TEMPE, Ariz. -- Coming off a gritty showing in game one of the weekend, the Arizona State Sun Devils (2-2-0) again gave top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (2-0-0) all they could muster on Saturday night.
The game was tied at 0-0 for the first 39 minutes, until Ohio State finally broke the tie on a goal caused by a broken play in front of junior net minder Joey Daccord. Despite the goal, Daccord was once again brilliant, stopping 33 of 35 shots with the second goal coming on a penalty shot.
"I'm extremely proud of our guys," said head coach Greg Powers. "They battled and you'd have to be blind to watch both of these games and not think we have a good hockey team. We battled those guys toe to toe."
While the offense and power play were stymied by Ohio State goalie Tommy Nappier, the penalty kill bounced back in a big way, killing off all six power plays they faced including two 5-on-3 man advantages for nearly three minutes.
The Devils fought until the final whistle once again, but for the second consecutive night, the Buckeyes emerged victorious behind a 3-0 performance.
The game was incredibly tight the whole way, as the second and third goals both came with less than half a period to play in regulation.
Once again, the power play generated both chances for the Sun Devils, but a hot Buckeye goalie and penalty kill kept them off the board. One of the best power play chances for the Devils came on a shot that was deflected by junior forward Brett Gruber before ringing off the post. The score was 1-0 at the time.
"I thought we had a lot of chances tonight and their goalie played well," said Powers. "It was a great two-way goaltending battle and at the end of the day it was really a one-goal game."
Momentum seemed to be shifting in favor of the Buckeyes when they got their second 5-on-3 of the game early in the final period, but a stingy penalty kill led by Daccord and company kept it a one-goal game.
While the weekend resulted in two losses, coach Powers and his club are now confident they can play with anyone in the country.
"We know we can beat anybody," added Powers. "We know we can compete with anybody. If we go out and compete like that, we are going to win a lot of games."
The shutout did mean the end of sophomore Johnny Walker's goal streak, which finished at eight games -- a program record.
The Sun Devils travel to Alabama next weekend where they will face the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers in a pair of road games. Following that series, ASU returns home to Oceanside to host Nebraska-Omaha Oct. 26-27.
General admission tickets still remain for the next homestand by clicking here.
The game was tied at 0-0 for the first 39 minutes, until Ohio State finally broke the tie on a goal caused by a broken play in front of junior net minder Joey Daccord. Despite the goal, Daccord was once again brilliant, stopping 33 of 35 shots with the second goal coming on a penalty shot.
"I'm extremely proud of our guys," said head coach Greg Powers. "They battled and you'd have to be blind to watch both of these games and not think we have a good hockey team. We battled those guys toe to toe."
While the offense and power play were stymied by Ohio State goalie Tommy Nappier, the penalty kill bounced back in a big way, killing off all six power plays they faced including two 5-on-3 man advantages for nearly three minutes.
The Devils fought until the final whistle once again, but for the second consecutive night, the Buckeyes emerged victorious behind a 3-0 performance.
The game was incredibly tight the whole way, as the second and third goals both came with less than half a period to play in regulation.
Once again, the power play generated both chances for the Sun Devils, but a hot Buckeye goalie and penalty kill kept them off the board. One of the best power play chances for the Devils came on a shot that was deflected by junior forward Brett Gruber before ringing off the post. The score was 1-0 at the time.
"I thought we had a lot of chances tonight and their goalie played well," said Powers. "It was a great two-way goaltending battle and at the end of the day it was really a one-goal game."
Momentum seemed to be shifting in favor of the Buckeyes when they got their second 5-on-3 of the game early in the final period, but a stingy penalty kill led by Daccord and company kept it a one-goal game.
While the weekend resulted in two losses, coach Powers and his club are now confident they can play with anyone in the country.
"We know we can beat anybody," added Powers. "We know we can compete with anybody. If we go out and compete like that, we are going to win a lot of games."
The shutout did mean the end of sophomore Johnny Walker's goal streak, which finished at eight games -- a program record.
The Sun Devils travel to Alabama next weekend where they will face the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers in a pair of road games. Following that series, ASU returns home to Oceanside to host Nebraska-Omaha Oct. 26-27.
General admission tickets still remain for the next homestand by clicking here.