For any new NCAA team, a road match with the No. 17 team in the country would be a tall order.
ASU hockey (9-18-2) lost to the Bobcats downed by a score of 5-2 on Friday. Sun Devils took a staggering 15 penalties in the weekend opener and allowed Quinnipiac (14-10-2) to have 10 power plays.
“It kept us from getting any momentum,” head coach Greg Powers said of the penalties. “It seemed like every time we had a good shift, one of our guys would take a stupid penalty. You just can’t do it – it’s completely inexcusable.”
Ten different Sun Devils shared the penalties as the Bobcats went 3-for-10 on the power play. Quinnipiac also outshot ASU 57-22.
The Sun Devils didn't record their first goal until the third period.
“I’m obviously disappointed with the way our guys managed that game,” Powers said. “I felt like we came out in the first four or five minutes and set the tone like we wanted to. We were throwing the body, keeping it clean, playing physical, and then it got away from us.”
QU’s opening goal came when ASU sophomore defenseman Liam McGing’s outlet pass was picked off by senior defenseman Connor Clifton in the neutral zone. Clifton, an Arizona Coyotes prospect, skated past a diving McGing as the play moved back into the ASU zone for a 2-on-1 chance.
Clifton took a wrist shot just in front of senior goalie Rob Levin and gave his team the 1-0 lead.
Levin made his fourth straight start on Friday night, taking the loss and stopping a hefty 52 shots. He’s now 2-1-1 over that four-game span.
The Bobcats took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, with the second goal coming from junior forward Bo Pieper on the power play – his ninth of the season. Quinnipiac then went up 3-0, just 14 seconds after the start of the second period.
ASU held Quinnipiac scoreless for the remainder of the middle frame.
In the third, QU sophomore defenseman Chase Priskie scored twice, both on the power play. They weren’t in succession, though, as QU and ASU took turns lighting the lamp in the final period.
“I thought we played well in the third,” Powers said. “We obviously stayed out of the box for the most part there and we scored two goals. Five-on-five, we were fine. You give them that many power plays, the guys get gassed and you can’t get any momentum.”
the celly from Priskie, @Buccigross. #SaltBae pic.twitter.com/BWvtWXPWaP
— QU Men's Ice Hockey (@QU_MIH) January 28, 2017
The Sun Devils' first goal came from redshirt junior forward Wade Murphy, his eighth goal of the season. The second goal was by sophomore forward Jack Rowe who has now scored in back-to-back games – this was his third goal on the season.
Still it wasn’t enough, as ASU fell to the Bobcats 5-2 in game one of the two-game set.
“Our guys got sucked in to playing undisciplined, and we can’t do that," Powers said. "When you give a good team like that that many chances, it sucks the wind out of your sails and you have no chance."
Reach the reporter at matthew.layman@asu.edu or follow @Mattjlayman on Twitter.
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