No. 22 Arizona hockey (11-17-3) was swept in the Cactus Cup by the No. 1 ASU hockey team (28-3-1) in a two-game series over the weekend in Tempe.
The Sun Devils shutout the Wildcats with a 7-0 victory on Friday night and beat Arizona again 7-2 on Saturday night. ASU currently holds an eight-game winning streak over Arizona and has won 45 of the last 46 meetings between the two schools.
“Against ASU, we were completely outmatched,” Arizona hockey coach Chad Berman said. “Any time you play a team of that caliber, on the road especially, you must execute the details. We made way too many small mistakes that add up quickly. If you give them an inch, they will expose you, which is exactly what we will take from this weekend. We have the toughest schedule in the country, so we have seen all of the top teams, and none of them compare to the talent and depth that ASU has.”
ASU’s Patrick Yudez came into the series with only one goal and no assists this season after suffering from an injury. On Friday night, Yudez netted his first collegiate hat trick against Arizona.
Sun Devil sophomore goaltender Robert Levin recorded his eighth shutout of the season with 14 saves. Levin currently holds a .93 save percentage.
Saturday night at Oceanside Ice Arena was senior night for the Sun Devils. Last year’s senior night for ASU was spoiled by an Arizona upset win. Not one Sun Devil would forget that night, either.
ASU senior Liam Norris leads the Sun Devils in scoring with 44 points and is ranked No. 16 in ACHA’s leading scorers. Norris ended his collegiate career with a 130-17-4 record at ASU, which goes down as ASU’s best record in program history.
Liam’s younger brother, David Norris, scored his first collegiate hat trick on Saturday night. Two of the goals were assisted from his brother.
The Wildcats escaped another shutout loss. In the second period, Jake Campbell scored his second goal of the season with assists from Alex O’Dea and Dylan Carter to put the Wildcats on the board for the first time all game.
“It was a very disappointing loss,” Campbell said. “You can’t win a hockey game giving up seven goals. We are looking to rebound with a good weekend in Colorado.”
Captain Shane Gleason netted in the Wildcats’ second goal of the night to end the second period with a score of 6-2. Assists came from John Hogan and Orion Olsen.
“This weekend, we really underachieved, not solely because of the scores of the games but because of the way we failed to execute our systems,” Gleason said. “There is no doubt that we can compete with any team in the nation. We just have to stop having mental lapses and put together a full 60 minutes.”
Arizona will travel to Colorado to play two teams in three games. Thursday night will be against No. 18 Colorado, and the weekend will continue with a two-game series against No. 21 Colorado State.
_______________
Follow Zoe Wolowitz on Twitter.
