ASU men’s hockey (6-13-4) broke its two-game winning streak in a 4-0 shutout loss to the University of Massachusetts Lowell (13-9-0), thus falling back into its habit of losing on Friday.
This is the eighth time this season the Sun Devils lost the first game of a series, as well as the fifth time they have been shutout in that type of game.
“We’re a team that really has strong Saturdays, but we’ve been trying to change that and translate it into Friday games,” freshman defenseman Max Balinson said. “After the game tonight, we’re really going to try and bounce back tomorrow morning and we know what they’re going to be like coming out right off the hop.”
ASU was outshot 35-24 and was unable to capitalize on any of its six power plays throughout the game.
“When you get that many, you want to get at least one,” Rowe said. “We had the chances in two or three and to credit their goalie, he played a great game and we just didn’t find a way to put it in the back of the net.”
The Sun Devils, like the River Hawks, came out strong in the first period. The fairly equal play was reflected in the 0-0 tie within the first 20 minutes of play.
However, ASU’s game started to go downhill in the second period as the Sun Devils missed more power play chances while UMass Lowell scored two goals.
“We kept it right where we wanted it,” redshirt junior right wing Louie Rowe said. “When you see zero goals up there, it’s hard to be pleased with the result, but we just got to find a way to get more shots, get more offense.”
Despite his team giving up four goals throughout the game, head coach Greg Powers said he thought the Sun Devils performed well in the first period.
“I thought we controlled the first pretty well and then they came out and outplayed us in the second,” Powers said. “They’re going to have push back. They’re a veteran-leaden, successful program.”
Sophomore defenseman Mattias Goransson scored UMass Lowell’s first goal with assists from sophomore left wing Colin O’Neill and senior right wing Ryan Collins.
Redshirt freshman forward Chris Schutz scored the second goal with an assist from junior centerman Nick Master with 8:51 remaining in the period.
“We knew they were going to be really aggressive, and we just couldn’t manage the puck when we got it in,” Balinson said.
The beginning of the Sun Devils’ third period play was reminiscent of the first period, but they still couldn't score.
ASU had two early power plays, and after failing to get a much-needed goal or some momentum from its special teams, the game fell back into the River Hawks' grasp.
“I thought their goalie played really well ... he made some big saves, he gave us very little second-chance opportunities," Powers said. "As sloppy as our power play was in some aspects … we got ourselves some really good chances and the guys just have to find the back of the net.”
Immediately after the sixth failed power play, UMass Lowell sophomore right wing Kenny Hausinger managed an unassisted goal off of the faceoff.
Hausinger scored the River Hawks' fourth goal as well with an assist from senior right wing Jake Kamrass.
Despite the glaring four-goal deficit, ASU wanted to keep an attitude of a winning team throughout the entirety of the game.
“I thought we stayed positive for most of the game, which is a main thing on our bench that we really strive to do as a program,” Balinson said.
The Sun Devils look to continue their positivity tomorrow and will try to bounce back off the shutout.
“For us it’s just reset and execute ... just got to execute on the offensive side and trim up on some details in the d-zone,” Rowe said.
ASU’s second game against UMass Lowell will take place at 7:05 p.m. MST at Oceanside Arena in Tempe.
Reach the reporter at pburnell@asu.edu or follow @paige_burnell on Twitter.
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