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Box Score]
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Sophomore right wing
Nik Yaremchuk notched the game-winning overtime goal for the second straight night to lift the Alaska Nanooks to a 4-3 victory over the Michigan State Spartans at 3:18 of double overtime Saturday evening at the Carlson Center. The win completed the Central Collegiate Hockey Association first-round playoff series sweep for the Blue and Gold and advanced them to a quarterfinal road series next weekend in the Lower 48.
With the win, the Nanooks improve to 16-15-5 on the year. Next weekend's opponent will be determined by the outcome of Sunday's deciding game between Northern Michigan and Bowling Green. If the Wildcats win, Alaska will play at Notre Dame next weekend; however if the Falcons upset NMU, the Nanooks will become the highest remaining seed and play at Miami.
Yaremchuks heroic tally came off a puck battle at the boards near the Spartan's blueline. Rookie
Cody Kunyk kept the puck in the offensive zone and
Ron Meyers poked it up to Yaremchuk, who collected it and stickhandled around Matt Crandelll and snapped a quick wrister from that beat MSU's freshman goalie Will Yanakeff short-side for the W.
After holding the Spartans at bay through two man-advantage opportunities in the first overtime period Alaska's hard work and consistent pressure led to their triumph and the visitors demise. For the game, the Nanooks converted on two of their five power-play chances, while allowing MSU just one in nine tries.
The Nanooks opened the game scoring in the first period, when sophomroe Andy Taranto buried a power-play goal to put the home team up 1-0 board at 7:54. Taranto, who was below the left circle, took a pass from behind the net from Kunyk and redirected it past Yanakeff for the early lead. Rookie winger Colton Beck had the secondary assist on the play.
A momentum shift saw MSU score a pair of goals in less than 90 seconds to turn their one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead that they carried into the first intermission. Dean Chelios knoted the game at 15:43, carrying the puck into the offensive zone, faking out Alaska rearguard
Scott Enders and streaking up the left side. He wristed a shot past Nanook goalie
Scott Greenham to make it 1-1. Dustin Gazley followed, turning on the red light at 17:12, jumping on a rebound of a shot from defenseman Torey Krug.
Alaska knotted the game at two at 12:46 of the second stanza. Junior rarguard
Aaron Gens carried the puck into the zone and took a slapshot from near the right point, which was saved by Yanakeff. The rebound went out to the left side, where senior center
Derek Klassen was crashing the net and beat the sprawling Yanakeff.
Another power-play goal, Alaska's second of the night, gave the Nanooks a 3-2 lead. Kunyk, who teamed up with Joe Sova on Taranto's opening goal, reconnected with the pair to score the go-ahead marker at 15:59, which appeared would send the home team into the intermission with a lead. However, Brett Perlini's shot from the hash marks with 41.6 seconds remaining in the frame knotted the score at three all.
After the wild scoring in the second period, few expected back-to-back scoreless periods in the third period and the first overtime frame. However, the game waged on, and 43 minutes passed before the deciding goal found the back of the net.
Greenham finished the game with 33 saves in 83:18 of action, while his counterpart had 82:48.
NANOOK NOTES: The Nanooks remained unbeaten in overtime this season at 4-0-5 and moved to 3-3 in postseason overtime games and 19-28 overall in playoff games... Alaska is 6-1 in CCHA home playoff games under third-year head coach Dallas Ferguson and 4-0 in the first round.
