Taking their final Division I road trip of the season, the Sun Devils (5-20) suffered a 4-1 loss against No. 8 UMass Lowell (16-5-4), their 14th consecutive defeat.
The contest was preceded by the ceremonial puck drop from Boston Marathon victim Jeff Bauman, giving junior defenseman Drew Newmeyer the opportunity to take the puck drop alongside him.
Aside from this honor, the only positive outcome from tonight’s game was ASU's first DI goal since challenging UConn on Jan. 5.
Last weekend’s exhibition double header against ACHA Ohio showed an improvement in ASU’s offense, including the Sun Devils’ first ever hat trick by freshman forward Jordan Masters. Tonight, however, ASU freshmen goalies Robert Levin and David Jacobson received some action when facing 37 shots from an offense that clearly has chemistry on the ice.
ASU freshman forward Ryan Stevens scored early on at 5:16, but the 1-0 lead was short-lived.
Just 23 seconds after the Stevens goal, senior forward Adam Chapie scored his 11th goal of the season, followed shortly by a second goal from junior forward Evan Campbell.
Halfway through the first period, UMass presented ASU with its first power play advantage. Continuing their season-long struggles on the advantage, the Sun Devils wouldn't score, soon giving a power play back to UMass on a slashing penalty to Jordan Young. Doing what ASU simply could not, the River Hawks sunk their third goal of the period, accomplished by senior forward A.J. White.
In the second period, sophomore forward C.J. Smith scored the lone goal of the period and final goal of the game, leaving the score at 4-1.
Immediately following the goal scored during a power play, Powers switched out Levin for Jacobson, who carries a .922 save percentage. The rest of the game brought several power play opportunities for each team, but Jacobson and freshman goalie Chris Hernberg were determined to keep the score in stone. In the end, ASU’s 20 shots on goal increased Hernberg’s save percentage from .941 to .950.
With several missed opportunities tonight, ASU hopes to even the series when they challenge UMass at 5:00 (MST) tomorrow.
Reach the reporter at ncorr@asu.edu or follow @natalieorr19 on Twitter.
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