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ASU Hockey: Sun Devils lose 3-1, split series with Alabama-Huntsville

By Michael Gutnick

TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky performs on the field during the fourth quarter of the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky performs on the field during the fourth quarter of the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) /
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ASU hockey fell 3-1 Saturday night versus Alabama-Huntsville, missing out on a chance to sweep their first NCAA home series in program history.

Arizona State (2-6-2) sought their first sweep of season, but Alabama-Huntsville (2-6-0) had stopped that from happening with a physically challenging victory by a score of 3-1 at Oceanside Ice Arena.

Once again, the penalty kill was a key factor that swayed the momentum throughout the game. ASU and UAH combined for 16 penalties and a total of 35 minutes in the box, including a five-minute infraction for boarding by Sun Devil sophomore right winger Steenn Pasichnuk. Head Coach Greg Powers spoke after the game about the tremendous amount of penalties called on the ice.

“I think that [the officials] could have let a little bit go more both ways. It almost seemed like they are just trying to impose themselves on the game. It’s annoying. It is what it is,” replied Powers.

The Sun Devils were successful on the penalty kill for the most part. They surrendered only one goal on five chances on the man-advantage for the Chargers and it came with four seconds left on a 5-on-3 opportunity.

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Chargers center Brennan Saulnier scored his fourth goal of the season with a nice feed from his alternate captain Kurt Gosselin, which gave the Alabama-Huntsville a lead of 2-1 at the 14:32 mark of the second period.

The Chargers dominated offensively during the first 40 minutes of play as they outshot ASU 27-8. Keeping the score within reach, a big contribution to the Sun Devils night was sophomore goalie Joey Daccord. Daccord gave his thoughts about his performance in net.

“I played well. It was a tough loss. We were right there. I just gotta find a way to make another save or two” said the Sun Devil goaltender.

Daccord stopped 30 of 32 shots on goal for a save percentage of .940. However, his competition on the other side of the ice was just even better. Chargers goalie Jordan Uhelski made 18 saves on 19 shot attempts from the Sun Devils.

The lone goal for Arizona State came on the fourth power play of the evening as sophomore defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk skated up the middle and wristed the puck passed the glove to give ASU a brief lead in the second period.

Less than two minutes later, the Chargers quickly responded. UAH defenseman Cam Knight picked up a scrambling puck at the Sun Devil blue line.

Chargers capitalized on the turnover and Gosselin perfectly passed to the open forward Christian Rajic, who flipped the puck backdoor past Daccord to tie the game at 1.

The Sun Devils tried to rally back in the third period. ASU clogged the shooting lanes, but could not find any clean looks on goal. Powers pulled his goalie for an extra attacker, but Alabama-Huntsville broke out and Charger senior Josh Kestner buried the empty-netter to seal the deal.

Next: ASU Hockey: Sun Devils win close home game vs. Alabama-Huntsville

The Sun Devils split the series with the Chargers and will get some well-needed rest as they get two weeks to prepare for a duel against Penn State at Gila River Arena.