OMAHA, Neb. – Sun Devil Hockey suffered their biggest loss of the season on Friday night at the hands of Nebraska-Omaha, as the Mavericks capitalized on mistakes for a 5-1 win at Baxter Arena.
The Sun Devils (1-4-0) woes continue, as ASU drops their fourth-straight and third on the road.
"It's frustrating – you play really well in stretches but make mistakes that can't be made against a good team like that," said head coach Greg Powers. "It was always every big mistake we made, they scored on. We gift-wrapped them five goals off of turnovers, missing clears on the kill and a really bad one that put us down 2-0."
"We had all the momentum there to start the second, but missed a pass on a 2-on-1 then went down 2-0 for a two-goal swing."
The game remained close through 20 minutes, as ASU entered the second frame trailing by just a goal. The Devils came out of the intermission flying around, ultimately outshooting the Mavericks 12-9.
But a miscue behind the net between junior netminder Ryland Pashovitz and sophomore defenseman Jakob Stridsberg took the wind out of the Sun Devils' sails. Pashovitz played the puck and anticipated Stridsberg to take possession of the puck and take it out, however, Stridsberg was expecting the pass. Senior UNO forward Tyler Vesel took the loose puck behind the net and tucked the puck into the net with a wrap-around goal for the 2-0 lead.
"That was a killer [to our momentum], said Powers. "No doubt."
For the next four minutes, Omaha built off the momentum and capitalized on a turnover at the ASU blue line that led to a 2-on-1 rush for a Maverick goal and the 3-0 lead.
For the second-straight period, the Sun Devils came out quick and cut the lead to two behind a power-play tally from Stridsberg. The assists went to sophomore Brett Gruber and freshman Jacob Wilson.
Omaha responded, as Tristan Keck exploited a missed pass and turnover by the Devils for a 4-1 lead. Three minutes later, the Mavericks netted their lone power-play goal to extend their lead to the biggest of the night and the eventual final.
ASU finished the game outshooting UNO in the final two periods, but couldn't find the back of the net to close the gap.
Game two is scheduled for 5:07 p.m. (AZ)/7:07 p.m. (CT) and can be watched live on NCHC.tv.
The Sun Devils (1-4-0) woes continue, as ASU drops their fourth-straight and third on the road.
"It's frustrating – you play really well in stretches but make mistakes that can't be made against a good team like that," said head coach Greg Powers. "It was always every big mistake we made, they scored on. We gift-wrapped them five goals off of turnovers, missing clears on the kill and a really bad one that put us down 2-0."
"We had all the momentum there to start the second, but missed a pass on a 2-on-1 then went down 2-0 for a two-goal swing."
The game remained close through 20 minutes, as ASU entered the second frame trailing by just a goal. The Devils came out of the intermission flying around, ultimately outshooting the Mavericks 12-9.
But a miscue behind the net between junior netminder Ryland Pashovitz and sophomore defenseman Jakob Stridsberg took the wind out of the Sun Devils' sails. Pashovitz played the puck and anticipated Stridsberg to take possession of the puck and take it out, however, Stridsberg was expecting the pass. Senior UNO forward Tyler Vesel took the loose puck behind the net and tucked the puck into the net with a wrap-around goal for the 2-0 lead.
"That was a killer [to our momentum], said Powers. "No doubt."
For the next four minutes, Omaha built off the momentum and capitalized on a turnover at the ASU blue line that led to a 2-on-1 rush for a Maverick goal and the 3-0 lead.
For the second-straight period, the Sun Devils came out quick and cut the lead to two behind a power-play tally from Stridsberg. The assists went to sophomore Brett Gruber and freshman Jacob Wilson.
Omaha responded, as Tristan Keck exploited a missed pass and turnover by the Devils for a 4-1 lead. Three minutes later, the Mavericks netted their lone power-play goal to extend their lead to the biggest of the night and the eventual final.
ASU finished the game outshooting UNO in the final two periods, but couldn't find the back of the net to close the gap.
Game two is scheduled for 5:07 p.m. (AZ)/7:07 p.m. (CT) and can be watched live on NCHC.tv.