Feb. 9, 2008
Box Score
By Danny Martin
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
BOWLING GREEN, OH - The words "we have to outwork them,'' were repeated by more than one Alaska Nanooks player after Friday night's loss to Bowling Green State University.
The ninth-place Nanooks heeded their own advice on Saturday night for a 4-1 victory over the sixth-place Falcons for a split of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association series in the BGSU Ice Arena.
"We knew after last night that we got outcompeted, and that's something that is just not acceptable with the way our team's built,'' said sophomore center Dion Knelsen, who scored in the second period. "So, we just came into this game thinking that we're going to have work harder than them and we're going to have to outcompete them ... we worked hard today and we feel good about the win.''
Freshman right wing Landon Novotney and junior defenseman Steve Vanoosten also scored for the Nanooks, who had 28 shots while improving to 8-13-3 CCHA and 8-16-4 overall with four games left in the regular season.
Wylie Rogers was a portrait of hard work, as the Alaska senior goaltender stopped 46 of 47 shots. It was 15 more saves than he recorded in Friday's 4-2 loss.
On the way to backstopping Alaska's third win in its last four games, last week's CCHA Goaltender of the Week survived 22 shots and six power plays by Bowling Green in the third period. The Nanooks had 28 shots for the night, but mustered only seven in the third.
The Nanook sealed the win on junior center Adam Naglich's backhand from the neutral zone into an empty net with 27 seconds left in the contest.
Rogers applauded the Nanooks' penalty killers in the third for helping him record his second-highest saves total of the season, following the 50 he registered in a 4-3 victory at Ferris State on Jan. 11.
"Everyone just did a great job of clearing guys out in front," Rogers said. "Whenever there was a rebound, we were on the D-side and that made it real easy for me to get to loose pucks, and they took guys' sticks away, which eliminated second chances for them."
Senior left wing Derek Whitmore, who scored in the second period for Bowling Green (11-11-0, 14-14-0), was among the Falcons vying for multiple chances against Rogers in the third.
"Desperate -- that was mindset going into the period," said Whitmore, who had a game-high 12 shots Saturday and ranks third nationally with 23 goals. "We knew we were down two goals and the only way you're going to score goals is to shoot pucks. We knew they weren't going to lay over for us and we just had to throw the kitchen sink at them, and I thought we did a great job.
"We got chances and Wylie stood on his head in the third period and you've got to give him a lot of credit, he's a great goaltender. We did what we wanted to do, but it just didn't go in for us.''
The Nanooks emerged from the second period with a 3-1 lead resulting from grittiness.
Aaron Lee's determination set up a 2-0 lead at the 1:47 mark.
The senior left wing recovered from a check near the left corner and worked the puck across the left circle, while Falcons defenseman Kyle Page and center Josh Boyd were draped on him. BGSU goalie Nick Eno slid over to the left side of the crease, so Lee quickly fed the puck to an onrushing Vanoosten, who tapped his first of the season into an open right side of the net.
"It was great to see that line contributing tonight,'' Novotney said. "I know they don't always get enough ice time as they deserve, but Aaron Lee worked his butt off in the corner down low and got the puck to Vanoosten. Any secondary scoring that we can find at this time of the season is great and it will help out the team.''
Whitmore provided Bowling Green's first goal of the night, lifting the puck from the right side of the crease over Novotney and Rogers at 4:39. Whitmore faked a pass to the right wing before deciding to spin in front of Novotney and shoot.
"We felt pretty confident with our forwards down low against their defensemen tonight, being able to come out of the corner," Whitmore said. "Fortunately, I was able to get a step on the defenseman (Novotney) and when you're in tight, the rule of thumb is just try to get the puck up under the bar, and I was able to do that.''
Novotney helped his team to a two-goal cushion at 18:40 during a 4-on-4 situation. Vanoosten sent the puck to the net and Novotney bolted to the front of the crease, but his effort was denied by Eno. The rebound went off the freshman's leg and Dion Knelsen pounced on the puck to deposit his 10th of the season.
"It was a mess of bodies and the puck was bouncing all over the place,'' said Knelsen. "Vanoosten did a great job of getting the puck to the net. It went off Novotney's leg and I just kept whacking at it, and finally, it went it in. It was kind of a grinder's goal, but I'll take it.''
The Nanooks won two faceoffs in the first 13 seconds of the game, and 14 seconds later, scored with Novotney's goal for a lead they would build on over the next 59 minutes, 33 seconds.
Eckford dropped a pass in the high slot and Novotney one-timed in his team-high 13th goal of the season off of Eno's stick-side shoulder.
Novotney said Alaska head coach Doc DelCastillo "was giving me a hard-time last night for not pulling the trigger.'' He had three shots and no points Friday night.
"So, I figured I let one go,'' said Novotney, who has three goals in his last three games. "Eckford made a beautiful pass and it went off his shoulder and found the back of the net.''
Rogers withstood 10 shots in the period and his teammates supported him with intense checking, blocking shooting and passing lanes and winning more races to loose pucks.
"I thought the team showed a lot of character and they were really competitive," DelCastillo said. "I thought it was a good hockey game back and forth, but I thought we played a simpler game and that's what helped us, and we capitalized on the opportunities we had."
