GLENDALE, Ariz. – In front of a crowd of 2,842 at Gila River Arena, the Sun Devils' play through the first 20 minutes wasn't replicated in the final two periods against Penn State on Friday night in Glendale.
Through the first period, ASU (2-7-2) and the Nittany Lions (6-7-0) were tit for tat and in a dead lock at 0-0. By the end of the second period, Penn State capitalized on two power-play goals and tacked on a few more for good measure by the end.
"Tonight, we were easy to play against," said head coach Greg Powers. "Everything we did, we made it easy on Penn State. To their credit, they made it hard on us, and we were not the kind of team we needed to be tonight to be successful. We needed to be hard, we needed to be heavy, we needed to finish checks. We were soft tonight."
Despite the final score of 7-0, sophomore goaltender Joey Daccord kept the Sun Devils in the game for a majority of the evening, making 42 saves on 49 shots – the second-most in a game this season by the Ottawa Senators' draft pick.
On the opposite end, it was ASU's kryptonite, Chris Funkey, recording the second shutout between the pipes against the Maroon & Gold in as many starts. Back on Nov. 19, 2016 in Happy Valley, Funkey made 18 saves in an 8-0 shutout of the Devils.
ASU managed just 15 shots on goal on the night, making it easy on Funkey and the Nittany Lions. PSU blocked an additional 10 shots.
The Sun Devils managed several scoring chances, but couldn't find the back of the net.
The two finish the two-game series at Gila River Arena on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. The game will be live streamed on Pac-12.com/live.
Through the first period, ASU (2-7-2) and the Nittany Lions (6-7-0) were tit for tat and in a dead lock at 0-0. By the end of the second period, Penn State capitalized on two power-play goals and tacked on a few more for good measure by the end.
"Tonight, we were easy to play against," said head coach Greg Powers. "Everything we did, we made it easy on Penn State. To their credit, they made it hard on us, and we were not the kind of team we needed to be tonight to be successful. We needed to be hard, we needed to be heavy, we needed to finish checks. We were soft tonight."
Despite the final score of 7-0, sophomore goaltender Joey Daccord kept the Sun Devils in the game for a majority of the evening, making 42 saves on 49 shots – the second-most in a game this season by the Ottawa Senators' draft pick.
On the opposite end, it was ASU's kryptonite, Chris Funkey, recording the second shutout between the pipes against the Maroon & Gold in as many starts. Back on Nov. 19, 2016 in Happy Valley, Funkey made 18 saves in an 8-0 shutout of the Devils.
ASU managed just 15 shots on goal on the night, making it easy on Funkey and the Nittany Lions. PSU blocked an additional 10 shots.
The Sun Devils managed several scoring chances, but couldn't find the back of the net.
The two finish the two-game series at Gila River Arena on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. The game will be live streamed on Pac-12.com/live.