Box Score Box Score
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Alaska Hockey's sophomore forward
Cody Kunyk scored a hat trick in the first period and senior goalie
Scott Greenham made 23 saves but the Notre Dame Fighting Irish came from behind twice to beat the visitors 5-4 in the final minute of the game on Friday night at the Compton Family Ice Arena in front of a sellout crowd of 5,022 fans.
The Nanooks remained winless in Central Collegiate Hockey Association play at 0-5-2-0 and dropped to 3-6-2 on the year, while the Irish improved to 6-2-2 overall and 4-1-2-0.
Things looked up for Alaska early on as they opened up a two-goal lead and held a 4-3 advantage after just 20 minutes behind Kunyk's hat trick and a marker by junior
Jarret Granberg. However, their hosts were persistent and with a goalie change after the first intermission the Irish rallied and never looked back pulling out the 5-4 win in the last minute of the contest.
The Blue and Gold got on the board first with their first power-play tally in 22 tries. Kunyk took a feed from his linemates
Colton Beck and
Carlo Finucci and tucked the puck past UND's starting goalie Mike Johnson.
Just 21 seconds later, junior forward
Nik Yaremchuk picked up the puck from
Michael Quinn and fired a shot that Granberg deflected over Johnson's right shoulder to make it 2.
Notre Dame cut the lead in half at 8:17 with its first power play of the night as Robbie Russo fired a shot from the high slot over Greenham's glove hand for his second of the season.
The Irish tied the game at 2-2 on a penalty shot at 9:53. Granberg was called for closing his hand on the puck in the crease off a Notre Dame scramble around the goalmouth that resulted in the free shot made good by Riley Sheahan.
UND scored its third straight goal with a power-play strike at 12:38 off the stick of Anders Lee, who hammered a shot from the right face-off circle past Greenham.
Kunyk continued his scoring frenzy with his second of the night, which was a near repeat of his first, coming off a pass from Beck from behind the goal and tucked it past Johnson at 13:58.
He closed out the hat trick at 16:15, when defenseman
Justin Tateson picked Lee's pocket at the Notre Dame blue line and gave it to Kunyk, who beat Johnson on a breakaway for his fourth goal of the season and a 4-3 lead after one period.
The home team opted for a change between the pipes, sending Steven Summerhays in to replace Johnson, and both teams settled down and played more disciplined hockey limiting their turnovers.
Alaska's second lead of the game was erased 7:30 into the middle frame, when the Irish's Billy Maday cut to the net to deflect a pass past Greenham and make it 4-4.
The Blue and Gold had a prime opportunity in the final frame to score the go-ahead goal, as Steven Johns assesed a five-minute major for kneeing at 12:11. UND's PK and Summerhays were up to the task though and the Irish were able to kill it off.
A late penalty to Alaska's Nik Yaremchuck at 17:41 put Notre Dame on its fifth power play chance and Johns made good on the opportunity, when he took a feed in the slot and blasted a shot past Greenham at 19:12.
For the game the teams each had 28 shots on goal. Alaska went 1-for-3 on the power play and 2-of-5 on the penalty kill.
Both teams will meet to close out the series on Saturday at 5:05 p.m.
