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ASU Hockey: Sun Devils capture win in season opener

By Ethan Schmidt

TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky spikes the pitchfork at center field after the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. The Arizona State Sun Devils beat the Colorado Buffaloes 48-23. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky spikes the pitchfork at center field after the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. The Arizona State Sun Devils beat the Colorado Buffaloes 48-23. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) /
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ASU hockey earned a 3-0 shutout victory in its season opener against the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks on Saturday night.

The Sun Devils (1-0-0) came out firing on all cylinders and snatched a quick two-goal lead in the first period and never let up. ASU out shot the Nanooks, 17-4, in the opening frame.

“I thought we were sharp for being in our first game with a fairly young team,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said. “Good effort, really good effort. But we told the guys we can’t be content with getting one anymore and we gotta come back stronger.”

True freshman Demetrios Koumontzis scored his first career goal as a Sun Devil in the win. The Calgary Flames draft pick made his presence known early with aggressive play and confidence on the ice.

“It’s good to get it out of the way, but it was definitely better to get the first win,” Koumontzis said.

Koumontzis posted himself in front of Nanooks goaltender Anton Martinsson and buried a rebound opportunity to get the Sun Devils on the board early.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for the past three years,” Koumontzis said. “Coming here was my dream.”

Just moments later, forward Johnny Walker picked up right where he left off last season and put the puck in on a breakaway to put ASU up 2-0.

“Johnny’s a shooter,” Powers said. “He’s a goalscorer and if he’s going to get a wide open look on that, then we’re going to take that all day.”

Walker had a team-high eight shots on the night.

However, the big play all started with ASU net minder Joey Daccord. The junior played the puck out of the net and fired a perfect pass up the ice to Walker that led to the goal.

“I was going to fire it up the boards and get back to the net and then I just saw Johnny, classic, hanging at the far blue line going the other way,” Daccord said. “And no one around him so I figured I might as well get him the puck.”

Daccord picked up the assist and also finished with the shutout, stopping 23 shots from the Nanooks (0-1-0). He gave much credit to his defense in front of him on the strong performance.

“I think it was a team shutout tonight as opposed to just me doing it on my own,” Daccord said. “They made it real easy for me.”

The game was scoreless through the second period. It stayed that way into the third period until co-captain Brinson Pasichnuk launched the puck down the ice into the empty net toward the end of regulation to seal the victory at 3-0.

The Sun Devils now look to try and sweep Alaska Fairbanks as the series action resumes on Sunday.

“College hockey is: everybody’s good,” Powers said, “It’s hard to win two games in a row but that’s certainly what we’re going to try to do tomorrow.”

Next. ASU Hockey: Sun Devils faced with challenging schedule. dark

Puck drop is set for 3 p.m. MST Sunday at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe.

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