GLENDALE, Ariz. – Penalties proved costly for Sun Devil Hockey on Saturday night at Gila River Arena, as Quinnipiac capitalized on three power-play opportunities in a 5-3 victory to end the two-game series.
The penalty kill had been a strength of the Sun Devils (7-14-5) as of late, killing 25 of their last 28 penalties entering the game and ranking 11th in the country.
"Tonight, our penalty kill wasn't sharp, they weren't intense, we weren't winning draws," said head coach Greg Powers. "In the first period on one of their power plays, we had the puck on our tape seven times in our zone -- seven times -- and didn't get it out. So our killers were just not intense enough, and it's like I said last night, power plays have to commit to outworking penalty kills and tonight their power play grossly outworked our penalty kill."
For the second-straight night, the Bobcats (9-12-4) struck first and jumped on the Devils early in the first period. After a tripping penalty by sophomore forward Tyler Busch just a minute and 22 seconds into the game, Quinnipiac's Alex Whelan buried his second goal in as many nights with 32 seconds left on the man advantage.
The Sun Devils escaped the first period trailing by just a goal after sophomore goaltender Joey Daccord stuffed 18 shots.
However, the second period again began in favor of the Bobcats. Four minutes in, Quinnipiac's Tanner MacMaster jumped back into a tie for the team lead with Whelan with his 11th of the season.
ASU finally showed signs of life 53 seconds later, as junior Anthony Croston netted his sixth of the season on a juicy rebound off the pads of Bobcat Keith Petruzzelli. Sophomore defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk earned his team-leading 11th assist on the goal, while freshman blue liner Jacob Wilson picked up his eighth.
In the final five minutes of the middle frame, both teams exchanged goals with freshman Dominic Garcia sandwiching his first collegiate goal between back-to-back Bobcat tallies and another that stole his thunder eight seconds later.
Quinnipiac's Bo Pieper had two of the three goals to end the second.
Pasichnuk earned his second assist of the game – his 12th of the season – for his fourth multi-point performance in the last six games. He now has seven multi-point games this season, with four being multi-assist games.
The third period debuted the Sun Devil team coach Powers is accustomed to, as ASU outshot the Bobcats 11-2 and tallied the only goal of the final 20 minutes.
Freshman defenseman Max Balinson netted his first since the game-tying goal on Oct. 21 versus Nebraska-Omaha. Fellow rookie Johnny Walker put one on a tee for him just 10 seconds into the power play, with Wilson earning his second assist of the game as well – his second multi-assist game of his collegiate career.
The power-play goal made for the third-straight game the Sun Devils scored on the man advantage, becoming the longest streak of the season and first time since their four-game streak from Jan. 6-14, 2017.
ASU's three goals on Petruzzelli is also the first time he's allowed more than two goals since his start against UMass on Nov. 25, when he let in five.
Coach Powers expects his squad to carry the positives from the final period into a tough series ahead against Boston University this coming weekend on Jan. 26-27. Friday's puck drop will be back at Gila River Arena at 7:05 p.m., while Saturday's 'Senior Night' will be back at Oceanside Ice Arena at 7:05 p.m.
Tickets for Friday night's game at Gila River are still available here.
The penalty kill had been a strength of the Sun Devils (7-14-5) as of late, killing 25 of their last 28 penalties entering the game and ranking 11th in the country.
"Tonight, our penalty kill wasn't sharp, they weren't intense, we weren't winning draws," said head coach Greg Powers. "In the first period on one of their power plays, we had the puck on our tape seven times in our zone -- seven times -- and didn't get it out. So our killers were just not intense enough, and it's like I said last night, power plays have to commit to outworking penalty kills and tonight their power play grossly outworked our penalty kill."
For the second-straight night, the Bobcats (9-12-4) struck first and jumped on the Devils early in the first period. After a tripping penalty by sophomore forward Tyler Busch just a minute and 22 seconds into the game, Quinnipiac's Alex Whelan buried his second goal in as many nights with 32 seconds left on the man advantage.
The Sun Devils escaped the first period trailing by just a goal after sophomore goaltender Joey Daccord stuffed 18 shots.
However, the second period again began in favor of the Bobcats. Four minutes in, Quinnipiac's Tanner MacMaster jumped back into a tie for the team lead with Whelan with his 11th of the season.
ASU finally showed signs of life 53 seconds later, as junior Anthony Croston netted his sixth of the season on a juicy rebound off the pads of Bobcat Keith Petruzzelli. Sophomore defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk earned his team-leading 11th assist on the goal, while freshman blue liner Jacob Wilson picked up his eighth.
In the final five minutes of the middle frame, both teams exchanged goals with freshman Dominic Garcia sandwiching his first collegiate goal between back-to-back Bobcat tallies and another that stole his thunder eight seconds later.
Quinnipiac's Bo Pieper had two of the three goals to end the second.
Pasichnuk earned his second assist of the game – his 12th of the season – for his fourth multi-point performance in the last six games. He now has seven multi-point games this season, with four being multi-assist games.
The third period debuted the Sun Devil team coach Powers is accustomed to, as ASU outshot the Bobcats 11-2 and tallied the only goal of the final 20 minutes.
Freshman defenseman Max Balinson netted his first since the game-tying goal on Oct. 21 versus Nebraska-Omaha. Fellow rookie Johnny Walker put one on a tee for him just 10 seconds into the power play, with Wilson earning his second assist of the game as well – his second multi-assist game of his collegiate career.
The power-play goal made for the third-straight game the Sun Devils scored on the man advantage, becoming the longest streak of the season and first time since their four-game streak from Jan. 6-14, 2017.
ASU's three goals on Petruzzelli is also the first time he's allowed more than two goals since his start against UMass on Nov. 25, when he let in five.
Coach Powers expects his squad to carry the positives from the final period into a tough series ahead against Boston University this coming weekend on Jan. 26-27. Friday's puck drop will be back at Gila River Arena at 7:05 p.m., while Saturday's 'Senior Night' will be back at Oceanside Ice Arena at 7:05 p.m.
Tickets for Friday night's game at Gila River are still available here.