(Photo: Kylee Meter / WCSN)
Arizona State hockey head coach Greg Powers stated earlier in the season that the team who wins the special teams battle will more than likely be the team who wins the game.
However, three power play goals from the Sun Devils wasn’t enough to carry the team as they fell to the Boston University 4-3 and were swept during their last series of the season.
As of late, a unit that once was a strength for the team had quickly turned into a thorn in their side.
For the Sun Devils, the battle of being one-man down has been a roller coaster.
The Devils skated into the start of Saturday’s match up against Terriers ranked 29th after dropping from their 11th overall position at the beginning of their series against Quinnipiac last weekend.
Over the course of the past three series, the Sun Devils have allowed six goals in on 38 penalty kill opportunities; 16 of those single-handedly occurring against Boston on Saturday.
Powers, however, was impressed with the kill on Saturday, as ASU allowed just one goal on eight opportunities.
”The kill was excellent,” Powers said. “We killed, We were really good. To kill that effectively, I think it gave us momentum, it gave our guys energy. They were blocking shots and they were really good. The detail was back. Against a team that good and that skilled, that’s a big step for our kill. They got back on track tonight.”
Over the weekend series against the Terriers as a whole, the special teams units allowed three pucks to hit the back of the net on 15 opportunities. The Sun Devils also faced 82 shots on goal between the two games.
“They’re fighting to get into the tournament,” Powers said. “So we knew we were going to get their best effort and our guys swung back.”
The Sun Devils clearly woke up with that anger Powers said they need in order to perform on Saturday; a trend that has been popular for ASU this season.
ASU carried eight game misconduct penalties between the two games.
“Any questions or comments regarding the officiating I’m just going to pass on right now,” Powers said. “That’s the smart thing for me to do, put it that way.”
“They definitely didn’t have to call,” said team point-leader Brinson Pasichnuk, who received a 10-minute misconduct. “It’s hockey, we were just getting a bit emotional but I could definitely see both sides of it.”
Perhaps the most detrimental was Johnny Walker’s in the first game within the first five minutes of play, which was an interference call that sent him watching the remainder of the game in a suit and tie.
Walker has been the teams top goal scorer this season and even capitalized on the power play during Saturday’s game.
David Norris, who was celebrating his senior night, even put one in the net to add to the team’s power play goals, to finish off his final home series in style.
“It’s nice to get one last one here,” said Norris. “I’m not a big goal scorer so getting one last one was real nice, real special.”
Although ASU didn’t end its home slate on the right note, they were able to take some positives away from the campaign.
“It was definitely a real special year,” Pasichnuk said. “The support we’ve had from our fans we’re really grateful for. I thank God for allowing this program to be so new and so many people being so passionate for it.”
