MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – The Lindenwood men's hockey team (0-1-0) dropped their season opener against Arizona State (1-0-0) by a score of 5-0 at Centene Community Ice Center on Friday night.
Special teams were the difference in the first period, with Ben Muthersbaugh scoring for the Sun Devils on their first power play of the game at 16:47 immediately after the Lions had failed to convert on their first opportunity with the man advantage.
Lindenwood squandered two more power play opportunities in the second period before Kyle Smolen doubled the ASU lead with a goal in the frame's final minute. The score would remain 2-0 until former Lion
Olivier Houde scored from close range 10 minutes into the third period to extend the lead for Arizona State.
The Sun Devils tacked on two more goals late, with Nicholas Chen-DeGraves chipping one in from above the blue line on an empty net at 17:49 before Daniel Schlaine scored a power play goal with just 13 seconds remaining to make the score 5-0.
Despite the lopsided score, shots were dead even in the contest, with both teams registering 37 attempts on net. Faceoffs were also a virtual deadlock, with ASU winning 33 draws compared to 32 for Lindenwood.
However, the Sun Devils created a distinctive advantage on special teams, scoring two power play goals on five attempts while the Lions went 0-5 on the power play.
Next Up
Lindenwood will look to bounce back on Saturday, with game two against Arizona State set to get underway at 5:00 p.m.
