Tempe AZ- Pues two goal night leads Arizona State to a big victory over Boston College

Arizona State Elite Club hockey team was back on the ice Saturday afternoon where they defeated BC 4-1. ASU 6’5 defensemen Liam Pues stepped up with 2 goals, one on the power play and one at even strength.

“I’m a big net front presence, grabbing lose pucks and winning battles in the corner really helps. I credit my teammates for putting me in a position to succeed.” Pues said following the victory.

Coda Engbar got ASU on the board 4:52 into the game with assists from Wes Starr and Ryan Francis. Pues would get his first of the game 1:41 later with assists from Aidan Ward and Daniel Gowens.

BC goalie Michael Pigula (3-10-0) stopped 34 of 38 over the course of the game while ASU goaltender Lucas Felbel (12-2-0) stopped 30 of 31 shots for his 12th win of the season.

“Our guys did a good job of keeping the puck on the outside and limiting second chance opportunities by clogging the middle. It made tracking the puck a lot easier.”

Felbel said, who has played over 800 minutes for ASU this season and has a current save percentage of .923.

Gowens would cap off the three-goal first period at the 5:03 mark with a wrist shot from the right circle with assists by Steven Casaceli and John Randall. 

“It was a strong first period but the team really coasted the rest of the way. It wasn’t our best effort but hopefully we can come back tomorrow and play a full sixty minutes.” ASU coach Dennis Leclair said after the game.

ASU has been on a roll since late November winning 18 straight games and is currently ranked #2 in the country.

Boston College came into the game with a record of 5-13-2 and is currently ranked number 6 out of the east.

“We’ve been looking forward to this trip all year, we’re trying to make it into the playoffs and we really wanted to make a statement against the number one team in the west.” Boston College defensemen Ciaran Cleary said following the loss.

BC’s lone goal came on the power play with only 2:02 left in the third period by Anthony Modica with assists from Ciaran Cleary and Cole Bahdon. 

The two teams will meet again tomorrow morning for the second and final meeting 11:15am at Oceanside arena in Tempe.