ASU Hockey: Sun Devils fall in game one at Ohio State

Arizona State (6-15-3) couldn’t capitalize on opportunities, as the Sun Devils fell to Ohio State (7-17-1) 8-3 on Thursday night in Columbus.

In the opening period, ASU had a power play and three different odd-man rushes in the first few minutes, but couldn’t capitalize. On the flip side, the Buckeyes turned their chances into goals on the other end against freshman goaltender Cole Brady.

ASU had more scoring opportunities than Ohio State but the Buckeyes were opportunistic and capitalized on nearly every chance that was presented to them. In the end, they ended up potting eight goals on 33 shots.

Ohio State’s Travis Treloar finished with a hat trick, while Jaedon Leslie and Mark Cheremeta had their own four point nights. Brady, who had played very well over the last four games in net, was pulled midway through the second period in place of Evan DeBrouwer.

As for ASU’s goals, after trailing in the opening 20 minutes 3-0, the Sun Devils came out with a push and a goal from senior forward and captain Johnny Walker to begin the second period.

It would be short-lived though, as Ohio State bounced right back and buried a goal of its own on the power play.

That would be about as close as it got. The other two Sun Devil goals came from freshman forwards Michael Mancinelli and Benji Eckerle.

Although it was a bad night for the Devils, one of the positives was what was brought up after the game by head coach Greg Powers. He confirmed that Walker would be returning for a fifth season in maroon and gold next year.

The Sun Devils wrap up the season tomorrow, March 5 at 3:30 p.m. local time with game two against Ohio State.