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ASU Hockey: No. 13 Sun Devils stumble in first game with No. 17 Cornell

By Carson Roberts

TEMPE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 08: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot "Sparky the Sun Devil " performs during the college football game against the Michigan State Spartans at Sun Devil Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 08: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot "Sparky the Sun Devil " performs during the college football game against the Michigan State Spartans at Sun Devil Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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ASU hockey suffered a 6-1 loss at No. 17 Cornell Friday night.

The Sun Devils (16-8-1) came into the game ranked 13th in the nation by the UCHO, but the Big Red (8-5-1) came out firing in a lopsided first period.

Cornell tested sophomore goaltender Joey Daccord with 26 shots on goal in the first period, scoring on two of those opportunities.

“We dug ourselves kind of a hole mentally in that first period,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said. “That’s as poorly as we’ve played all year and as much as we’ve been dominated all year.”

Although the Big Red had a blistering start, they could not get their first goal until sophomore forward Brenden Locke scored his second of the year with 2:43 left in the opening frame.

The Sun Devils almost escaped the period relatively unscathed. However, Cam Donaldson, another sophomore forward, netted a crucial goal in the final minute to put the Big Red up 2-0. The goal was Donaldson’s team-leading seventh of the season.

“They just flat out beat us. They outworked us in every facet of the game. The final score was 6-1, and that’s what the final score should have been. That’s how badly they outplayed us,” Powers said.

Cornell put the game out of reach in a dominant third period.

Senior forward Beau Starrett scored just over four minutes into the period to push the lead to 3-0. He scored Cornell’s fifth goal on a power play midway through the third.

The Sun Devils had some hope when sophomore winger Johnny Walker scored his nation-leading 19th goal in response to Starrett’s first.

The Big Red extended their two-goal lead again with a score from junior Connor Murphy. Starrett then added his second and senior forward Mitch Vanderlaan to seal the five-goal win.

Powers said, “Young teams have games like this. We hit the reset button. We know what we’re made of, we know what we’re capable of. I’d put good money on our guys to show up tomorrow and give a much better effort.”

Next. ASU Hockey: Sun Devils head to New York to face Cornell. dark

The two teams will face off for the second time Saturday night at 5:00 p.m. MST.