TEMPE, Ariz. - Sun Devil head coach Greg Powers did not get the birthday present he would have liked on Friday night in Tempe, as Arizona State dropped the first of a two-game series against Princeton, 4-0, in front of a sold-out crowd at Oceanside Ice Arena.
The bye week seemed to affect the Sun Devils, as Princeton (6-6-1) came out fast and rattled off two goals within three minutes of each other in the first period.
"Bye weeks are tough," said Powers. "When you take two weeks off, it's not something that we want to do. You're allotted 34 games, and sometimes it's necessary in college hockey. Guys have got to figure out a way to ramp up and be ready to play. Tonight, it just took us a while to get going. In the first period, it looked like we hadn't played in two weeks. It's a switch and it's one that they have to switch."
In his sixth-straight game with 30-plus saves, netminder Joey Daccord went for 32 saves on 36 shots on goal.
"Dacs was good," said Powers. "That game wasn't on him, he looked pretty sharp. We had some really good chances and just couldn't put any away. If we could've just gotten one and played downhill, we felt like we could combat the game, but that just didn't happen."
After enduring the first 11 minutes of the game without a goal, the Tigers finally struck first off a turnover in the neutral zone. Less than three minutes later, forward David Hallisey ruined ASU's streak of 18-straight penalty kills with his own streak, netting a goal in his sixth-straight game.
Just 34 seconds into the 2nd period, Princeton's offense -- ranked fifth in the NCAA in goals scored per game -- struck again for the third time.
The rest of the second period remained scoreless.
ASU nearly got on the board in the third period, as the other birthday boy, Jake Clifford, rung one off the post off a rebound.
The Tigers would ultimately have the last say, as Ryan Kuffner made it 4-0 with just over a minute remaining.
The Sun Devils have their shot at revenge on Saturday night at Oceanside at 7:05 p.m.
The bye week seemed to affect the Sun Devils, as Princeton (6-6-1) came out fast and rattled off two goals within three minutes of each other in the first period.
"Bye weeks are tough," said Powers. "When you take two weeks off, it's not something that we want to do. You're allotted 34 games, and sometimes it's necessary in college hockey. Guys have got to figure out a way to ramp up and be ready to play. Tonight, it just took us a while to get going. In the first period, it looked like we hadn't played in two weeks. It's a switch and it's one that they have to switch."
In his sixth-straight game with 30-plus saves, netminder Joey Daccord went for 32 saves on 36 shots on goal.
"Dacs was good," said Powers. "That game wasn't on him, he looked pretty sharp. We had some really good chances and just couldn't put any away. If we could've just gotten one and played downhill, we felt like we could combat the game, but that just didn't happen."
After enduring the first 11 minutes of the game without a goal, the Tigers finally struck first off a turnover in the neutral zone. Less than three minutes later, forward David Hallisey ruined ASU's streak of 18-straight penalty kills with his own streak, netting a goal in his sixth-straight game.
Just 34 seconds into the 2nd period, Princeton's offense -- ranked fifth in the NCAA in goals scored per game -- struck again for the third time.
The rest of the second period remained scoreless.
ASU nearly got on the board in the third period, as the other birthday boy, Jake Clifford, rung one off the post off a rebound.
The Tigers would ultimately have the last say, as Ryan Kuffner made it 4-0 with just over a minute remaining.
The Sun Devils have their shot at revenge on Saturday night at Oceanside at 7:05 p.m.