Beginning the weekend set with their first game of the season against a non-ranked opponent, the Arizona State Sun Devils topped New Hampshire, then followed up that performance with a close game against powerhouse Boston College.
The first nine games of the season for ASU’s NCAA DI hockey team were rough in nearly every aspect. They escaped with a 1-8 record, facing ranked teams in Notre Dame, Air Force, Northeastern, Harvard and Michigan. After being outscored, out-skated and simply outplayed, many questioned coach Greg Powers and the schedule that he had created for his team.
However, Saturday’s game against New Hampshire put on display the talents of the Sun Devils in their first full season, where they pulled away with their second victory of the season, the first on the road. The 5-4 victory in overtime was the momentum Arizona State then needed to position themselves for a big game against the No. 3 team in the nation in Boston College. There, they were able to hold there own and leave New England on a relatively high note, despite the 3-1 loss.
In the first five weeks of the season, the Arizona State Sun Devils struggled to keep up with their opponents on the ice and stay out of the penalty box, two things that were not factors in the team’s second win of the season.
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Game 1: Saturday, November 12th vs New Hampshire
David Norris started the scoring in the back-and-forth game, netting a goal at 10:15 in the first, on an assist from freshman Tyler Busch. This goal was Norris’ first of the season. The lead was not for long though, as the Wildcats quickly tied things up just over a minute and a half later.
The score stayed locked at 1-1 for the next 24 minutes, through the end of the first period and well into the second, with the tie being broken by New Hampshire with less than five minutes to go in the middle period on a Brendan Van Riemsdy goal that barely got past senior goalie Robert Levin.
Arizona State, however, soon tied the game back up, as they were able to take advantage of the power play, something the team has struggled with all season. After New Hampshire was able to kill their first two penalties, both interference calls, the Devils were quick to act the third time around, with Brinson Pasichnuk scoring what would be his first of two goals of the game while UNH’s Adam Clark looked on from the penalty box. Pasichnuk’s goal was scored just nine seconds into the one-man advantage for ASU.
Despite what the score may tell, Arizona State controlled the first two periods. They successfully killed three penalties, scored first and tied the game up within minutes of the 1-1 score being broken in the second period.
Just over a minute into the final 20 minutes of the game, junior David Norris was called for tripping and UNH Wildcat Michael McNicholas was able to capitalize, capturing a power play goal that was followed approximately 40 seconds later with another score, this time on even strength and from the stick of Shane Eiserman.
Down 4-2, things looked bleak for the Sun Devil squad. But with nearly 17 minutes left to play in the game, Arizona State’s men did not give up. Jordan Masters made his return to the ice felt, closing the gap on the New Hampshire lead just over three minutes after UNH’s second goal of the period. On the assist from Anthony Coston, sophomore Masters scored in his season debut, putting the score at 4-3.
The game would remain at 4-3 until the final minutes of the game when Jakob Stridsberg took a shot from the point that made it through a slew of Wildcat players and into the top of the net. This was Stridsberg’s second goal of the season, the first coming against Notre Dame in a similar game, one where ASU entered the final 20 minutes tied up at 2.
This game-tying shot sent the Sun Devils into their first overtime game of the season. This first would not last long, as an icing call quickly put the puck in the ASU offensive zone. A series of crisp passes from the likes of Robbie Baillargeon, Wade Murphy, Nicholas Gushue and Dylan Hollman, combined with a shot off the pads of UNH goalie Adam Clark, put Brinson Pasichnuk in the perfect position on the far side of the goal to secure the first NCAA win for senior goaltender Robert Levin.
The exciting win just 56 seconds into overtime play propelled Arizona State into Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts to face off against Boston College on Sunday in front of a crowd of 4,400.
Game 2: Sunday, November 13th vs Boston College
While the Sun Devils were able hold themselves to only eight penalties on the weekend, four in each game, time in the box proved costly on Sunday, unlike on Saturday. The difference in the loss to Boston College was two goals, a game where ASU allowed two goals while on the penalty kill.
80 seconds into the game, Joe Lappin was called for interference, but only sent 24 seconds sitting by his lonesome, as Boston College used experience to their advantage and Colin White quickly put the Eagles ahead 1-0. Jordan Masters was able to make null of the goal and tie the game up, scoring his second goal of the weekend, in his second game of the season with 3:13 to play in the first period.
After Robert Levin was given the start against New Hampshire, coach Greg Powers turned to freshman Joey Daccord against Boston College. Daccord, who has seen more time on the ice than any other ASU goalie this season, made 38 saves on the afternoon, all while allowing only 3 goals to one of the nation’s best teams.
In the second period, the team was called for two penalties, however they overlapped, the second of the two being the big blow to the team. The second Eagles goal of the day was scored by freshman David Cotton while ASU was shorthanded, 5 minutes and 15 seconds into the second period as Robert Levin looked on from the penalty box. BC pulled away for good in the third, as Chris Calnan scored the only even-strength goal for the Eagles all game, with just under three minutes to play in the contest.
Arizona State Hockey: Weekend Wrap-Up and Notes
In some aspects, specifically special teams, the weekend was rough for the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Sun Devils has 10 opportunities with power plays, five in each game, however there was only one instance where they were successful on the power play, with that instance coming on Saturday. The team was 0-5 on power play opportunities on Sunday afternoon, a day where they could have used them in a close 3-1 game that few expected to be as tight as it was.
In addition, Arizona State struggled while on the penalty kill, with one shorthanded goal allowed in the first game of the weekend and two being allowed on Sunday. The seven penalty kill situations saw ASU allow three goals, with the last two being the difference in their loss to the Boston College Eagles.
While the special teams units continued to have issues, there were many positives from the weekend as well. Only eight penalties were called on the Sun Devils, a substantial improvement for the country’s most penalized team.
Jordan Masters made his return to the ice after an impressive freshman year, making his presence known and scoring goals in his first two games of the season. The five goals scored by ASU on Saturday against New Hampshire tied their season high of goals scored in a game, as they also nettled five against Air Force back on October 16th.
In goal, Robert Levin picked up his first win on Saturday and Joey Daccord saved 93% of the shots that flew his way on Sunday.
Most importantly, however, the Sun Devils picked up their first road win of the season, their second win of the year and fought hard in a game against one of the best collegiate hockey programs in history. They held their own against Boston College, battling all game long and making it a much closer game than anyone could have predicted.
Arizona State will continue to do battle with ranked opponents next weekend as they take on Penn State on Friday and Saturday in University Park, Pennsylvania. The Sun Devils (2-9-0) will take on the Nittany Lions (9-1-1) for the first time ever as they close out their 4-game road stretch.