Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.

ASU women's hockey falls to Midland in first game of series 5-1

The ASU women's hockey team was defeated 5-1 by the Midland Warriors on Friday night

hockey.jpg

ASU sophomore goaltender Jordan Nash-Bouldan (31) pokes a loose puck to senior defenseman KC McGinley (5) during the second period of the Sun Devils' 1-1 tie with GCU on Friday, Sept. 22, 2017 at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe, Arizona.


The ASU women’s hockey team fell at the hands of the Midland Warriors 5-1 on Friday night in Tempe.

Midland came into Oceanside Arena on Friday as the No. 11 team in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). The Warriors have yet to lose a game on the road this season, and they continued that trend on Friday evening, as they picked up its seventh road victory to extend its record to 7-0-1 away from Sidner Ice Arena in Fremont, Nebraska.

ASU put forth a strong push in the opening frame, but Midland would go on to score three goals in the second period, and two more in the third period to put the game away.

“We have to be able to clean up our defensive zone and be able to play for 60 minutes,” ASU head coach Lindsey Ellis said. 

In the second period, two of Midland’s three goals came from freshman forward Robin Hatcher. Hatcher was the beneficiary of two free breakaway opportunities that she buried on the backhand.

“A lot of it (the goals) was simply bad changes in the offensive zone that led to those goals,” Ellis said. “We just have to have our eyes on a swivel and be aware on the ice at all times. You just can’t make those small mistakes that lead to big moves on the scoreboard.”

Both of Hatcher’s goals were assisted by sophomore forward Tieryn Arens. Arens finished the night with two goals and four points for the Warriors. The duo combined for five points in Friday night’s contest.

While Hatcher had a big game in the offensive zone, her night would be cut short in the third period. With just under five minutes remaining in the game, Hatcher was assessed a game misconduct following a five-minute major penalty for cross-checking.

ASU closed out the game on the power play and ASU senior captain and forward Amber Galles was able to find the back of the net on a play in front of the net. Sophomore forwards Alyssa Ayers and Megan Mroczek tallied assists on the goal.

“I tried to make sure the team kept their heads up and got shots on net,” Galles said. “In the third period, I got that goal when everybody was down … we got our hopes back up and we played in the last couple of minutes very well.”

The senior captain generated a variety of scoring chances throughout the night, and she drew two Midland penalties as a result of her play.

With the third period tally, Galles now has six goals on the season, and she is second on the team in points with 11 in 11 games played. 

Despite having yet another strong performance, the senior captain knows there is more that has to be done to try and secure a series split with Midland Saturday night.

“We just need to come in hard, strong and fast right off of the bat to really show them that we are here to play,” Galles said. 

As for goaltending, ASU sophomore goaltender Jordan Nash-Boulden made 39 saves on 43 shots. Midland had 44 shots in total, but their fifth goal of the game was courtesy of an empty net goal from Midland junior defenseman Isabelle Uhl-Chmiel. The goal was Uhl-Chmiel’s team-leading, 21st point of the season.

“I think it was a lot closer than the score shows tonight. We just had a couple of easy mistakes that happened on late changes or just spacial awareness,” Nash-Boulden said. “... People are going to see 5-1, but it wasn’t a 5-1 game.”

With Friday's loss to Midland, the Sun Devils are now on a five-game losing skid, but there will be a little extra motivation going into Saturday's game at Oceanside Arena. Saturday's game will be the program's first-ever military appreciation game.

“I think the girls are going to be pumped to wear these camo jerseys,” Ellis said. “We are all very excited to support our troops in this way, and I hope we can just be able to go out there fired up and be able to play Sun Devil hockey like we know how.”

Puck drop for game two between ASU and Midland is set for Saturday, Nov. 18 at 6:30 p.m. MST.


Reach the reporter at atbell1@asu.edu or follow @AndrewBell7 on Twitter.

Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepressport on Twitter.


Continue supporting student journalism and donate to The State Press today.

Subscribe to Pressing Matters



×

Notice

This website uses cookies to make your experience better and easier. By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information, please see our Cookie Policy.