GLENDALE, Ariz. – A back-and-forth battle ensued on Friday night in the home opener for Sun Devil Hockey, but two costly turnovers led to a 4-3 victory for No. 18 Air Force at Gila River Arena.
The Devils (0-3-0) scratched and clawed to get back into the game, cutting the lead to one two different occasions but couldn't tie it up.
"We haven't played consistently enough to win, we just made a few mistakes that you can't make at this level against a top-20 team to win," said head coach Greg Powers. "We think we're capable of beating a team like that. I think we showed it in stretches, but we are too inexperienced to just do it in stretches. We have to be more consistent in every facet."
From the drop of the puck, ASU put the pressure on sophomore Air Force (2-0-1) goaltender Shane Starrett, earning several scoring chances out of the gate. The Falcons would draw first blood, as leading-scorer Ben Kucera buried a loose puck in front of senior netminder Robert Levin to go up 1-0.
Five minutes later, the Sun Devils leading scorer – freshman Tyler Busch – decided to keep his goal-per-game streak alive, tallying his third of the season to tie it up at one.
Junior defenseman and Falcons' point leader Phil Boje buried a breakaway goal off a turnover with just over two minutes remaining in the first to put his team back up one.
The Devils would start off the 2nd period as they finished the 1st – on the penalty kill – but wouldn't surrender a power-play goal all night, killing all six. That didn't stop Air Force from capitalizing at even strength, as sophomore Kyle Haak gave Air Force its biggest lead of the night with his first goal of the season to go up 3-1 early in the 2nd.
Midway through the period, freshman defender Brinson Pasichnuk – who tallied 20 goals in the AJHL last season – tallied his first collegiate goal on a drop pass from his brother, Steenn. The Devils were back within one as they entered the second intermission.
However, for the second time in the game, a turnover proved costly as the Devils coughed it up in the defensive zone and sophomore Matt Serratore buried the loose puck off a rebound in front for the eventual game-winner.
Sophomore defenseman Nicholas Gushue brought it back within one off a blast from the right circle with just over eight minutes left in the game.
The Devils came with a sense of urgency in the final minutes, but couldn't tie it up for the third time.
"We have to get off to a better start," said Powers. "If it's not one thing, it's another with a young team – we're trying to figure out what it's going to take to win. Having really good solid leadership is getting there. Our captains are doing a great job, which is good. But bench energy throughout, it just wasn't there, we were flat. If we can play with the desperation that we played with in the last fifteen minutes, we'll be okay on Sunday."
Game two of the series will kick off Sunday for a matinee showing at 2:30 p.m. back at Gila River Arena. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.com.
The Devils (0-3-0) scratched and clawed to get back into the game, cutting the lead to one two different occasions but couldn't tie it up.
"We haven't played consistently enough to win, we just made a few mistakes that you can't make at this level against a top-20 team to win," said head coach Greg Powers. "We think we're capable of beating a team like that. I think we showed it in stretches, but we are too inexperienced to just do it in stretches. We have to be more consistent in every facet."
From the drop of the puck, ASU put the pressure on sophomore Air Force (2-0-1) goaltender Shane Starrett, earning several scoring chances out of the gate. The Falcons would draw first blood, as leading-scorer Ben Kucera buried a loose puck in front of senior netminder Robert Levin to go up 1-0.
Five minutes later, the Sun Devils leading scorer – freshman Tyler Busch – decided to keep his goal-per-game streak alive, tallying his third of the season to tie it up at one.
Junior defenseman and Falcons' point leader Phil Boje buried a breakaway goal off a turnover with just over two minutes remaining in the first to put his team back up one.
The Devils would start off the 2nd period as they finished the 1st – on the penalty kill – but wouldn't surrender a power-play goal all night, killing all six. That didn't stop Air Force from capitalizing at even strength, as sophomore Kyle Haak gave Air Force its biggest lead of the night with his first goal of the season to go up 3-1 early in the 2nd.
Midway through the period, freshman defender Brinson Pasichnuk – who tallied 20 goals in the AJHL last season – tallied his first collegiate goal on a drop pass from his brother, Steenn. The Devils were back within one as they entered the second intermission.
Brotherly love right there! ???????? https://t.co/8UZBx9EoX3
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) October 15, 2016
However, for the second time in the game, a turnover proved costly as the Devils coughed it up in the defensive zone and sophomore Matt Serratore buried the loose puck off a rebound in front for the eventual game-winner.
Sophomore defenseman Nicholas Gushue brought it back within one off a blast from the right circle with just over eight minutes left in the game.
The Devils came with a sense of urgency in the final minutes, but couldn't tie it up for the third time.
"We have to get off to a better start," said Powers. "If it's not one thing, it's another with a young team – we're trying to figure out what it's going to take to win. Having really good solid leadership is getting there. Our captains are doing a great job, which is good. But bench energy throughout, it just wasn't there, we were flat. If we can play with the desperation that we played with in the last fifteen minutes, we'll be okay on Sunday."
Game two of the series will kick off Sunday for a matinee showing at 2:30 p.m. back at Gila River Arena. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.com.