ASU men’s hockey (1-5-2) split its series with Colgate (3-2-3) in the same fashion as last weekend with Nebraska-Omaha, with a loss in the first game and a tie in the second.
However, this 1-1 tie only went into one five-minute overtime period, and no team came out with an unofficial win.
“The effort was way better,” head coach Greg Powers said. “Obviously, we got a great game out of our goalie, which is awesome to see. He gave us a chance to win tonight, and that’s all you can ask.”
Sophomore goalie Joey Daccord had his second start of the weekend and achieved a season high in saves with 47.
The first period was a scoreless defensive battle and that was, in part, due to the 20 saves Daccord made in this period.
The Sun Devils' offensive game picked up about half way through the second period when sophomore centerman Tyler Busch scored his first goal of the year with an assist from sophomore left wing Steenn Pasichnuk.
This was also the team’s first and only goal in its series with Colgate.
“If you had told us we would have one goal in the weekend and we would come here and not get swept, I’d probably take it,” Powers said. "So, we’ve got to find a way to generate more offense and get pucks to the net going into next weekend, and we’ll do that.”
ASU only had 22 shots on net compared to Colgate’s 48. Additionally, 13 of ASU’s shots came in the second period and only five and four shots in the first and third periods, respectively.
Generating shots, especially in the second game of a series, has been an issue and so has been winning in the faceoff circle.
The Sun Devils won 24 faceoffs compared to the 40 won by Colgate. This is only a 37.5 winning percentage and Powers has said the team’s goal is to win at least 55 percent of all faceoffs.
ASU kept Colgate at bay until 7:50 into the third period when sophomore forward Tyler Penner scored with an assist from sophomore forward Ben Sharf.
“The guys were better tonight – they just competed harder in every way,” Powers said. “It’s bittersweet because you have a lead late going into the third and they got kind of a weird ping-pong ball bounce and caught a break. It is what it is, and our guys didn’t panic and found a way to not get out of here with a sweep against us.”
Regulation ended and after neither team scored in the one required overtime period that followed, the Sun Devils got their second tie of the season.
Now, ASU is set to begin a long home-stand, with Alabama-Huntsville being the first team on the list next weekend.
“It’s going to be great. Six out of our next eight games are home, and it’ll be great for the guys. We just go in and reset and focus on winning on home ice,” Powers said. “We like our team, and they’re learning how to compete and win at this level, and if we can streak a few together, they’re going to get it.”
Reach the reporter at pburnell@asu.edu or follow @paige_burnell on Twitter.
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