Sun Devil Hockey was topped 8-1 on Saturday by No. 8 UMass Lowell, allowing the River Hawks to complete the weekend sweep.
ASU still on the hunt to capture its first elusive win against a D1 program; its losing streak extends to Nov. 27, 2015.
They went on a three game road trip taking on No. 8 UMass Lowell in a two game series and playing once against Merrimack.
ASU took the first lead of the game after freshman center Anthony Croston hit the pipe and got the kill. Shortly after, though, the River Hawks scored consecutive goals.
The score was manageable. The Sun Devils had their opportunities on the power play during the second period.
With the same score, UMass committed a high-sticking penalty. The Sun Devils went on the 5-3 power play twice but could not light the lamp. At the 12:24 mark in the second period, UMass freshman forward Nick Masters snuck one past freshman goalie Ryland Pashovitz. That goal gave the River Hawks a 3-1 advantage.
Sophomore forward C.J. Smith scored a breakaway goal that was uncontested. The goal was assisted by junior forward Joe Gambardella, and giving Smith his 11th goal of the season. The Sun Devils trailed 5-1 near the midpoint of the third period.
ASU gave UMass a power play opportunity after junior forward Ryan Ostertag committed a charging penalty. In the two-minute period, Smith scored again, giving the Red Hawks a 6-1 lead.
He completed the hat trick shortly after.
UMass went up 8-1, and the Sun Devils were unable to convert on any power plays. They went 0-4 on Saturday. In addition, they did not play disciplined, allowing their opponent to have 12 total penalty minutes of its own.
The River Hawks aggressively attacked the goal, accumulating 82 shot attempts. In contrast, ASU only managed to take 27 shot attempts.
The Sun Devils will conclude their Massachusetts road trip and their D1 inaugural NCAA season on Sunday against Merrimack. The puck will drop at 2:00 p.m. MT.
Note: Due to a reporting error, a penalty was marked incorrectly in the article. It has been corrected.
Reach the reporter at chaz.frazier@asu.edu or follow @chaz_frazier on Twitter.
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