[Box Score]
ANCHORAGE, AK – The No. 12 Alaska Nanooks came up short in their bid for a third-straight Kendall Hockey Classic title Saturday as the No. 2 North Dakota Fighting Sioux used a 3-1 victory to claim the tournament championship.
Alaska rookie center Cody Kunyk garnered a spot on the Kendall Classic's All-Tournament Team with a pair of goals on the weekend.
One night after blowing a three-goal lead to Alaska Anchorage, the Sioux came out determined to take control and keep it. They did just that, when they took the early advantage on a power-play goal at 15:21. Brett Hextall fired a shot from the right faceoff dot that beat Alaska's Scott Greenham stickside to make it 1-0. The Nanooks trailed on the scoreboard and in shots on goal, 11-4.
The Sioux were relentless coming back from the intermission and they doubled up at 5:40 of the second period with the eventual game-winning goal from Jason Gregoire. They widened the gap with a power-play marker by Matt Frattin at 16:22 and carried that advantage into the second intermission.
A slough of penalties at the close of the second period set Alaska up for its only score of the game. With UND's Brad Malone serving a five-minute face-masking major and another teammate serving his two-minute cross-checking infraction, rookie Cody Kunyk took a backdoor feed and beat Sioux goalie Aaron Dell to make it 3-1 at 3:34 of the final frame. Seniors Kevin Petovello and Bryant Molle assisted on the play.
Alaska did all they could to try to chip away at their deficit, but untimely penalties coupled with solid play from the Sioux foiled any attempts at a comeback.
Greenham finished the game with 27 saves good for 45 on the weekend.
The Blue and Gold return to Fairbanks to host the Brice Alaska Goal Rush at the Carlson Center next Friday and Saturday. Alaska Anchorage faces Colorado College at 5:05 p.m. to open the tournament, followed by the Nanooks game against Union at 8:05 p.m..
