Ty Murchison scored two goals and Ben Kraws had 23 saves to lead Arizona State to a 5-2 victory over Colorado College Friday night at Ed Robson Arena.
 
Murchison opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal 5:59 into the contest. The puck took an awkward bounce off a CC player behind the Tiger net and floated into the slot. Benji Eckerle collected it and found Murchison, who placed it past CC goalie Matt Vernon.
 
The Tigers evened things up at 1-1 when Hunter McKown scored his fourth goal of the season at the 6:57 mark of the second period. McKown sent a pass from behind the net to a streaking Matthew Gleason. Gleason got a stick on the puck, and as it sailed towards the net, McKown knocked it out of midair past Kraws.
 
Ethan Szmagaj gave the Sun Devils (10-9-0) the lead for good at the 12:34 mark of the middle frame. A pass from Matthew Kopperud hit off a CC defenders skate right to Szmagaj, who sent a wrister from the top of the right circle through Vernon's legs for a 2-1 lead.
 
Murchison took advantage of another CC turnover in its defensive zone and scored an unassisted goal from the high slot with 3:30 left in the second period to make it 3-1.
 
The Tigers (3-11-3) cut the lead to one when Logan Will took a pass from Danny Weight and scored a power-play goal from the high slot at the 7:41 mark of the third period. The Tigers had another power-play opportunity later in the final frame, but could not score the equalizer.
 
"We earned our power plays in the third period," acting head coach Peter Mannino said. "We moved our feet better. They got a little sloppy and we made them pay. We have to do that more often and put them in awkward positions."
 
Mannino is the Tigers' acting head coach this weekend as head coach Kris Mayotte is serving as an assistant for Team USA at the World Junior Championships, which begin on Dec. 26 in Red Deer, Alberta.
 
Colin Theisen scored a pair of empty-net goals in the final minute for Arizona State.
 
Vernon finished with a season-high 31 saves, while McKown equaled his career high with six shots.
 
The teams will battle on Saturday, Dec. 18, in the final game of the 2021 calendar year, beginning at 6 p.m (MT).