Johnny Walker scored twice and Joey Daccord had 31 saves as 13
th-ranked Arizona State defeated Colorado College, 4-0, Saturday night in Tempe, Ariz.
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The two teams battled to a scoreless first period for the second consecutive night, although It appeared the Sun Devils had taken a 1-0 lead when Austin Lemieux put the puck past CC goalie
Alex Leclerc late in the period. After a review from the officials, it was waved off as they concluded Lemieux used a kicking motion.
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The Tigers did everything but score in the second period, while Lemiuex and PJ Marrocco each had a goal and an assist in the middle frame and the Sun Devils led 2-0 after 40 minutes. Lemieux set up Marrocco at the 2:48 mark for the first goal of the contest. Marrocco charged down the right side, took a shot that was saved by Leclerc, but Marrocco put his own rebound above Leclerc's left shoulder.
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Lemieux made it 2-0 with just 40.4 seconds left in the second period after taking a pass from Marrocco and beating Leclerc from the bottom of the right circle.
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Daccord came up huge as CC held a 14-8 advantage in the second period and had three power-play opportunities. Daccord made several saves from point-blank range, including a couple by
Trevor Gooch just before the odd-man rush that led to Lemieux's goal.
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The Tigers found themselves in a great position to close the gap early in the third period with a 5-on-3 advantage for one minute, but a hooking call to
Nick Halloran wiped it out. ASU killed the remaining 13 seconds of the 4-on-3 power play, then Walker scored during the ensuing Sun Devil power play to make it 3-0 at the 4:49 mark. Leclerc saved a shot from Walker and as the puck trickled past the right post, Walker gathered it and put it in the net for his nation-leading 16
th goal of the season.
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Walker then scored his second of the game and fourth of the weekend with a power-play goal with 1:38 left in the contest. Brinson Pasichnuk collected his third assist of the game on the play, while Brett Gruber added a pair of helpers for the Sun Devils.
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The Tigers outshot Arizona State, 31-27, including a game-high six by Gooch. The Sun Devils were 2-for-5 on the power play, while CC could not capitalize on six man-advantage opportunities.
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Colorado College is off for the holidays until Dec. 31, when it plays Merrimack College in North Andover, mass., beginning at 2 p.m. (MT).
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