ASU Hockey: Sun Devils come up short against Minutemen
ASU Hockey faced off against UMass-Amherst on Saturday night as the Minutemen stole a 4-2 win in the second and final game of the series.
ASU hockey (1-1-0) struggled to keep up with the Minutemen throughout the game. UMass (1-1-0) found ways to play physical, crash the net and make plays.
“At the end of the day, we didn’t deserve to win that game. It’s that simple,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said. “UMass outplayed us. They played harder and they got rewarded. That’s how this game works.”
UMass freshman forward John Leonard buried the eventual game-winner just over nine minutes into the third period. Niko Rufo had the assist, and he also put in the empty net goal for UMass in the last minute of the game.
Both teams struggled on the power play in Saturday’s battle. The Sun Devils and Minutemen only found offensive production at even strength.
“They just didn’t have it going tonight,” Powers said. “At the end of the day, we were 0-for-4 on the power play. They were 0-for-4 on the power play. So, we didn’t technically lose the special teams battle per say, but we tell our guys usually if you score one, you have a really good chance to win, and if you score a couple, you’re going to win.”
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The Sun Devils had a hard time scoring because the Minutemen were blocking shots all night. ASU only put 24 total shots on UMass freshman goaltender Matt Murray.
“We gotta get our shots through,” Powers said. “The one thing that UMass did really, really well tonight was buying in to blocking shots and getting into shot lanes, and they ate a lot of pucks. It frustrated our guys I think.”
The Minutemen got the scoring going in the first period when freshman forward Jake Gaudet tucked in a rebound just over the right pad of ASU sophomore goaltender Joey Daccord.
Just over a minute later, Johnny Walker earned his first official collegiate goal and ASU’s first of the game. Walker came down in the low slot, received a pass from Joey Raats, and wristed the puck past Murray.
“It was a good experience,” Walker said about his first NCAA weekend. “It would’ve been real nice to get the win tonight. I know that’s something we wanted to check off was a home sweep but we will have more opportunities this year.”
In the second period, Joey Daccord made a huge save off a Minutemen two-on-one rush. However, no Sun Devils came on the back check and junior Brett Boeing found the rebound and sent a pass right in front to Griff Jeszka who buried it for a 2-1 lead.
“He made some big saves,” Powers said about Daccord. “He really held us in it.”
The captains line was back at it again for ASU. Louie Rowe intercepted a pass in neutral ice, passed the puck over to Anthony Croston and he went to work putting a pretty back-hand shot upstairs to tie the game 2-2. Croston now has three points on the season.
Next: ASU Hockey: Sun Devils Outlast Minutemen in Season Opener
The Sun Devils will travel to Colorado to take on the No. 17 Air Force Falcons next weekend, Oct. 13-14, in a two-game series.