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ASU Hockey: Sun Devils host Princeton in first ever series meeting

By Michael Gutnick

TEMPE, AZ - NOVEMBER 14: The Arizona State Sun Devils mascot 'Sparky' performs during the college football game against the Washington Huskies at Sun Devil Stadium on November 14, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Huskies 27-17. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - NOVEMBER 14: The Arizona State Sun Devils mascot 'Sparky' performs during the college football game against the Washington Huskies at Sun Devil Stadium on November 14, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Huskies 27-17. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Coming off their first series win of the season, ASU hockey prepares for first matchup against Princeton in the program’s history at Oceanside Ice Arena.

Princeton Tigers

The Tigers travel to the Grand Canyon State with a 5-6-1 overall record in the Ivy League. Princeton holds the sixth-best scoring offense with an average of 3.50 goals per game and converts on the man-advantage 23.3 percent of the time, which stands as the 12th ranked power-play through 12 games this season. Sun Devils Head Coach Greg Powers stated how the Sun Devils will prepare for their aggressive offensive approach on the power-play.

“It’s important to stay disciplined and stay out of the box. They’re a well-coached, smart team,” Powers said. “They are going to be a really fast, good skating team. We have them in our barn, so hopefully we can bobble them up.”

Arizona State Penalty Kill

Despite a lack in potent scoring lines, the ASU’s penalty kill stands out as one of the best in NCAA play in 14th place with a percentage of 84.4 percent. In the previous series against Holy Cross, the Sun Devils perfectly shut down 11 chances on the man-advantage, which played a big factor into their first series victory on the road and of the season.

Tiger’s Elite Offense

Looking over Princeton’s roster, a couple names stand out as superior scoring threats. Junior forward Max Véronneau leads the Tigers with nine goals and 15 points and carries the highest amount of shots on goal with 52.

Along side on the first line, sophomore Jackson Cressey is tied for assists on the team with 10 next to Princeton’s top defenseman, Josh Teves.

Lastly, senior David Hallisey has 13 points on the year, including four power play goals, which rests in the top 13 in college play. Sun Devils goaltender Joey Daccord gave his thoughts on how he is going to stop Princeton’s hot offense.

“They are a smart, skilled, hard-working team,” said the sophomore netminder, “We expect them to bring a high intensity and we are going to have to match that.”

Through 13 games, Daccord maintains a 2.97 goals against average and a save percentage of .919, which ranks among the top 20 in the nation.

On the other side in goal, Princeton will send in Ryan Ferland, who is playing his first season with the Tigers. Ferland has a GAA of 3.11 with a record of 5-5-0, including one shutout against Brown University on November 18th.

The Sun Devils will look to generate some more offensive opportunities with the recently hot line of Joe Lappin, David Norris, and Tyler Busch. The trio combined for six points on the two-game road trip against the Crusaders and will seek to build on that momentum this weekend.

Next: ASU Hockey: Sun Devils win first series of the season at Holy Cross

The puck drop between Arizona State and Princeton is scheduled at 7:05 p.m. MT on Friday and Saturday with both games streamed on the ASU Live Stream.

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.