Heading into the final period with a five-point lead, the Sun Devils remained tranquil on the bench as their offense finally made a breakthrough.
Meanwhile, the Division II Ohio University Bobcats leaned on the boards for support, giving off an air of uneasiness.
In the first of its two weekend matchups against Ohio, ASU hockey took a break from not only facing ranked teams, but also from its 13 game losing streak, managing an 8-2 win during the exhibition game. While Ohio’s record of 23-4-1 seems impressive, the No. 7 team opted out of advancing to Division I, paving a road of easier wins.
Without the pressure of a Division I team looming over their heads and with the comfort of playing at home, ASU received a long-awaited confidence boost.
ASU head coach Greg Powers promptly pointed out that his team still needs improvement.
"It’s good for them to feel good about themselves offensively, but they know they have to be better," he said. "That (game) was not a maximum effort in any way. I understand it’s hard to come back after playing a Division I ranked team to another Division I ranked team. But, it does not matter. You have to approach every game the same way, and act like a champion in that regard.”
To prove themselves after facing several shutouts, the Sun Devils raised the physicality. ASU allowed junior goaltender Robert Levin a break after his noteworthy performance last weekend, in which he saved 42 goals.
“I mean that’s a tough game,” Powers said. “He didn’t see hardly any action. (Our goalies) are used to seeing 50 shots, not 15. That was probably a relief for him tonight, to be able to watch some hockey.”
While ASU controlled possession of the puck for a majority of the game and out-shot Ohio 31-13, its performance left Powers feeling underwhelmed.
“Other than the score, I honestly feel like it was an unjust 8-2 win,” he said. “I thought Ohio outworked us. I think they deserved a little better than what they got. I don’t want to be negative and complain too much, but we were not as sharp as we wanted to be tonight and the good news is that we got another one tomorrow.”
Of the eight goals scored, all were from a different player.
While the score provided confidence to ASU, which managed zero goals in their past four games, Powers looks to continue to implement change. Deemed the “natural choice” by Powers, junior defenseman Drew Newmeyer stepped up as captain and agreed with Powers' observation of the team’s shortcomings
“We need to put a better effort all around,” Newmeyer said. “We got outworked most of that game, which is something we can control.”
Reach the reporter at ncorr@asu.edu or follow @natalieorr19 on Twitter.
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