Sun Devil Hockey saw one of its captains get on the board early, but it was not enough to hold back No. 5 St. Cloud State, and ASU fell to the Huskies 6-1.
"St. Cloud is a great hockey team and our guys didn't play with enough urgency to give ourselves a chance against a team like that," head coach Greg Powers said. "We need to be much better in every area to compete against a national championship contender like St. Cloud."
Captain Garrett Peterson took a pass from freshman Anthony Croston less than five minutes into the game and skated from the right wing side toward the Huskies goal. Peterson attempted a centering pass but it deflected off an SCSU defender’s skate and into the goal.
It was Peterson’s second goal of the season, with the other coming Oct. 10 against Alaska. It was Croston’s third assist of the season and fourth point.
The Huskies were fourth in the nation with 4.28 goals per game and showed why. They answered Peterson's goal with six unanswered, including two by their captain, senior Ethan Prow.
Freshman goalie Ryland Pashovitz started and made 35 saves on the evening.
The Sun Devils and Huskies meet again Saturday in the series finale at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. MT/7:07 p.m. CT.