Oct. 7, 2007
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FAIRBANKS, AK- The Alaska Nanooks wrapped up their preseason schedule with a 4-2 victory over Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in front of 3,260 fans at the Carlson Center on Saturday. Toyota Player of the Game Tyler Eckford blasted two goals, including the gamewinner, a one-time slapshot from a T.J. Campbell pass. Landon Novotney also added two goals, opening and closing the scoring for the Blue and Gold.
The damage could have been significantly worse for the Trojans had it not been for an inspired night from goaltender Reese St. Goddard, who faced 52 Nanook shots and recorded 49 saves on the night.
The best early chance, however, fell to the visitors, as Adam Knight jumped in front of an errant pass to find himself one on one with Wylie Rogers. The Nanook keeper bailed his team out, however, deflecting the shot over the net.
Soon after, however, Alaska began to take control of the match, enjoying the lion's share of possession, and it was no surprise when the first power play fell to the Blue and Gold: Southern Alberta's Darren Zurkan whistled for obstruction. Despite a number of good opportunities, however, Alaska could not convert, with Ryan Muspratt and Jeff Penner both seeing shots saved from point blank range.
A clever give-and-go between Dion Knelsen and Aaron Lee up the left side carved an opportunity for the Nanooks, but St. Goddard clutched Knelsen's slapshot to his chest, and the chance was gone. Alaska's T.J. Campbell went close as well, firing just high from a long-range effort.
The Nanooks picked up the second period right where they left of - camped in the Southern Alberta half of the ice- and their pressure soon paid off, following an exciting, end-to-end sequence. Southern Alberta's Joel Barrett worked his way in front of the Alaska net, and his shot deflected off of goalkeeper Erik Largen. Aaron Lee collected the puck and sprinted up the length of the ice. After drawing three Trojan skaters, Lee found Landon Novotney, who dutifully tucked the puck past St. Goddard.
Brimming the confidence after the goal, Alaska continued to pound away at the Trojan defense. Aaron Lee saw his shot hit the post, and Justin Binab had the puck in the back of the net again, only to see it ruled out when St. Goddard was ruled to have had possession.
But just as everything seemed to be going the Nanooks way, the Trojans found an equalizer against the run of play. With just under two minutes to play, T.J. Campbell took a late penalty for a check from behind, and Southern Alberta made the Blue and Gold pay. A clever pass from Tyler Milford released Brock Michaiskv down the Nanooks left wing, and his centering pass found Kyle Gladue, who made no mistake from close range.
The 1-1 scoreline set the boisterous Carlson Center crowd up for an exciting third period, and but for the play of goaltender St. Goddard, the Nanook fans would have had much more to cheer about. The Trojan stopper continued to come up big, stuffing two shots from Aaron Lee and one from Novotney from point-blank range. Braden Walls was the next to be denied by St. Goddard, who then produced an outstanding sliding kick save from a Dion Knelsen rocket that seemed destined for the twine.
One of the frantic scenes in front of goal finally paid off for the Blue and Gold however. With just over six minutes remaining, Eckford pounced on a loose puck in front of the Trojan net, and calmly backhanded it high into the net over a sprawling St. Goddard.
The late goal seemed to put Alaska in charge, but 36 seconds later, the scores were level again. An unlucky bounce off of Alaska's Jeff Lee took the puck straight to Southern Alberta's Bryn Gagon, who promptly slotted past goalie Chad Johnson tie the game at 2-2.
The Nanooks were not to be denied, however, and when they got a late power play chance, the Blue and Gold seized their opportunity. After Michaiskv took a cross-checking penalty, a Walls cutback found T.J. Campbell at the point. Passing up the shot himself, Campbell sent a pass across the ice for Eckford, who angled a first-time blast into the net for a 3-2 lead.
Alaska then held off a desperate late-minute surge from the Trojans, and Novotney added his second on the night, an empty net goal assisted by Aaron Lee, to seal the win for the Nanooks.
With the preseason now behind them, Alaska must now get ready for more serious business, as their regular season opener sees them headed south to Anchorage for the first round of Governor's Cup games on Oct. 19 and 20. First face-off in those matches are set for 7:05 p.m.
