Forward Sean Murphy fights for control of the puck against Oklahoma, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015 at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe. The Sooners defeated the Sun Devils 5-3. (Photo by Ben Moffat)It seems history has repeated itself.
The No. 1 ASU hockey team (22-3) lost its first game of the new year, losing to No. 6 Oklahoma (16-3-2) Thursday night at home.
Last season the Sooners also broke ASU's 24-game winning streak.
On Thursday, Oklahoma came out strong when senior center Bryce Johnson scored the first goal of the game within the first four minutes.
It didn’t take very long for the Sun Devils to catch up. With 11 minutes left in the opening period, sophomore forward Chris Burkemper got ASU on the board with the assist from sophomore forward Patrick Yudez.
The Sun Devils were dominant in the first period with 17 shots on net compared to the Sooners' three, but ASU couldn't convert its opportunities.
“I thought the first period was one of our best periods of the year,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said. “We up shot them 17-3 and we couldn’t get a lead out of it.”
The first period also came with quite a few penalties, including one on ASU’s Connor Schmidt and Oklahoma's Brandon Dennis for slashing.
Oklahoma came out strong during the second period with two goals from junior defenseman Mico Solorzano. The Sun Devils responded with a breakaway opportunity and sophomore forward Sean Murphy scored the goal (assisted by sophomore forward Eric Rivard).
ASU started off the final period with a penalty after too many men were on the ice. Johnson scored again during that power play with the assist from junior defenseman Mason Miller. That goal pushed OU ahead 4-2.
Late in the third period, Powers was called for a penalty after getting upset that the OU goalie appeared to knock off his own net multiple times.
“It’s one thing for the kid to knock the net off three times, but 10, that’s ridiculous,” Powers said. “Once you’re under pressure, the only way to get out of it is to knock the net off. It’s a delay of time and it’s against the rules.”
Once the Sun Devils killed that penalty, sophomore forward David Norris scored the team's last goal of the night unassisted.
In the last seconds of the game, Oklahoma scored against an unguarded net to make the score 5-3.
Up next, the Sun Devils take on Central Oklahoma on Friday and Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- ASU’s Robert Levin is No. 2 in the league for GAA with 1.85 behind URI’s Andrew Sherman with 1.71 (in 20 games or more)
- One of ASU’s two losses last season was to OU at home, losing 3-1
- Last season, OU ended ASU’s 24-game winning streak
THREE STARS:
Third Star: Sean Murphy, ASU (1 goal)
Second Star: Mico Solorzano, OU (2 goals)
First Star: Bryce Johnson, OU (2 goals, 2 assists)
Reach the reporter at kewens@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @katlynewens
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