Box Score BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – Despite a furious rally which saw Alaska score three times in a matter of 6:24 in the third period, it wasn't enough as No. 10/13 Ferris State used an insurance goal with the empty net to claim a 5-3 Western Collegiate Hockey Association victory Friday night at Ewigleben Ice Arena.
The Nanooks (5-4-2, 2-3-0 WCHA) did, however, see a career milestone take place. Senior center
Cody Kunyk (Sherwood Park, Alberta/Business Administration) netted his team-leading seventh goal of the season, which put the assistant captain at 100 career points 945-55—100) through 122 games as a collegian.
The Bulldogs (9-2-1, 6-0-1 WCHA) kept its conference unbeaten streak alive after seeing goals from five different players, including the game's first four to put the hosts up 4-0 early in the third.
Jason Binkley and
Kenny Babinski both had one goal and one assist to lead the offense.
Alaska outshot Ferris 44-32 for the game and both teams failed to score on the man advantage as the Nanooks went 0-for-4 and the Bulldogs went 0-for-2. FSU held a 15-8 advantage on blocks.
CJ Motte picked up the victory in net for Ferris to improve to 9-0-1 after he made 41 saves and also had two secondary assists, the first two helpers of his season, while sophomore goaltender
John Keeney took the loss for the Nanooks as he dropped to 3-2-1 on the year with 27 stops.
Alaska was led by sophomore right wing
Marcus Basara (Port Moody, British Columbia/Business Administration) and sophomore center
Tyler Morley (Burnaby, British Columbia/Business Administration) as both had one goal and assist each in the defeat.
The Bulldogs opened the scoring at 8:18 of the first period to take an early 1-0 lead. FSU brought the puck across the blue line and
Gerald Mayhew dished the puck to an open
Dom Panetta, who fired a shot high over Keeney's glove hand for the game's first goal.
The Bulldogs gave themselves a nice cushion with a pair of goals separated by 93 seconds late in the second period despite being outshot 15-5 by the 'Nooks.
Alaska failed to score on a five-minute power play and moments after
Josh Erickson's (Roseau, Minn./General Studies) backhand shot went off the pipe, Justin DeMartino fed the puck to a wide open
Matt Robertson, who went five-hole for the 2-0 lead at 16:55 of the second.
Only 1:33 later,
Justin Buzzeo dished the puck from left to right in the offensive zone and Binkley wristed a shot into Keeney's pads for what appeared to be a stop but the puck snuck past Alaska's netminder for the 3-0 lead at 18:28.
FSU opened the third by scoring its fourth goal just 44 seconds in. In a scrum, the Bulldogs came out with it and
Scott Czarnowczan passed off to
Chad McDonald, who fired a blast over the glove of Keeney off the cross bar and in for a 4-0 advantage.
The Nanooks finally got on the board at 5:12 of the third, which would spark the offense. Sophomore defenseman
Colton Parayko (St. Albert, Alberta/Business Administration) found Basara and he finished with a backhand shot out in front that beat Motte to make it 4-1.
At 10:21, Alaska saw the career milestone for Kunyk. Right off the face-off win, Kunyk possessed the puck and fired a shot that went under the glove hand of the Ferris netminder to make it a two-goal game.
Less than a minute and a half later, the Nanooks struck again, trimming the deficit to 4-3 at 11:36 of the third. Junior defenseman
Trevor Campbell (Kansas City, Mo./Mechanical Engineering) found Morley in front with a back door pass and buried it in the net.
In the final minute, Alaska went to the extra attacker with an empty net but Babinski was able to get possession on the offensive end and add the insurance with the empty-net goal, extending Ferris' unbeaten streak to eight games (7-0-1).
Both teams return to the ice to close out the weekend Saturday night at 7:07 p.m. (EST).
