We work in practice a lot with the penalty kill and blocking shots,” Wilson said. “I think we blocked more shots this weekend than we did in the previous year. With a skilled team, we’ve just got to work hard, and if they have a chance, it’s got to be one and done. There can’t be a second or third chance.”
After 20 minutes of play, there was no score with a 14-7 shot advantage in favor of Arizona.
The Aztec penalty kill faced an early test with a high-sticking call on freshman forward Garion Barber 44 seconds into the period. With 30 seconds left on the kill, the Aztecs drew a high-sticking penalty to turn the power play to four-on-four.
On the ensuing power play, Wildcat defenseman Mateo Picozzi headbutted Aztec junior forward Zach Stroozas, which is a five-minute major and disqualification penalty that kicks him out of the game. Per ACHA rules, the disqualification penalty suspends him for the next game. Stroozas was given a two-minute penalty on the play.
Five minutes into the period, the Wildcats struck first on a perfectly placed shot from forward Reed Gramlich to open the scoring.
After the Aztecs had another power play opportunity, junior forward and assistant captain Brandon Grant tied the game with his second goal of the season just under seven minutes into the period.
Arizona broke the ice yet again 17 minutes into the period as a point shot from defenseman Nicholas Chiocca went past Hsiao to give them a 2-1 lead.
After SDSU senior forward Michael Chua was called for an elbowing penalty, Arizona scored on the power play with eight seconds left in the period to increase their lead to 3-1.
The Aztecs faced a 3-1 deficit going into the second intermission as they were playing some of their best hockey they’ve played in the young season. However, the third period has been a challenge for the Aztecs as they have been outscored 12-0 in the first three games.
The third-period woes did not get any better as Arizona forwards Tim Tychonick and Jack Kurrley both scored two quick insurance goals to increase their lead to 5-1.
With a little over a minute remaining, forward Wyatt Stefan, son of former NHL forward Patrik Stefan, scored Arizona’s sixth goal of the game on a breakaway after SDSU failed to convert a breakaway of their own.
The game ended with a 6-1 Arizona victory over San Diego State. The Wildcats improve to 2-0-0-0, while the Aztecs fall to 0-4-0-0.
“We’re just trying to build off the positives,” Wilson said. “We tied a period, and we lost the period by one. So we got to figure out how to win a period. We’ll be good to go.
The Scarlet and Black play No. 21 Arizona State University next in a two-game away series on Oct. 10 and 11.
