ASU loses out in Game 1 battle against Omaha

(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN)

TEMPE — Arizona State came up short in a 4-2 defeat on Friday evening in game one of the team’s weekend series versus the Omaha Mavericks.

The Sun Devils (3-7-1) had everything to gain with a potential victory against the Mavericks (3-6-0); a chance to achieve the program’s first win as a member of the NCHC in front of the home crowd they hadn’t played in front of in over a month.

Head coach Greg Powers once again refused to rest on his laurels, making notable tweaks to the lineup card thanks in large part to injuries up front. Graduate forward Lukas Sillinger and sophomore forward Kyle Smolen were moved up to the first line to compliment freshman forward Cullen Potter while senior goaltender Luke Pavicich got the start in net for the second straight game.

However, familiar issues reared their head early as ASU went scoreless in its first 24 shot attempts and committed two penalties in the first period. These errors opened the door for former Sun Devil forward Chase LaPinta to smash a one-timer into the left corner of the net for a 1-0 Mavericks’ lead just before the period ended.

“When you’re outplaying your opposition and out chancing them and out shooting them, you’re 56% on the face off and you’re not getting the result,” head coach Greg Powers said. “It’s tough, but at the end of the day, again, it’s the really egregious mistakes that we’re making that are ending up in the back of our net. Until we stop making them while we’re not scoring, it’s going to keep happening.”

Five minutes into the second period, Arizona State offered a response in the form of being in the right place at the right time. Freshman defenseman Ryan Boser was handling the puck behind the net in Mavericks’ territory before finding senior forward Ryan Kirwan standing out in the open. Standing directly in front of the net, he decided to float a pass to graduate forward Dylan Jackson who was sitting to the immediate left of Omaha goaltender Simon Latkoczy and tapped in the tying goal.

The rest of the game played out in a battle of inches and who could capitalize on their opportunities. ASU got its first turn on the power play at the 6:56 mark in the second period following a tripping penalty, but couldn’t convert.

Omaha made sure not to make the same mistake ten minutes later, turning an interference call on graduate defenseman Noah Beck into sophomore forward Charlie Lurie scoring his first collegiate goal on a one-timer to regain the lead.

With a little over 16 minutes remaining on the clock, the Sun Devils picked a better time than any to end their futility on the power play. A tripping penalty on Mavericks junior forward Jacob Slipec set up Lukas Sillinger to enter into the opposing zone then quickly pass the puck to sophomore defenseman Anthony Dowd for a snap-shot goal that pulled ASU dead even with Omaha for the second time and electrified the Mullett Arena crowd.

“The power play is good, every guy in there, you trust in them,” senior defenseman Ethan Szmagaj said. “It’s the luck of the draw.”

After Arizona State and Omaha matched each other blow-for-blow all night long, the final four minutes came down to which squad would blink first. Mavericks’ graduate forward Sam Stange provided the answer almost immediately, hurling a snapshot that sailed over Pavicich’s glove hand and scored the go-ahead goal for Omaha.

For good measure, senior forward Zach Urdahl scored an empty-net goal with one minute remaining to seal a hard-fought Mavericks victory.

Like many times throughout the season, the loss saw Arizona State lead the opposing team in most statistical categories except the one that truly mattered. While the Sun Devils inch closer to grasping their first ever in-conference win, an over-reliance on the penalty kill and a lack of scoring touch is currently keeping those dreams a game away.

“Until we get some guys back or we start scoring, it’s veteran guys that are making some pretty bad mistakes,” head coach Greg Powers said. “And unfortunately, they all ended up in the back of our net.”