TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State men's ice hockey team battled toe-to-toe against Boston University on Saturday night, killing a whopping seven power-play opportunities in a nail-biting 4-3 loss on Senior Night and the final home game for the 2017-18 season.
Leading goal scorer Johnny Walker ignited the Sun Devils' (7-16-5) scoring run with a 5-on-3 goal just 54 seconds into the second period. Seven minutes later defenseman Jacob Wilson tied the game with an unassisted short-handed goal.
In his final 20 minutes of play at home in his collegiate career, redshirt senior David Norris scored his fifth goal of the season with a redirect in front, bringin his career total to 19 in 96 games played.
"That's a great hockey team. We battled toe-to-toe," said head coach Greg Powers. "We were really good. I think we kind of sustained their quick knock-out punch. We figured they'd come out like they did. Our guys swung back, and that's all we can ask. They emptied the tanks and we're proud of them."
ASU's penalty-killing unit muzzled the No. 14 ranked power-play of BU (13-11-2), silencing them on seven power-play opportunities. Through three frames, players from both squads sat in the box 33 times for 117 total penalty minutes, as the referees made their impact on the game.
The Terriers took the early momentum for the second-straight night, as they entered the first intermission with a 2-0 lead over the Sun Devils.
Walker's goal to start the second period not only cut the BU lead in half, but put him in a tie with sophomore Tyler Busch's record for most goals scored by a freshman at nine.
Wilson's short-handed goal became his second goal of the season, and the Devils second short-handed tally of the year.
Nearly nine minutes into the middle frame, both teams suffered a montage of penalties after a scuffle along the glass behind sophomore netminder Joey Daccord. As a result, brothers Brinson and Steen Pasichnuk received 10-minute misconducts along with Terriers' Brady Tkachuk and Drew Melanson.
Despite the 10-minute penalty, Brinson finished the night with 25 minutes of ice time and two assists for his fifth multi-point game in the last eight games. He now has six goals and 15 assists on the year.
The eventual game-winning goal ended up being quite the controversy. With a scrum in front and the puck still loose, the officials blew the whistle -- therefore signaling the play dead -- as the puck crossed the goal line off the skate of BU's Shane Bowers. After initially waving the goal off due to the play being dead, the officials went to the replay and determined it was a good goal.
The Sun Devils managed to win the overall special teams battle in game two, as they scored on two of six man advantages. It was their fourth game in the last five with a power-play tally. It was the third time this season ASU netted two power-play goals.
ASU now hits the road for three of the next four weekends to end the season, including a long trip to New Haven, Connecticut for a two-game series versus Yale this upcoming weekend.
Leading goal scorer Johnny Walker ignited the Sun Devils' (7-16-5) scoring run with a 5-on-3 goal just 54 seconds into the second period. Seven minutes later defenseman Jacob Wilson tied the game with an unassisted short-handed goal.
In his final 20 minutes of play at home in his collegiate career, redshirt senior David Norris scored his fifth goal of the season with a redirect in front, bringin his career total to 19 in 96 games played.
"That's a great hockey team. We battled toe-to-toe," said head coach Greg Powers. "We were really good. I think we kind of sustained their quick knock-out punch. We figured they'd come out like they did. Our guys swung back, and that's all we can ask. They emptied the tanks and we're proud of them."
ASU's penalty-killing unit muzzled the No. 14 ranked power-play of BU (13-11-2), silencing them on seven power-play opportunities. Through three frames, players from both squads sat in the box 33 times for 117 total penalty minutes, as the referees made their impact on the game.
The Terriers took the early momentum for the second-straight night, as they entered the first intermission with a 2-0 lead over the Sun Devils.
Walker's goal to start the second period not only cut the BU lead in half, but put him in a tie with sophomore Tyler Busch's record for most goals scored by a freshman at nine.
Wilson's short-handed goal became his second goal of the season, and the Devils second short-handed tally of the year.
Nearly nine minutes into the middle frame, both teams suffered a montage of penalties after a scuffle along the glass behind sophomore netminder Joey Daccord. As a result, brothers Brinson and Steen Pasichnuk received 10-minute misconducts along with Terriers' Brady Tkachuk and Drew Melanson.
Despite the 10-minute penalty, Brinson finished the night with 25 minutes of ice time and two assists for his fifth multi-point game in the last eight games. He now has six goals and 15 assists on the year.
The eventual game-winning goal ended up being quite the controversy. With a scrum in front and the puck still loose, the officials blew the whistle -- therefore signaling the play dead -- as the puck crossed the goal line off the skate of BU's Shane Bowers. After initially waving the goal off due to the play being dead, the officials went to the replay and determined it was a good goal.
The Sun Devils managed to win the overall special teams battle in game two, as they scored on two of six man advantages. It was their fourth game in the last five with a power-play tally. It was the third time this season ASU netted two power-play goals.
ASU now hits the road for three of the next four weekends to end the season, including a long trip to New Haven, Connecticut for a two-game series versus Yale this upcoming weekend.