Hockey

ASU Men’s Hockey: Without Walker, Sun Devil stumble in 5-1 loss at Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS – On a dark and cold, classic March Minnesota day, No. 12 Arizona State entered into one of college hockey’s most sacred venues with a worrisome cloud of its own hanging overhead.

Playing without star sophomore forward and NCAA goals leader Johnny Walker on Friday night, the Sun Devils offense was almost completely shut out in a 5-1 loss to Minnesota.

The Sun Devils fired only 15 shots on goal and suffered many sloppy passes. Their power play threat was completely negated, as most of ASU’s four opportunities only netted one real chance. And the team committed nine penalties down the stretch to squander an early 1-0 lead.

“That was the worst effort we’ve had all year,” ASU coach Greg Powers said. “Sloppy, unprepared, there’s no reason for it. I think it was a poorly played game.”

Minnesota’s freshman center Sammy Walker, along with freshman Blake McLaughlin dominated. The Golden Gophers scored three goals in third period to put the Sun Devils away after entering the final frame with a 2-1 lead, thanks to the long stretch of ASU penalties that spurred, in part, from mounting frustration at the offense’s lackluster performance.

Things started well for ASU but only went downhill from there. The Sun Devils came into 3M Arena at Marrucci — an old brick building on the outside, but a newly renovated space with a modern flare on the inside, that has become a staple of college hockey — and scored just 3:53 in, on a beautiful back-handed pass from sophomore forward Dominic Garcia to senior Jake Clifford, who slipped it in behind Golden Gophers’ goalie Mat Robson.

ASU’s strong start was quickly matched though. The Golden Gophers took advantage of multiple sloppy passes from Sun Devil skaters and produced rushes and pressure of their own. Though Minnesota trailed after one, it led ASU 14-5 in shots at the end of the period.

In the second, Minnesota finally capitalized. A slashing call on ASU senior Anthony Croston gave the Gophers momentum, adding to the offensive pressure they’d already initiated. Then Sammy Walker — a freshman center and Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick who is a former Edina High teammate of current ASU winger Demotrios Koumontzis — struck, dancing with the puck as he skated toward goaltender Joey Daccord, then firing it top shelf. Striking the top bar, the puck bounced down and across the line.

“He’s a great player,” Powers said of Walker. “He’s got a hell of a future.”

Walker’s tear didn’t end there. Deep into the second period, one that the Sun Devils fought hard in defensively yet still struggled to find a consistent offensive attack, Walker dropped a pass right in front of freshman Blake McLaughlin before skating ahead of him, essentially setting a screen for the right winger to get an open shot. It found the back of the net, and Minnesota led 2-1.

“We got to make life a little tougher on him and close time and space,” Powers said of Sammy, who finished with a goal and an assist on the night.

The Gophers offensive skill proved to be a task too tall for ASU to overcome in the second. Minnesota had multiple odd-man rushes thanks to the puck handling of their forwards. That, plus the Sun Devils offense not being as potent with ASU missing its own explosive forward named Walker (who will miss Saturday’s regular-season finale as well, according to Powers), and Gophers goaltender Mat Robson stopping every power play shot of the Devils, ultimately gave Minnesota the edge.

“You got to take time and space away,” said Powers. “It’s hard to do out there on that big ice. It all comes down to discipline.”

The Sun Devils had the opposite of discipline in the third period. Entering the frame down just a goal, the wheels started to come off. First, the Golden Gophers’ Tyler Nanne made it a two goal deficit, scoring on a fantastic saucer pass from Brent Gates Jr.

The goal sent the Sun Devils’ frustration soaring through the roof. ASU received a penalty for a Brinson Paschinuk trip right after, then was forced into a 5-on-3 penalty kill after forwards Dylan Hollman and Anthony Croston — two of ASU’s best penalty killers — were sent to the box. The Golden Gophers converted on that by putting much pressure on Daccord, and with five seconds left on the man advantage, junior center Rem Pitlick, a Nashville Predators draft pick, slapped it in after receiving a pass from senior captain Tyler Sheeney.

“We gave ourselves zero chance to win that game in the third period because we spent the entire period in the box,” Powers said.

It only got worse from there. While Minnesota only netted one more goal, four more Sun Devils were assessed penalties in the final half of the third period, including two on Steen Paschinuk, which led to two more 5-on-3 opportunities.

“They were legitimate,” Powers said of the penalties, visibly frustrated for perhaps the first time all season. “I have no issues with the refs.”

With Walker’s absence, no one offensively was able to step up. ASU struggled to move the puck around, and Robson sucked any breath out of ASU’s offensive lungs.

“We didn’t get the job done,” freshman winger Demotrios Koumontzis said.

Koumontzis, who was playing against and in front of friends and family, could have been seen as an answer for the offensive struggles without Walker given his recent run, but the regression during his up-and-down rookie season returned Friday night.

Saturday stands as an important game for the Sun Devils. While they’re still practically locked into the NCAA Tournament, getting swept to end the regular season could hurt their prospects for a top-8 seed and send them into a three-week break on a sour note.

Last year, perhaps a loss like this wouldn’t have been as mentally meaningful. But as the ever-flamboyant Minnesota fans screamed “OVERRATED” as the clock ticked down Friday night, and Sun Devils exited the tunnels with red faces and stern looks, realizing that even at the end of an expectation-shattering regular season, they still have something left to play for, and something still left to prove.