ANN ARBOR, Mich. – For the second-straight night, the Sun Devil men's hockey team played phenomenally in the final 40 minutes, but couldn't climb out of an early hole against No. 13 Michigan in the final game of the season at Yost Ice Arena.
While freshman Johnny Walker captured his third-straight, two-goal game to end the regular season with the second-most goals of any freshman in the country, the Wolverines (18-13-3) held on for another 5-3 victory.
"It was another bad start," said head coach Greg Powers. "That's what I told the guys after the game, is that we're going to fix how we start games. We pre-scout, we prepare, we know exactly what they're going to do and how they're going to do it.
"We pushed back and proud of their effort and heart, and ability not to give up – there's a lot of resiliency in that room. There are some positives to draw on for sure."
Despite a scoreless contest through the first 10 minutes of the game, Michigan buried three goals in the final 10 minutes of the opening period to take the wind out of the Devils' (8-21-5) sails.
The Wolverines came out in the second with the same intensity, as leading goal-scorer Tony Calderone netted his 18th of the season just four minutes into the middle frame.
Then, here came the Devils.
In the final seven minutes of the period, Walker buried one at even strength and another on the power play to cut the Wolverine lead in half. He wraps up his rookie collegiate season with 17 goals and the program record by a freshman.
In his last four games in the state of Michigan, he netted seven goals and finished the season with a five-game goal streak.
Redshirt senior David Norris, who was playing in his final game as a Sun Devil, captured an assist on Walker's first goal. He wrapped up his senior season with five goals and 11 assists.
The power-play tally had assists to sophomores Brinson Pasichnuk and Brett Gruber, their 26th and 25th point on the season, respectively. They will finish 1st and 2nd in total points this season, with Walker in 3rd with 24 points.
Early in the third period, the Sun Devils were handed an opportunity to get within one and possibly tie the game, as Michigan took back-to-back penalties. During the 5-on-3 power-play for over a minute, the Devils couldn't capitalize and create the momentum needed.
Halfway through the third period, Calderone shifted the momentum back in the Wolverines direction, as he capitalized on the power play for his second goal on senior night to make it 5-2.
However, the Sun Devils continued to create chances.
Less than two minutes later, freshman forward Filips Buncis netted his first collegiate goal and first collegiate point to cut the lead to 5-3.
The Devils continued to develop chances, but couldn't find another crease in Michigan goaltender Hayden Lavigne.
ASU finishes their season with the same number of Division I wins as last year at 8-21-5.
"We've absolutely made progress," said Powers. "We didn't get the amount of wins we wanted to, but I think the biggest thing we have that we're going to continue to build on and draw from is we have some young talent that can really play. There are some really good players on this roster, and all our go-to guys are underclassmen. And we love the guys we're bringing in."
While freshman Johnny Walker captured his third-straight, two-goal game to end the regular season with the second-most goals of any freshman in the country, the Wolverines (18-13-3) held on for another 5-3 victory.
"It was another bad start," said head coach Greg Powers. "That's what I told the guys after the game, is that we're going to fix how we start games. We pre-scout, we prepare, we know exactly what they're going to do and how they're going to do it.
"We pushed back and proud of their effort and heart, and ability not to give up – there's a lot of resiliency in that room. There are some positives to draw on for sure."
Despite a scoreless contest through the first 10 minutes of the game, Michigan buried three goals in the final 10 minutes of the opening period to take the wind out of the Devils' (8-21-5) sails.
The Wolverines came out in the second with the same intensity, as leading goal-scorer Tony Calderone netted his 18th of the season just four minutes into the middle frame.
Then, here came the Devils.
In the final seven minutes of the period, Walker buried one at even strength and another on the power play to cut the Wolverine lead in half. He wraps up his rookie collegiate season with 17 goals and the program record by a freshman.
In his last four games in the state of Michigan, he netted seven goals and finished the season with a five-game goal streak.
Redshirt senior David Norris, who was playing in his final game as a Sun Devil, captured an assist on Walker's first goal. He wrapped up his senior season with five goals and 11 assists.
The power-play tally had assists to sophomores Brinson Pasichnuk and Brett Gruber, their 26th and 25th point on the season, respectively. They will finish 1st and 2nd in total points this season, with Walker in 3rd with 24 points.
Early in the third period, the Sun Devils were handed an opportunity to get within one and possibly tie the game, as Michigan took back-to-back penalties. During the 5-on-3 power-play for over a minute, the Devils couldn't capitalize and create the momentum needed.
Halfway through the third period, Calderone shifted the momentum back in the Wolverines direction, as he capitalized on the power play for his second goal on senior night to make it 5-2.
However, the Sun Devils continued to create chances.
Less than two minutes later, freshman forward Filips Buncis netted his first collegiate goal and first collegiate point to cut the lead to 5-3.
The Devils continued to develop chances, but couldn't find another crease in Michigan goaltender Hayden Lavigne.
ASU finishes their season with the same number of Division I wins as last year at 8-21-5.
"We've absolutely made progress," said Powers. "We didn't get the amount of wins we wanted to, but I think the biggest thing we have that we're going to continue to build on and draw from is we have some young talent that can really play. There are some really good players on this roster, and all our go-to guys are underclassmen. And we love the guys we're bringing in."