Kylie Brown and Quinn Eatinger Carry No. 14 Sun Devils Past No. 4 Midland

January 24, 2025 - Parker Beh

TEMPE, Ariz. – From Torino, Italy, to Tempe, Arizona, Sun Devil freshman forward Kylie Brown and junior goalie Quinn Eatinger teamed up to take down the No. 4 Midland University Warriors (17-5-1-0), by a score of 2-1. The No. 14 Arizona State Sun Devils (7-4-2-0) earned their third win against a ranked opponent on home ice this season. 

Five Sun Devils and their head coach, Lindsey Ellis, returned from Torino earlier this week after representing Team USA in the 2025 World University Games. 

“It was an unbelievable experience to be able to represent your country,” Ellis, who served as the United States’ head coach said. “There’s nothing better than having the red, white and blue in front of you.”

Without Brown, Eatinger, senior forward Sydney Paulsen, sophomore forward Lula Swanson and senior defenseman Elle McKenna in its previous game against the No. 15 Michigan State University Spartans (11-3-2-0), ASU’s depth put up a fight in a 6-4 loss. 

In the first game of a two-game tilt against the Warriors, the Sun Devils were outshot 50-24. Eatinger erased 49 shots from entering the back of her net. 

“She’s impressive. She’s a great goalie,” Brown said of her teammate, who boasts a 2.58 goals against average (GAA) and a .920 save percentage (SV%). “I have no idea what any of us would do without her. I know all of us have her back, and she’s always got ours. ”

Arizona State’s two goals in the game came on the power play. Brown has now recorded four goals in three games. Ellis believes playing against the nation’s best players elevated her game. 

A Thursday night face-off between two ranked teams delivered 10 penalties, physical play and a broken helmet to ASU junior forward Breanne Powell after a collision in the third period. 

“Absolutely 100%, I think it’s fun to play that way,” Brown said of the chippy tone to the contest. “It’s fun to play physical and to play tough and fast over soft any day.”

The right-handed shot opened the scoring nearly six minutes into the first period. Brown floated a shot through traffic from the left-wing faceoff circle that beat Midland sophomore goalie Meghan Stewart’s blocker. Sun Devil freshman defenseman Kate Streek secured the first of her two assists on the night with the primary assist – this marks the first multi-point game of her career. 

Both sides traded goals in the second frame. Warrior senior forward Sky Thompson’s fourth goal of the season made its way through Eatinger’s 5-hole. Thompson’s shot from the slot area came at the 6:48 mark. 

ASU’s eventual game-winning goal came with under 10 ticks to go in the second period. On its fourth power-play opportunity, Arizona State sophomore forward Paige Ring reached Brown at the back post from the left-wing faceoff circle. The pass went through a Midland defender, leading to a Brown tap-in. 

Despite being outshot by more than double their own, the Sun Devils allowed the Warriors to take a majority of their shots from the perimeter. Eatinger and her defensemen negated most second-chance opportunities in their crease.  

“I think we use our speed to our advantage,” Ellis said on what needs to change in today’s game. “I think there was a slight deer in the headlights moment. These are games why we went independent. We had to play hard, physical games. This is what a national tournament team looks like.”

ASU takes the ice again against Midland today with puck drop set for 4:35 p.m. MST at the Mountain America Community Iceplex.

“We need to stay focused. They’re angry. They’re mad,” Eatinger said about the Warriors. “They thought they were going to come in here and walk all over us. That’s just not what happened. We’re not a team that gets walked on like that. So we need to come in strong and they’re really physical, but we just need to match that.”

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