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SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The late game-tying goal by No. 14 Lake Superior State was quickly forgotten when freshman center
Joey Davies (Demorestville, Ontario/Business Administration) lit the lamp for his first career goal to give Alaska a 3-2 overtime victory in Western Collegiate Hockey Association play Saturday night at Taffy Abel Arena.
The Nanooks (5-3-2, 2-2-0 WCHA) earned the weekend split with Davies' goal 2:41 into the extra period.
Sophomore defenseman
Colton Parayko (St. Albert, Alberta/Business Administration) played the puck off the boards to send it down ice and rookie center
Shawn Hochhausen (Kelowna, British Columbia/Petroleum Engineering) was there to pass it back to a charging Davies. Davies fired a shot in the left circle that hit off LSSU goalie
Kevin Kapalka's stick and trickled in for the game winner.
The victory ended a four-game losing skid to the Lakers (5-2-1, 1-1-0 WCHA) and marked the first win in Sault Ste. Marie since Nov. 21, 2009, which was also a 3-2 overtime winner off the stick of former Nanook
Bryant Molle.
Alaska also saw goals from senior center
Cody Kunyk (Sherwood Park, Alberta/Business Administration) and freshman right wing
Marcus Basara (Port Moody, British Columbia/Business Administration). Sophomore goaltender
John Keeney (Twin Peaks, Calif./Business Administration) improved his record to 3-1-1 on the year after an excellent game between the pipes with 27 saves, including four big ones in overtime.
For Lake Superior,
Eric Drapluk and
Alex Globke scored for the hosts while
Kevin Czuczman had a pair of assists in the loss. Kapalka dropped to 2-1-1 on the season despite a game-high 37 saves in net.
Alaska took a 1-0 lead with a power play score 4:54 into the game.
Michael Quinn worked with the puck on the right side and fed it to Kunyk with a backhand and Kunyk fired a wrist shot top shelf over Kapalka's glove for his sixth goal of the year. That goal also marked the 99th career point for Kunyk.
The Lakers tied it back up with a power-play tally of their own at 17:38 of the first. Drapluk received the puck at the point from Czuczman and his shot beat Keeney to knot it up at 1-1.
In the second period, Basara put Alaska back up 2-1 with his fourth of the season at 4:27. Sophomore center
Tyler Morley (Burnaby, British Columbia/Business Administration) won the face-off in the offensive zone and immediately passed it left to right to an open Basara who tapped it in for the score.
Leading 2-1 late in regulation, Lake Superior wasn't done as Globke tallied his third goal of the weekend with only 1:24 to play. Moving up the right side, Czuczman fed the puck through traffic and Globke was there to beat Keeney stick side to square it at 2-2 to set up the overtime.
The Nanooks outshot LSSU 40-29 and had a 15-5 advantage on blocks and 32-26 lead in the face-off circle.
Alaska will have next week off before resuming WCHA play Nov. 22-23 at Ferris State in Big Rapids, Mich.
