Sun Devils Hold Off River Hawks 5–4 in Thrilling Friday Night Matchup

It was Homecoming weekend at UMass Lowell, setting the stage for a two-game home series at the Tsongas Center between the River Hawks and the visiting Arizona State Sun Devils. Friday night marked the seventh all-time meeting between the programs and the fifth at the Tsongas Center. Prior to puck drop, the River Hawks held a 2–0–0 record at home against the Sun Devils and a 2–2–0 record on the road. High-scoring affairs have defined the series history, with at least one team scoring four or more goals in all six previous matchups.

The netminders for Friday’s contest were Samuel Urban for ASU (1–2–0, 3.03 GAA, .902 SV%) and Austin Elliott for UMass Lowell (1–1–0, 2.51 GAA, .909 SV%).

First Period: Fast Start for ASU, Quick River Hawk Response

The Sun Devils wasted no time establishing tempo, opening the scoring just 2:29 into the game. Daniel Shlaine beat Elliott from a sharp angle off the right-wing boards for his fourth goal of the season, with assists credited to Lukas Sawchyn and Lincoln Kuenne.

ASU quickly doubled its lead to 2–0 when Landon Hafele stuffed the puck past Elliott during a goalmouth scramble for his first tally of the year, assisted by Rylan Brown. The early two-goal deficit forced River Hawks head coach Norm Bazin to burn his timeout early to regroup his squad.

While the first eight minutes belonged entirely to Arizona State, UMass Lowell settled in and countered with back-to-back goals:

• 17:03: Tobias Pitka netted his first goal of the season on the power play to trim the deficit to 2–1. Chris Delaney set up the play by delivering a heavy open-ice hit inside the Sun Devil blue line, allowing the puck to find Pitka, who beat Urban with assists from Jak Vaarwerk and Delaney.
• 17:58: Less than a minute later, Jacob MacDonald buried a stuff shot for his first goal of the year off an assist from Dalyn Wakely, tying the game at 2–2.

The opening frame was a physical, hard-hitting period—highlighted by River Hawks defenseman Thomas Stewart getting checked directly into the ASU bench during the closing minutes. The Sun Devils held a 12–7 shot advantage after 20 minutes of play.

Fell just short. Onto game 2 ⏩

RECAP🔗: https://t.co/WCQkJ1TZyY

#UnitedInBlue | #HockeyEast https://t.co/qS4IEpPVHH

— UMass Lowell Hockey (@RiverHawkHockey) October 17, 2026

Second Period: Sun Devils Reclaim Control

Arizona State opened the second period on a carryover power play, though UML successfully killed it off to drop the Sun Devils to 1-for-3 on the man advantage.

With 2:09 remaining in the frame, ASU capitalized on its second power-play goal of the evening. Jack Beck collected a pass at the left point and fired a wrist shot past Elliott at 17:51 for his second goal of the season, assisted by blue-line partners Ben Muthersbaugh and Jonas Woo.

The Sun Devils carried that 3–2 lead into the second intermission. UMass Lowell outshot ASU 15–8 in the second period, building a 22–20 overall shot advantage through 40 minutes.

Third Period: ASU Survives Late River Hawk Surge

Trailing after two periods for the first time this season, UMass Lowell pushed back early in the third. Captain Jak Vaarwerk cut the lead to 3–2 with his second goal of the year, executing a smooth wrap-around from right to left to tuck the puck into an open net. Delaney provided the primary assist after doing the heavy lifting to control possession inside the ASU zone, giving both players two-point nights.

Arizona State answered back at 17:37 when Lukas Sawchyn broke free from the UML blue line and snapped a wrist shot past Elliott to extend the lead to 4–2. The breakaway strike gave Sawchyn a two-point night (one goal, one assist), with assists credited to Dade Littler and Richard Baran.

Down 4–2 with under a minute remaining, the River Hawks made it tight. With 44.7 seconds left on the clock, Kuzma Voronin scored his first goal of the season to bring UML within one at 4–3. Assists went to Nate Misskey and Dalyn Wakely, securing a two-point performance for Wakely as well.

Despite the late pressure from UMass Lowell, the Sun Devils held firm in the final seconds to secure the 4–3 victory.

Game 1 Summary & Looking Ahead

Post-Game Reactions:

• ASU Head Coach David Hakstol: Expressed satisfaction with his team’s competitive level, energy, and ability to push back under pressure. Following Saturday’s series finale, the Sun Devils enter a bye week with six practices scheduled ahead of their next contest.
• UML Head Coach Norm Bazin: Expressed frustration over his team’s slow start and early timeout, noting that the River Hawks played far too little defense and failed to generate consistent pressure on the Sun Devils.

The two teams return to the Tsongas Center on Saturday night for Game 2, with puck drop scheduled for 6:00 PM ET.