Devils in Detail
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ASU Hockey: Sun Devils upset Huskies yet again

By Carson Roberts

TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky performs during the third 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 during the third 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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In their first meeting since the Ice Vegas Championship Game, ASU hockey defeated Michigan Tech 2-1 in overtime to claim the first game of the series.

Arizona State (8-18-5) benefitted from a strong game by Joey Daccord, whose play between the pipes was phenomenal.

The Huskies (15-14-5) turned up the pressure in the Ice Vegas Invitational championship rematch. They fired 40 shots on goal in a night similar to their unexpected loss.

However, Joey Daccord stepped up for the Sun Devils again. The standout goaltender finished the night with 39 saves.

Friday’s game shared a lot of similarities with the Jan. 6 tilt. In both games, the Huskies heavily outshot the Sun Devils, but the underdogs pulled out a one-goal win in the end.

The matchups are a prime example of how Arizona State head coach Greg Powers wants his team to feed off of strong performances from their star netminder.

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Additionally, the first game at T-Mobile Arena was where freshman Johnny Walker began his 2018 goal-scoring tear.

Walker notched his seventh goal of the calendar year, and his 11th of the season, in the second period to tie the game up at 1-1.

Walker brought the offense tonight for the visiting Sun Devils accounting for seven of the team’s 23 shots on goal.

The freshman’s goal proved to be crucial when each team finished regulation with a single goal.

Eventually, the low-scoring efforts in the first three periods led to overtime, which means someone needed to be the hero. Jacob Wilson responded in the extra period.

The freshman defenseman’s third goal of the season came when he slashed between the faceoff circles.

Wilson’s aggressiveness paid off after Brinson Pasichnuk’s pass from along the boards found him. The play led to an easy shot from the slot and sealed the win for the Sun Devils.

Although Arizona State kicked off the scoring in the first matchup, Michigan Tech saw an opportunity to open up the game midway through the first period.

The Huskies took advantage of a hooking call on defenseman Gvido Jansons to take an early 1-0 lead. The power play goal, scored in just 26 seconds, was courtesy of junior forward Jake Lucchini.

Lucchini leads the Huskies with 12 goals on the season. In addition, he is third on the team with 15 assists.

In the first matchup, Arizona State did very well in shutting down Lucchini, as he finished the game without appearing on the scoresheet.

While the Sun Devils won when Lucchini found some success, they will try to shut down the high-scoring forward in the second game of the series.

Next: ASU Hockey: Sun Devils face late-season road test against Michigan Tech

Arizona State played as the underdog in two games against Michigan Tech. On Saturday night, they will enter a third game with the confidence of the favorites to win. The final showdown begins at 5:07 p.m. MT.