TEMPE, Ariz. - Arizona State used a five-goal second period outburst on Friday night to hand San Diego State its first divisional loss of the season, as the Aztecs fell by a final score of 7-1. John Riley scored the lone SDSU goal.
Despite being severely dominated by ASU in time of possession, the Aztecs (3-3; 3-1 West) found themselves trailing by only a goal early in the second period. SDSU soon found itself in the midst an increasing deficit, however, when sophomore goaltender Connor O'Brien kicked out a rebound right to ASU's Kevin Hanlon, who put it away at 6:06.
O'Brien, who kept SDSU in the game early when the Aztecs were having difficulty gaining puck possession, was then at the mercy of a slick-passing ASU attack that saw the Sun Devils score three goals in a span of 2:18. O'Brien could hardly be blamed for the goals, which came on a tic-tac-toe passing play, a shorthanded breakaway and a cross-ice one-timer -- tough saves for any netminder.
Riley's goal came at 15:12 in the second period with SDSU trailing 5-0. "Rambo" perfectly read an Eric Stelnick shot from the right point, moving across the slot from right to left and putting away the rebound past ASU goalie Kyle Dietriech's blocker side.
SDSU did have opportunities to cut into ASU's lead, especially in the third period, but was unable to convert its chances into goals. The best chance of the night for the Aztecs came at 13:11 in the second period, when senior defenseman Thomas Lapp was tripped on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot, taken and missed wide right by Stelnick. Trailing 6-1 midway through the third, SDSU was only able to muster up one shot on goal on a 5-on-3 power play.
Head coach Chris Migliore will have to make quick adjustments to the SDSU game plan, as the Aztecs and Sun Devils square off again in less than 24 hours at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe, Ariz. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., with live streaming video coverage being provided on SDSUhockey.com via ASU's Cronkite Sports Network.
O'Brien, who kept SDSU in the game early when the Aztecs were having difficulty gaining puck possession, was then at the mercy of a slick-passing ASU attack that saw the Sun Devils score three goals in a span of 2:18. O'Brien could hardly be blamed for the goals, which came on a tic-tac-toe passing play, a shorthanded breakaway and a cross-ice one-timer -- tough saves for any netminder.
Riley's goal came at 15:12 in the second period with SDSU trailing 5-0. "Rambo" perfectly read an Eric Stelnick shot from the right point, moving across the slot from right to left and putting away the rebound past ASU goalie Kyle Dietriech's blocker side.
SDSU did have opportunities to cut into ASU's lead, especially in the third period, but was unable to convert its chances into goals. The best chance of the night for the Aztecs came at 13:11 in the second period, when senior defenseman Thomas Lapp was tripped on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot, taken and missed wide right by Stelnick. Trailing 6-1 midway through the third, SDSU was only able to muster up one shot on goal on a 5-on-3 power play.
Head coach Chris Migliore will have to make quick adjustments to the SDSU game plan, as the Aztecs and Sun Devils square off again in less than 24 hours at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe, Ariz. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., with live streaming video coverage being provided on SDSUhockey.com via ASU's Cronkite Sports Network.