Oct. 21, 2007
Box Score
by Danny Martin
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
ANCHORAGE -- A two-goal surge in the third period Saturday night at Sullivan Arena was impressive and an early-season sign of the strong character of the Alaska Nanooks.
The perseverance, though, wasn't enough to offset the Nanooks getting outshot 35-15 in Game 2 of this year's Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup Series and having a budding playmaking forward ejected early in the first period.
The Nanooks lost 5-3 to the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves, leading to Alaska's first 0-2 start in 11 years.
Nanooks freshman right wing Landon Novotney scored the game's first goal before most of the 4,528 spectators were settled in their seats, and sophomore center Dion Knelsen added a power-play goal and freshman defenseman Jeff Penner contributed his first collegiate marker late in the third period for the Nanooks.
The Seawolves are off to a 3-0-1 start, aided Saturday by two goals from freshman defenseman Winston DayChief, a goal and an assist from freshman center Craig Parkinson and two assists from sophomore defenseman Trevor Hunt.
The Nanooks emerged from the first period with a 1-1 tie for the second straight night. Alaska also came out of the period minus a skater after freshman left wing Dustin Sather received a major and a game-misconduct for checking from behind at the 4:09 mark.
"That's disappointing," Alaska head coach Doc DelCastillo said of losing Sather. "I wouldn't say the game would have been any different. I thought they had their game going on a little bit more than we did, and I thought we kind of lost focus with the game plan."
The Nanooks needed only 22 seconds into Game 2 to strike first. Dion Knelsen won a faceoff against Seawolves center Paul Crowder and drew the puck back to junior defenseman Tyler Eckford, who dumped it into the zone.
Novotney, with his second goal in as many college games, streaked up the ice to pounce on it and flip it past Seawolves defenseman Luke Beaverson and freshman goaltender Matthew Gordon, who was making his collegiate debut.
"I just got lucky," Novotney said. "Eckford made a nice dump and the freshman goaltender misplayed the puck and I happened to have a whack at it before Beaverson could get to it.
"It's bittersweet, for sure," he added. "It's good to get the monkey off the back early and pop in a couple of goals, but it would have been good to come out with two points (in the standings) tonight."
UAA, though, showed its persistence with 25 seconds left in the period, tying the score with Parkinson's goal.
Crowder weaved around the net and into the slot to fire the puck high. Nanooks senior goaltender Wylie Rogers deflected the puck, but the rebound landed in front of Parkinson, and Alaska center Derek Klassen, who was setting a screen. Parkinson snuck around the Nanooks freshman to tap in his second goal of the weekend.
The Nanooks struggled in the second period Saturday with stickhandling and shooting -- getting only four shots to the Seawolves' 13 -- and found themselves behind 4-1.
"It is what it is -- it's skill," DelCastillo said. "There were a few times in the game that they outmatched us skill-wise. I don't think it's going to be any different with a lot of teams this year."
Alaska struggled to clear its zone at 9:00 and Trevor Hunt intercepted a pass in the high slot and threw it to the net, giving Winston DayChief an opportunity to collect the rebound and pop in his first of two goals in the period.
Alaska found itself with a two-goal deficit for the first time for the weekend, as UAA freshman defenseman Luka Vidmar scored the first goal of his college career with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle at 13:03.
For the second straight night, the Nanooks collected a too many men on the ice minor. The Nanooks killed that penalty on Friday, but weren't as fortunate on Saturday, as DayChief converted his second goal of the night at 18:56 and UAA's first power play in the series after six straight denials.
UAA head coach Dave Shyiak made adjustments to his team's forechecking to help pressure the Nanooks in the second period.
"They were rimming everything out the first night and we couldn't actually get in to get control of the puck," Shyiak said. "So, we made some adjustments to kind of cut off their rim play."
The adjustments allowed the Seawolves to cut off open lanes along the walls for the Nanooks and to push the puck deep to control play low in the Alaska zone.
The Nanooks were able to revive their offense in the third period, experiencing one of their few bright spots of the night.
Alaska scored at 13:03, as sophomore center Dion Knelsen one-timed in his brother and sophomore right wing Brandon Knelsen's pass from the left circle for Alaska's first power-play goal of the season.
"Doc came in between the second and third periods and he challenged us," said senior defenseman and team captain T.J. Campbell. "We met that challenge. He was right when he said we got away from our game plan in the second period.
"Just like that, we're back with our game plan, and we won the third period 2-1. There's a lot of heart in that dressing room; that's definitely something we don't lack but there's just going to be different areas that we have to work on for Michigan State."
The final two games of the Governor's Cup Series are set for Dec. 28-29 at the Carlson Center. If the Nanooks are to regain the Cup for the first time since the 2005-06 season, they need to win both games and then prevail in a shootout following Game 4.
