ASU Hockey: Slow start punishes Sun Devils again

(Photo: Kylee Meter/WCSN)

Last season, Arizona State head coach Greg Powers likely would have considered the Sun Devils’ 5-3 loss to Michigan a moral victory.

However, as the season came to a close for ASU, Powers maintained that moral victories are a thing of the past.

For the second time in as many nights, the Sun Devils (8-21-5) could not live up to the heightened expectations in Ann Arbor.

What did them in was another mistake-filled first period that left a sour taste in Powers’ mouth and forced ASU to play from behind.

“We are going to fix how we start games,” Powers said. “We pre-scout, we prepare, we know exactly what they are going to do, how they are going to do it, and our guys just waited.”

Three visits to the penalty box and just three shots on the net in the first 20 minutes were enough to make the head coach more than frustrated.

Michigan forward Tony Calderone scored at the start of the second period on ASU goalie Joey Daccord to extend its lead.

The Sun Devils started to chip away at the lead in the second frame behind freshman forward Johnny Walker. Their leading scorer this season added two more goals to his total, which stands as the record for ASU freshmen.

“Obviously as of late I have been pretty decent as I have wanted to all year,” Walker said. “It was a good learning experience all-around. From the start of the year until now I became a better hockey player.”

For Walker, his four-goal weekend is one to build off of heading into the offseason. He plans to work on the physicality of his game once he returns to Tempe.

“Getting stronger specifically, and that will come with conditioning too,” Walker said. “I think that will definitely influence how I play.”

Calderone’s response in the third period put the Wolverines’ lead back at three and sealed the fate of the Sun Devils.

Despite the three-game losing streak to end the season, Powers is still confident about ASU and the talent that it possesses going forward.

“We want to win hockey games, and we expect to win hockey games,” Powers said. “Especially with what we have coming in and what we have coming back.”

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