Box Score
Comments from Coach Ferguson
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Sophomore forward
Colton Beck tallied the game-winning goal in the first period and senior goalie
Scott Greenham made 23 saves betwen the pipes to lift the Alaska Nanooks to their first road win of the season. It was Alaska and Greenham's second Central Collegiate Hockey Association shutout win in the last three games and the program best 10th of his career.
The Blue and Gold got a power-play goal from junior center
Nik Yaremchuk in the middle frame and an empty-net power-play tally from junior right wing
Andy Taranto in the wanning seconds of the game. The win improves Alaska, who was tied with BGSU in the conference standings heading into Friday night's contest, to 5-8-2 on the year and 2-7-2 in league games: good for eight points and sole posession of 10th place.
While several of the Nanooks got great looks on goal and tested BGSU's goalie Andrew Hammond in the first period, Beck was the only one who cashed in and opened the scoring at 12:30. Taranto blasted a shot on Hammond, who made the kick save but could not control the rebound that made its way to Beck's stick and into the back of the net. Sophomore
Cody Kunyk fed Taranto the puck for an assist on Beck's sixth goal of the year. Alaska dominated the period with a 21-5 shot margin and carried the 1-0 lead to the locker room at the first intermission.
The second period saw the Falcons go on the offensive as they nearly trippled their shots from the first frame and outshot the visitors 14-7. Despite the momentum swing and being on the defensive side of play, Alaska managed to capitalize on its second power play chance of the game at 19:18 of the second period.
While stationed at the right post, Yaremchuk deflected a shot from the point by senior defenseman
Scott Enders past Hammond's glove to make it 2-0 with his team-best seventh goal of the season. Sophomore rearguard
Michael Quinn dished the puck to Enders before his blast from the point, to notch his third assist in the last five games.
In the final frame, defense reigned but Alaska narrowly edged its host 5-4 in shots on goal. With a slew of Falcon penalties in the last 10 minutes of the contest, the visitors managed to turn on the red light a third time.
With Bobby Shea serving a two-minute minor for cross-checking and facing a two-goal deficit, the Falcons pulled Hammond in attempts to get on the board; however, Taranto won a foot race to a puck in the neutral zone and boxed out his contender before skating the puck between the circles and firing it into the empty net with just 38 seconds remaining.
For the game, the Nanooks were 2-of-6 with the man advantage and killed off all three chances afforded their hosts. It was the first time the Nanooks scored two power-play goals in a game this season and the first time since they went 2-for-5 in a 4-3 overtime win against Michigan State in Fairbanks on Mar. 5, 2011.
Hammond made 30 stops in the loss and the Falcons fell to 6-7-2 and 1-7-1-1 in the CCHA.
The teams face off for the weekend finale on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. EST. The game will be aired live in Fairbanks on KFXF Fox 7 beginning at 3:05 p.m. AKST.
