[
Box Score]
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Sophomore right wing
Nik Yaremchuk scored with 20 seconds left in overtime to lift the Alaska Nanooks to a 3-2 victory in the opening game of their Central Collegiate Hockey Association best-of-three first round playoff series against the Michigan State Spartans on Friday night at the Carlson Center. The win also gave third-year head coach
Dallas Ferguson his 50th triumph at the helm for the Blue and Gold, making him just the second Nanook bench boss to eclipse 50 wins in three years behind Don Lucia's 53 (1987-90).
The Nanooks improved to 15-15-5 on the year and 7-3 at home in post-season play.
Alaska battled back from a pair of one-goal deficits in the second and third periods to tie up the game before striking for the game-winner in the wanning seconds of the 20-minute sudden death overtime period and the 1-0 series lead.
Yaremchuk's tally was generated off a shot from the point by junior defenseman Joe Sova that hit the right wing in the center of the Nanooks' logo on his chest and fell to his stick. He drew it back as he reversed from the slot into the right faceoff circle, where he fired the puck over screened Spartan goalie Drew Palmisano's right shoulder to send 2,678 fans to their feet. Rookie Cody Kunyk fed Sova the puck along the boards from below the goalline to get the play started.
Initially the goal was reviewed as it appeared the net had been knocked off its mooring. One of Michigan State's defenders bumped the right post as he trailed Yaremchuk entering the slot which caused the cage it to tilt up but not off its moorings just seconds before the puck flew past Pamisano.
MSU got on the board first scoring at 8:07 of the middle frame. Junor defenseman Aaron Gens assessed a two-minute minor for holding, which set up the Spartan's power-play tally by Jake Chelios. Derek Grant fired a shot from the right circle that hit senior center Derek Klassen's stick and deflected to Chelios in the slot, where he poked it past the Nanooks netminder Scott Greenham to make it 1-0.
Alaska tied the score with a big blast from the left point with just under three minutes remaining in the second of the stick of rookie Michael Quinn. He notched his first career goal, which sent the teams into the intermission tied 1-1, by one-timing a sweet feed from Yaremchuk and junior Ron Meyers that beat Palmisano just beyond his left leg pad.
The Spartans regained the lead in the third period with an opportunistic goal at 8:26 by Tim Buttery. The inital shot by Greg Wolfe caremed off the left post and Mike Merrifield took two slaps at the rebound to no avail before it squirted out just below the hash marks, and Buttery pounced on it.
The home team countered again, however, as sophomore Jarrett Granberg redirected a Carlo Finucci shot from the right half-boards at 12:45 to make it 2-2.
Alaska finished the three hour and five minute game 0-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
The Nanooks will look to clinch a spot in the second round of the CCHA playoffs with a win tomorrow nigh against the Spartans. The teams are set to rematch at 7:05 p.m. The teams will face off again on Sunday, if necessary, at 6:05 p.m. AKT
