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ASU men's hockey falls to Boston University 4-3 on senior night

The Sun Devils battled the Terriers right down to the wire in a penalty-filled game

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ASU junior defenseman Jake Clifford (22) pressures the puck during the second period in the Sun Devils' loss to Boston University on Friday, Jan. 26, 2018 at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.


On a night in which the penalty box saw a lot of action, ASU men's hockey fell to the Boston University Terriers 4-3 on senior night Saturday at Oceanside Ice Arena. 

BU scored fast, taking a 2-0 lead in the first period, and while ASU managed to tie the game at 2-2 in the second period, they couldn't hold off the Terriers, who would score another goal before the end of the period to keep the lead for the rest of the game.

"We battled toe-to-toe," head coach Greg Powers said. "We figured they'd come out like they did. They're fighting to get into the tournament, so we knew we were going to get their best effort and our guys swung back ... they emptied the tanks and we're proud of them."

Saturday's match was a much closer game for Sun Devils compared to Friday night's 8-0 shutout loss to the Terriers at Gila River Arena in Glendale. 

The Sun Devils trailed 2-0 entering the second period, but just 54 seconds in, freshman forward Johnny Walker found the back of the net on the power play for his sixth goal of the season.

"I think it settled in and the crowd got into it and it gave us a huge shot of energy, and the game really changed from that point forward," Powers said. "Guys played well tonight."

ASU began generating more chances, and while shorthanded, freshman defenseman Jacob Wilson wristed a laser at 7:05 of the second period for his second goal of the year. It was also ASU's second shorthanded goal of the season. 

However, just 19 seconds later, the Terriers scored to retake the lead, then added to the 3-2 advantage at 8:41 of the third period. 

In the one-goal loss, sophomore goaltender Joey Daccord made 37 saves.

With January's games now in the books, the Sun Devils went 3-4-1 in the first calendar month of the year. 

One of the stars of the night was redshirt senior forward David Norris, who scored on the power play to cut the Boston lead to 4-3 at 14:40 of the third period. 

"It was nice to get it off the back, especially a power play goal because our team has been struggling with the power play and we got two (goals) tonight (on the power play)," Norris said. "Personally, it's nice to get the last one of the year. I'm not a big goal scorer, so getting that last one was ... really special." 

Norris is the last Sun Devil on the roster to have played on the ACHA team before the move to the NCAA level. In 96 career collegiate games, Norris has 19 goals and 50 assists. 

With Saturday's game being Norris's final at Oceanside, he reflected on his time playing at Oceanside after the game. 

"(What I will remember) most, I would say playing with my brother because that's pretty much the reason why I came here," Norris said. "And also the overtime goal against Princeton. That was pretty special. It was pretty fun in this rink. It's our rink. There's nothing else like it in college hockey."


Penalty Minutes Galore

After the first 20 minutes, there were only three penalties for six penalty minutes. However, 40 minutes later, there were 33 penalties on the score sheet and 117 penalty minutes, including six game misconducts. 

"It's very tough for some guys, for sure, especially some guys that don't play power play or some guys that don't play penalty kill, it can definitely get challenging," sophomore defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk said. "I have all the respect in the world when guys can really stay locked in after not being out there for five, six minutes." 

The second period in particular was tension-filled as 76 penalty minutes would be distributed. 

Overall on the evening, ASU took 18 penalties and BU took 15. 

What's Next for ASU

The 2017-18 home schedule for ASU is now in the books. This season, the Sun Devils went 4-9-1 in home games both at Oceanside Ice Arena and Gila River Arena. 

However, the season is not over yet as the Sun Devils now hit the road for their final six games. The first stop is in New Haven, Connecticut, when the team faces the Yale Bulldogs in a two-game series beginning Friday. Puck drop for both games is set for 5:00 p.m. MST. 


Reach the reporter at michael.baron@asu.edu or follow @Michael_Baron96 on Twitter.

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