PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. – Despite a 3-0 deficit with 80 percent of the game in the rearview mirror, the Sun Devils battled back within a goal of No. 18 St. Cloud State in a 4-2 empty-net loss at the Prescott Valley Events Center on Saturday night.
'Resilient' was the common word used after Friday night's overtime tie, which included another rally by the Devils after trailing by two early in the 2nd period. That never-give-up mentality taken on by the team carried over into Saturday.
"It was a weird game," said head coach Greg Powers. "We didn't feel like at any phase of that game that we were getting out-manned in any major way. We were down two there on the power play, moving around pretty good and then we made a huge mistake … the guy picked it off for a breakaway that put them up three."
The rally began with just over 11 minutes left, as freshman Tyler Busch tallied his first goal in over a month to end the drought. Not two minutes later, and in his first game back since Nov. 19, freshman Steenn Pasichnuk brought the Devils within a goal with half of the period still remaining.
While the scoring didn't come until late in the game, the Devils had several 'grade A' scoring chances against St. Cloud freshman Jeff Smith early on. ASU peppered Smith for a total of 25 shots on the night, while outshooting the Huskies 7-6 in the first 20 minutes.
Despite having more quality chances, it was St. Cloud that struck first late in the 1st period. Sophomore forward Robby Jackson buried a pass off a turnover behind the net from freshman forward Nick Poehling.
Nick's brother, Jack, made it 2-0 early in the second period after punching in a loose puck that barely found its way under freshman netminder Joey Daccord. Before the second frame came to an end, the Devils made a costly mistake on the power play. With momentum forming in the zone and the opportunity to cut St. Cloud's lead in half, a turnover went the other way for a shorthanded goal by Jackson – his second tally of the game – to make it 3-0.
"We came in after the second period and challenged our guys," said Powers. "We said 'you got two choices against a good team like St. Cloud: you can mail it in and lose 5 or 6 nothing, or you can show everybody what we have.' Those first 40 minutes, I don't think we were bad, but we weren't desperate. In the last 20, we were desperate and we almost pulled it off, so I was proud of how our guys battled back."
For the final 20 minutes, it was all ASU. With under two minutes to play, the Devils had another power play opportunity to tie the game with a 6-on-4 advantage after pulling Daccord. Two great opportunities were stymied by Smith.
An empty net goal was credited to St. Cloud, as a breakaway opportunity led to a hooking call, resulting in a penalty shot as time expired. Due to the empty net, a goal is awarded to the team with the penalty shot.
Powers and his staff split up their season into sections, with their expectation to finish this third stretch of the season above .500. Despite the tie and loss in the Desert Hockey Classic, the Devils finished 5-3-1, which included a program-first, three-game winning streak.
ASU will hit the road this week for its first series of 2017, traveling to No. 2 Denver for a two-game series starting Friday, Jan. 6.
'Resilient' was the common word used after Friday night's overtime tie, which included another rally by the Devils after trailing by two early in the 2nd period. That never-give-up mentality taken on by the team carried over into Saturday.
"It was a weird game," said head coach Greg Powers. "We didn't feel like at any phase of that game that we were getting out-manned in any major way. We were down two there on the power play, moving around pretty good and then we made a huge mistake … the guy picked it off for a breakaway that put them up three."
The rally began with just over 11 minutes left, as freshman Tyler Busch tallied his first goal in over a month to end the drought. Not two minutes later, and in his first game back since Nov. 19, freshman Steenn Pasichnuk brought the Devils within a goal with half of the period still remaining.
While the scoring didn't come until late in the game, the Devils had several 'grade A' scoring chances against St. Cloud freshman Jeff Smith early on. ASU peppered Smith for a total of 25 shots on the night, while outshooting the Huskies 7-6 in the first 20 minutes.
Despite having more quality chances, it was St. Cloud that struck first late in the 1st period. Sophomore forward Robby Jackson buried a pass off a turnover behind the net from freshman forward Nick Poehling.
Nick's brother, Jack, made it 2-0 early in the second period after punching in a loose puck that barely found its way under freshman netminder Joey Daccord. Before the second frame came to an end, the Devils made a costly mistake on the power play. With momentum forming in the zone and the opportunity to cut St. Cloud's lead in half, a turnover went the other way for a shorthanded goal by Jackson – his second tally of the game – to make it 3-0.
"We came in after the second period and challenged our guys," said Powers. "We said 'you got two choices against a good team like St. Cloud: you can mail it in and lose 5 or 6 nothing, or you can show everybody what we have.' Those first 40 minutes, I don't think we were bad, but we weren't desperate. In the last 20, we were desperate and we almost pulled it off, so I was proud of how our guys battled back."
For the final 20 minutes, it was all ASU. With under two minutes to play, the Devils had another power play opportunity to tie the game with a 6-on-4 advantage after pulling Daccord. Two great opportunities were stymied by Smith.
An empty net goal was credited to St. Cloud, as a breakaway opportunity led to a hooking call, resulting in a penalty shot as time expired. Due to the empty net, a goal is awarded to the team with the penalty shot.
Powers and his staff split up their season into sections, with their expectation to finish this third stretch of the season above .500. Despite the tie and loss in the Desert Hockey Classic, the Devils finished 5-3-1, which included a program-first, three-game winning streak.
ASU will hit the road this week for its first series of 2017, traveling to No. 2 Denver for a two-game series starting Friday, Jan. 6.