(Photo: Allyson Cummings/WCSN)
The San Diego State Aztecs came to Tempe in hopes of getting a Division 1 experience from an ACHA national championship contender. They got one from the Arizona State Sun Devils this weekend, ending the series with an 11-1 loss Saturday night at Oceanside Arena.
“I think we proved how deep we are,” head coach Greg Powers said after the game. “You’ve got to show a lot of really good focus and our guys have it. It’s good to see that they didn’t let up.”
In Friday’s game, the new recruits for the maroon and gold lit up the ice: seven of the fifteen new Sun Devils tallied at least one point. The welcoming party for the new skaters continued on Saturday night, but this time, most of the starters had the night off.
“There were some guys that didn’t get in yesterday that came out here and performed. It makes my job difficult, and that’s what it’s all about,” Powers said.
Within the first four minutes, former Phoenix Knight Michael Cummings drew first blood; he put the puck between the pipes with the help of sophomore defenseman Brett Blomgren and fellow freshman recruit Tom Clooney. Three minutes later, ASU punched in back-to-back goals. Forward Troy Scott nicked in the first and Cummings picked up his second shortly after. ASU outshot San Diego State 23-5 by the first intermission.
“Playing against 25-year olds is a little bit different,” Cummings said. “We’re playing against men now…There’s more physical, stronger guys than there was in juniors. It’s a different kind of hockey.”
The second and third periods were buzzing with activity. Kory Chisholm and Troy Scott were both one goal short of a hat trick. Rising defensive star Jarrod Levos had an unassisted goal and senior forward Brian McGinty notched a goal and three assists. Freshman forwards Chris Blessing, Chris Burkemper and Sean Murphy also helped silence the Aztecs, ending in an 11-1 victory and a 2-0 start.
“The best thing we have going for us is the internal competition. They’re fighting every practice and every game like this matters because they’re all fighting for spots to get into the lineup,” Powers said.
Coming into the season-opener, there was uncertainty about how quickly the new band of recruits would build team chemistry. With a game that ended with ASU outshooting San Diego State 74-14, a lot of those question marks have been put to rest.
“I think a lot of people saw the future of Sun Devil hockey after this year out there tonight,” Powers said.
The Sun Devils have another series at home to start off the year, as they take on Weber State this Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Tempe. You can catch the broadcast live right here on CronkiteSports at http://cronkitesports.com/live-broadcasts/
