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Box Score]
FAIRBANKS, AK - The Alaska Nanooks hockey team got off to a solid start in their penultimate Central Collegiate Hockey Association game as they whitewashed the visiting Lake Superior State Lakers 4-0 Friday night at the Carlson Center to earn three key big points in the league standings.
With a 32-save performance from sophomore goalie
Scott Greenham (Addison, ON) and a career-best four-point night from senior center
Dion Knelsen (Three Hills, AB) the Blue and Gold improved to 13-9-9 on the season and 10-9-8-4 in the CCHA good for 42 points and a fourth place tie with Northern Michigan.
Also making powerful offensive contributions were junior forward
Dustin Sather (Wanham, AB) (2-1-3) and rookie
Andy Taranto (Woodridge, IL) (0-2-2).
After the teams skated to a scoreless first period, Sather opened up the scoring at the 4:18 mark of the second stanza when he corralled a rebound off a Taranto pass then deposited it into the wide-open net past LSSU's Brian Mahoney-Wilson for his seventh tally of the season. Knelsen picked up his first of four assists on the eventual game-winning power-play marker for the 1-0 lead.
Moments later Alaska was able to double its lead off the stick of sophomore defenseman
Joe Sova (Berwyn, IL). Taranto fed Sova at the point and he rung a shot off the inside of the left goalpost and past Mahoney-Wilson at 6:49 for the Nanooks second goal in a span of 84 seconds.
Sather capped off the explosive second period action for Alaska when he took a one-time pass from
Dion Knelsen and tickled the twine at the 10:03 mark to make it 3-0. Sophomore defenseman
Bryant Molle (Anchorage, AK) picked the pocket of a Lakers forward and got the puck to Knelsen who jumped in a two-on-one rush the other way where he found Sather at the last minute to again put it into a wide open net.
Lake Superior State got a prime chance to get on the scoreboard as the start of the third period saw them skating with a man-advantage. Unfortunately for them, the home team stood tall and Alaska's penalty kill unit did not allow a single shot to reach Greenham, blocking shot after shot and clogging up the shooting lanes.
Following the failed power play attempt the Lakers kept the offensive pressure on with a flurry of shots and rushes, but Greenham was up to the task and kept the visitors off the scoreboard.
The consistent and solid defensive play by the Blue and Gold fueled their offense on the other end as Sather and Knelsen continued to have monster games. The pair set up freshman Nik Yaremchuk (St. Albert, AB) for his fifth goal of the season and Alaska the four-goal margin at 14:25 of the final frame. Sather fed Knelsen going up the left wing as he led another odd-man rush and dished the puck to Yaremchuck on the right door step where he sent it flying into the back of the Lakers' net.
Despite being outshot 32-26 by their guests, the Nanooks finished the evening 1-for-2 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
With assists on all four goals, Knelsen improved his four-year totals to 41-67-108 in 140 career games to move into a tie for 19th place among Alaska's all-time scorers with Kevin Nohr (38-70-108, 126 gp).
It was also the first time a Nanook skater scored four points in a game since Nov. 3, 2006, when Kyle Greentree had a hat trick and an assist against Nebraska-Omaha.
Saturday night's rematch marks Alaska's last chance to score points in the league standings before they close out their regular season schedule with a home-and-home series against their arch-rivals Alaska Anchorage and look to win their first Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup since 2005. Opening faceoff is at 7:05 p.m. AKT.