(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
Off the ice, fans were getting settled down into their cold, metallic seats for the third period of a 1-0 hockey game. On the ice, the Arizona State Sun Devils found themselves trailing Ohio State, the No. 1 team in the nation, with a critical 5-on-3 penalty to kill.
It was the third time of the night the Sun Devils were two men down, and just like the first two, it was junior goaltender Joey Daccord and his penalty killers that stood strong and made sure the Devils stayed in the game.
Moments later, OSU centerman Mason Jobst sent the Sun Devils to a power play, giving ASU an opportunity to tie the game. But the Sun Devils failed to convert, leaving the door wide open for OSU, which capitalized moments later with a penalty shot goal — a critical sequence in the Buckeye’s 3-0 win at Oceanside Ice Arena on Saturday.
“We didn’t convert when we had the chances,” ASU coach Greg Powers said. “I thought we had a lot of chances tonight.”
After ASU had hung around with OSU in a 3-2 loss Friday night, Powers hammered the importance of staying out of the box saying, “we know we can’t get into a special teams battle with [Ohio State].”
Yet, that’s exactly what happened Saturday, as the Devils still gave up six power play opportunities but did not allow a goal — a complete turnaround from the two power play goals the team gave up the night before.
“The [defense was] incredible,” Powers said. “We used [the kill] to our advantage. It gave us momentum. It gave us a second life.”
After a scoreless, but hotly contested first period Saturday, the Buckeyes broke the deadlock with barely a minute left in the second when a shot from the point shattered a stick and sent the puck wayward, allowing OSU’s Ronnie Hein to score on an out of position Daccord, the only time he was beaten during open play in a 32-save performance.
After allowing the opening goal to end the second period, ASU was faced with even more adversity early in third when freshman forward Demetrios Koumontzis was called for a tripping minor just 1:06 into the frame. Then, ASU assistant captain Anthony Croston was called for a hooking minor a little over a minute later, and co-captain Tyler Busch for a slash 50 seconds after that, which set up the crucial 5-on-3.
The Sun Devils killed them all off, but couldn’t take advantage when they went on the man-advantage themselves.
The ASU power play generated many scoring chances, yet no goals thanks to a combination of missed finishes and superb goaltending by sophomore Tommy Nappier of the Buckeyes, who made 27 saves in his first shutout of the season. Both teams were 0-for-6 on the power play Saturday night.
Jobst put the game away moments later after he intercepted Koumontzis’ errant pass and was held up on a breakaway opportunity. On the penalty shot, Jobst’s shot sailed over Daccord’s shoulder into the top-shelf twine to make it 2-0.
An empty netter by Hein with just 20 seconds to go officially sealed the Buckeyes’ sweep.
Even after back-to-back losses, Powers had plenty of positives to talk about, including the team’s ability to stay competitive with the Buckeyes all weekend long.
“I’m extremely proud of our guys,” Powers said. “They battled. You got to be blind to watch either one of these two games and not think we don’t have a good hockey team.”
Throughout the entire game, the Devils’ fourth liners placed their mark all over ice, consistently matching up with Ohio State’s top line and going blow-for-blow with them.
“There was a shift in the second period where they were just grinding [Ohio State] down low and possessing the puck,” Powers said. “It just breathes so much life into our bench when that line plays the way that they play.”
The fourth line’s play, was a key to keeping the Sun Devils in the contest, who played their most physical game of the year, giving up their bodies to make major checks and getting in front of Daccord to limit Grade-A chances.
Arizona State fell to 2-2-0 after and now looks ahead to next week’s series, when it will travel cross-country to take on Alabama-Huntsville (0-4-0).
Croston echoed much of what Powers said, noting the team had many chances and just didn’t capitalize, but expressed his positivity before heading into next week’s series.
“If we play like we did, and just capitalize, we’ll be fine.”
