STATE COLLEGE, Penn. – In the first rematch of the old ACHA days, four goals for the Sun Devils wasn't enough to down No. 10 Penn State in game one of the two-game series on Friday at Pegula Ice Arena.
Arizona State (2-10-0) scratched and clawed back, bringing the game within a goal early in the third period, but the Nittany Lions (10-1-1) capitalized on rebounds in a 7-4 victory.
"We have to get consistency in net, that's the bottom line," said head coach Greg Powers. "The guys that we need to carry the brunt, the guys that transferred in, can't have nights like they did tonight. You have those two things working against you. I thought we did a lot of good things. A lot of our young guys were good and did what they had to do. We didn't get some bounces and didn't have guys going that we needed going. Good news is we go at them again tomorrow."
Despite the loss, the Devils netted the most goals against Penn State freshman goaltender Peyton Jones this season with four.
The Nittany Lions leading goal scorer, freshman Denis Smirnov, got his three-goal night started early in the 1st period, as he buried a rebound off the pads of ASU freshman Joey Daccord just under a minute in.
Nearly eight minutes later, the Devils would even it up, as freshman forward Tyler Busch wristed one through traffic coming down the slot. It was Busch's fifth goal of the season, and ended a seven-game goalless streak.
Between the 12 and 15-minute marks, Penn State rattled off three goals – one on the power play – to increase their lead to 4-1. That would end the night for Daccord, as sophomore Ryland Pashovitz replaced the rookie.
Before the end of the period, freshman forward Steenn Pasichnuk would get the monkey off his back for his first goal of the season. Just like his brother against New Hampshire, he swatted a loose puck out of the air passed Jones.
Smirnov started the second period off with the completion of his hat trick, increasing their lead to 5-2.
Less than two minutes later, freshman forward Brett Gruber started the Devils rally, as he streaked down the left side before snapping one short side off the post and in.
In similar fashion to the UNH game, freshman defenseman Jakob Stridsberg fired a blast from the point that made its way through traffic and passed Jones. The lead had been cut to one.
The Devils would get a prime opportunity with nine minutes left in the game, as Penn State's Zach Saar sat for tripping to give ASU a power play opportunity. The Nittany Lions killed the penalty, and would roll that into two insurance goals to make it 7-4.
"The positive is we were down and out, clawed back to cut it to one in the third, and had a power play to tie it," said Powers. "The guys that need to step up and get going just didn't do it. They have to look in the mirror, take accountability and figure out if they want to take this program to the next level."
Game two is a matinee showing on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/1 p.m. MT.
Arizona State (2-10-0) scratched and clawed back, bringing the game within a goal early in the third period, but the Nittany Lions (10-1-1) capitalized on rebounds in a 7-4 victory.
"We have to get consistency in net, that's the bottom line," said head coach Greg Powers. "The guys that we need to carry the brunt, the guys that transferred in, can't have nights like they did tonight. You have those two things working against you. I thought we did a lot of good things. A lot of our young guys were good and did what they had to do. We didn't get some bounces and didn't have guys going that we needed going. Good news is we go at them again tomorrow."
Despite the loss, the Devils netted the most goals against Penn State freshman goaltender Peyton Jones this season with four.
The Nittany Lions leading goal scorer, freshman Denis Smirnov, got his three-goal night started early in the 1st period, as he buried a rebound off the pads of ASU freshman Joey Daccord just under a minute in.
Nearly eight minutes later, the Devils would even it up, as freshman forward Tyler Busch wristed one through traffic coming down the slot. It was Busch's fifth goal of the season, and ended a seven-game goalless streak.
Between the 12 and 15-minute marks, Penn State rattled off three goals – one on the power play – to increase their lead to 4-1. That would end the night for Daccord, as sophomore Ryland Pashovitz replaced the rookie.
Before the end of the period, freshman forward Steenn Pasichnuk would get the monkey off his back for his first goal of the season. Just like his brother against New Hampshire, he swatted a loose puck out of the air passed Jones.
Smirnov started the second period off with the completion of his hat trick, increasing their lead to 5-2.
Less than two minutes later, freshman forward Brett Gruber started the Devils rally, as he streaked down the left side before snapping one short side off the post and in.
In similar fashion to the UNH game, freshman defenseman Jakob Stridsberg fired a blast from the point that made its way through traffic and passed Jones. The lead had been cut to one.
The Devils would get a prime opportunity with nine minutes left in the game, as Penn State's Zach Saar sat for tripping to give ASU a power play opportunity. The Nittany Lions killed the penalty, and would roll that into two insurance goals to make it 7-4.
"The positive is we were down and out, clawed back to cut it to one in the third, and had a power play to tie it," said Powers. "The guys that need to step up and get going just didn't do it. They have to look in the mirror, take accountability and figure out if they want to take this program to the next level."
Game two is a matinee showing on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/1 p.m. MT.