A few hours after Michigan Tech used a three-goal first period to best Boston College, the Arizona State Sun Devils did the same against Northern Michigan.

But those three points would turn out to be just a fraction of their point total from the first day of the inaugural Ice Vegas Invitational, where physicality and speed led the way.

The Sun Devils played in front of what was virtually a home crowd as they downed the Wildcats, 7-3, on Friday night.

RING THE BELL!@TheSunDevils defeat Northern Michigan & will play in the @IceVegasInv Championship tomorrow vs. @mtuhky at 8:30 p.m. PT! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/ZPyH3IEWIK

— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) January 6, 2018

Dylan Hollman got the Sun Devils on the board just under five minutes into the game. Junior Anthony Croston made it 2-0 quickly afterward.

Northern Michigan pulled starting netminder Atte Tolvanen following the goal, but Mathias Israelsson didn’t fare much better in relief. Croston added his second of the period less than two minutes later, scoring a power-play goal just 29 seconds into Arizona State’s first-man advantage to make it 3-0.

The Wildcats turned it on in the second period, controlling most of the play. But aside from a James Vermeulen wrist shot, the Sun Devils’ netminder Joey Daccord was up to the task on every shot.

The sophomore was on his game, making everything look easy. He robbed several Northern Michigan players on the doorstep and turned away the few rebounds he allowed.

Starting the third period with a 5-on-3 for 1:53, Louie Rowe made it 4-1 with just one second remaining on the two-man advantage. With just over 13 minutes remaining, Gage Hough made it 5-1 with a quick shot over Israelsson’s right shoulder. Hough added another a few minutes later to boost the score to 6-1 with another shot from the right of Israelsson.

OK, that’s it. I’m out.

If @SunDevilHockey gets any hotter, I’m afraid they’ll burn down the arena.

They just scored TWO MORE TIMES.

ASU leads @NMUHockey 6-1 ? pic.twitter.com/kD3qDCvkUY

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) January 6, 2018

NMU’s Robbie Payne scored his league-leading 17th of the season to cut the lead to 6-2. Teammate Darien Craighead tapped in a rebound to make it a three-goal game as the Wildcats attempted to scratch their way back into the game.

Arizona State's Brinson Pasichnuk offered a snappy retort to chalk up another point for the Sun Devils, making the score 7-3 just moments later.

GOOOAL!@brindogboy gets his goal earlier taken away, but he makes up for it for his third point (2 assists) of the game! #SunDevils lead 7-3 with just over 2 minutes left! #ForksUp #IceVegas pic.twitter.com/JQPOaMCHql

— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) January 6, 2018

The Sun Devils’ seven-goal opening game in Las Vegas was a significant upgrade from their last-place finish at the Three Rivers Classic last weekend, and should give them quite a lift of confidence for the next part of the tournament.

Arizona State will battle Michigan Tech at 11:30 PM EST tomorrow for the first-ever Ice Vegas Invitational title. Northern Michigan will face Boston College for a consolation game at 8 PM.

By Jacob Messing

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