Sun Devils Shut Out No. 2 McKendree for Highest-Ranked Win in Program History

November 22, 2024 –  Parker Beh 

TEMPE – The Arizona State women’s hockey team (6-3-1-0) rewrote its history books on Thursday night: ASU earned its highest-ranked win, over No. 2 McKendree University (14-3-1-0). After falling to the Bearcats 3-2 earlier in the season, the Sun Devils secured a 3-0 victory in the first game of a two-game series at the Mountain America Community Iceplex (MACI). 

“I’m proud of them – it’s finally starting to click,” Arizona State head coach Lindsey Ellis said. “I think we found the right line combinations and they’re playing to their potential. I knew they had it and that’s why we were getting frustrated in certain games, and today they showed it.”
 
ASU junior goalie Quinn Eatinger posted a 30-save shutout in her return between the pipes after missing the last two games with a concussion. 

“I felt great. I had been symptom-free for a week, and today it was like can I get cleared? Can I play?” Eatinger said about her return to the ice. “I had been feeling great in practice all week, and finally put it to the test.”

“That’s the Quinn we saw at nationals,” Ellis said, referencing Eatinger’s 70-save performance against Liberty University last season. “That’s the Quinn we need for the rest of the season. I was happy with the performance, and I know it will continue.”

Sun Devils’ sophomore defenseman Hannah Kunz opened the scoring at the 13:16 mark of the first period. The left-hander’s shot from the left-wing faceoff circle made its way through traffic in front of the Bearcats’ net. Now, Kunz leads all Arizona State defensemen in points, with seven in 10 games. 

“She’s been great, she’s definitely stepped up a little bit more leadership recently,” Eatinger said. “She’s a sophomore, and she’s going to be a great upperclassman.” 

From then on, ASU’s new faces on the team generated the next two goals. Fourteen minutes into the second period, freshman forward Kylie Brown potted her fourth goal of the season. Freshman defenseman Gracie Bagnall-Dubras fed a pass from the left point to the inner area of the right-wing faceoff circle to Brown. The right-handed shot wristed one past McKendree junior goalie Rachel Staresinic on the low glove side. 

With 4:41 to go in the second frame, Sun Devils’ freshman defenseman Claire Bolen and senior defenseman Elle McKenna made trips to the sin bin roughly 40 seconds apart from each other. Ellis sent out senior forwards Sam Murphy and Syndey Paulsen along with Kunz to start the five-on-three penalty kill. Arizona State killed McKendree’s man advantage; the Bearcats were scoreless on their four power plays in the game. 

“We didn't chase. That’s a big one,” Kunz said about what went well defensively. “I think when we get caught chasing, and then when that puck comes down, we get out of position. Then that’s how you can get the rebound and the shot off of it. So I think I was holding position and making sure not to over-pressure on them.”

Not even a minute into the third period, ASU freshman forward Taylor Bierlmeier recorded her third goal in the past three games. The right-handed shot tipped home sophomore forward Lula Swanson’s shot from the slot, putting her side up 3-0. 

“She just keeps getting better and better every single game, and more confident,” Ellis said of Beirlmeier. “She is not afraid to go to the net and it shows. She doesn’t care if it’s pretty or anything like that – she just wants it in the net.”

Kunz added that Bierlmeier’s humbleness and level-headed mindset have helped her this season. The Calgary, Alberta, native shared the team’s vibe after the win.

“I think the team is, like, super excited about it,” Kunz said. “We knew we could take them, so it’s not like a big surprise to us. Everybody went out there and gave it their all. What can you expect but a win?”

Other than the historic win for the Sun Devils, it marked freshman forward Makena Ducklow’s debut in the maroon, gold and white. She played a fourth-line role with junior Evelyn Olson and freshman Paige Brien. 

“I think it was great. I think she had to shake out the nerves a little bit,” Ellis said. “I think it was great for her to get some touches on the ice. She even had a great forecheck at the end of the game to gain possession, and the entire bench was like going crazy for her. So we like that.”

Ellis touched on the potential of the team.

“I think the potential with such a young group as 16 freshmen on the team, I can only imagine what it’s going to continue to grow the older they get,” Ellis said. “I think this is such a great starting point for us to just kind of keep going from here.”

Arizona State will look to sweep its two-game series against McKendree today with puck drop set for 7:30 p.m. MST at the MACI. 

Happy with the win, Kunz gave her thoughts on how her side could earn another win today.

“Just got to keep the energy up. We can’t get comfortable with the win for sure. Sometimes we feel like we’re a confident team. We go, oh, we are a better team and we let up on it, which we absolutely can’t do,” Kunz said. “We have to bring it like we did today. And that’s the reason we were so hard on that forecheck is that we had something to prove, and I don’t want us to get hooked on the fact that we’ve proved it like we can keep doing it, and we got to keep it up.”


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