After a dominating win against Dartmouth 5-1 (EN) on Saturday that featured Arizona State scoring four unanswered goals, the Sun Devils had a chance at having a winning record for the first time this season. Instead of following a win with another win, the Big Green dominated the Sun Devils.
Arizona State hockey (9-10-1, 4-5-1 NCHC) lost the second game of the Ledyard Bank Classic to Dartmouth (12-2, 6-0 ECAC) 4-1 (EN). The game was almost a complete mirror of Saturday’s game, as the Big Green did not score a goal after their empty net goal, which was what the Sun Devils did.
With the roles being reversed, it was Dartmouth the first on the scoreboard before sophomore forward Cullen Potter tied it up in the first period, which was the opposite of yesterday.
The Big Green tacked on a goal in the second, just like the Sun Devils did yesterday, before adding two goals in the third.
Potter’s goal was his eighth of the season. Senior forward Bennett Schimek had the assist on Potter’s goal. Schimek continues to be a force as he leads the team in points with 29.
The Sun Devils were dominated everywhere on the ice, starting in the face-off circle, losing the majority of their face-offs. Freshman forward Braxton Whitehead won half of his face-offs and was the only player to reach that mark in the game. He has a .447 face-off percentage this season.
Potter lost 12 of the 16 face-offs he took, the most losses at the face-off dot for him this season. Face-offs have been a struggle for him at times this season as he has a .440 face-off percentage.
Sophomore forward Logan Morrell won five of his 14 attempts. His game percentage of .357 was his lowest single-game percentage this season. He has been good at face-offs this season at .556.
Junior forward Kyle Smolen won seven of his 15 face-offs, which is close to his season percentage of .470.
The struggles in the face-off circle are highlighted by the fact that the Sun Devils are without junior center Sean McGurn due to injury. McGurn has been the Sun Devils' best face-off man this season, with a .578 percentage. His absence hurts the Sun Devils' flexibility, as the team has only had him, along with the four who played center today, play the position this season.
The Arizona State power play failed to score in its two attempts for the second day in a row. The unit struggled to do much of anything as it allowed more shots on goal than it had, and the one shot it took was missed wide by Smolen. The unit has had a 23.1% success rate this season, down from last year’s 29.6%
The penalty kill was effective as it killed Dartmouth’s two attempts for the second consecutive day. Dartmouth also failed to get a shot on goal in its two attempts. Opponents are 18.2% on the power play this season, a bit up from last year’s 16.5%
Senior goaltender Connor Hasley struggled a bit, allowing three goals on 24 shots on goal for an 87.5%. He has a 2.67 goals against average and a 91.9% save percentage this season.
McGurn missed his second consecutive game, along with junior defenseman Anthony Dowd (third consecutive game missed) and freshman forward Jack Beck (fourth consecutive game missed). Having any one of those players back would bolster the team.
Arizona State currently sits at the No. 24 spot in the NPI this season, which sets the NCAA tournament. It now has four series splits against top ten teams this season, with three of them being on the road. Although more games have yet to go final on Sunday, that number is unlikely to change, as those teams are not near Arizona State in the rankings.
The Sun Devils have the Desert Hockey Classic on Friday and Saturday, facing Alaska Anchorage (No. 58 in NPI) and one of Michigan Tech and Air Force (No. 23 and 39 in NPI, respectively), with a good chance to win both games and henceforth have a winning record for the first time this season.