Box Score ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Alaska Nanooks hockey team suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday afternoon, as ASU scored the go-ahead goal with 34 seconds remaining in the game to force the Nanooks to an 0-2 weekend at the Kendall Hockey Classic.
Arizona State (1-1) forced a turnover around the Nanooks blue line in the closing minute of the third period, as Jordan Raats played the puck to Ryan Belonger, who was behind the Alaska (0-2) defense. Belonger raced alone towards the goal and came away with the decisive breakaway goal with 34 ticks remaining in the game. It is the first win as an NCAA Division I member for the Sun Devils, while for the Nanooks go 0-2 in the Kendall Hockey Classic for the first time since their first appearance in the Classic during the 1986-87 season.
"I thought we deserved a better fate than we got tonight," said head coach Dallas Ferguson. "We generated a lot of scoring chances in the first period, but we didn't capitalize on them. Give credit to Arizona State. They really weathered the storm, hung around, and got their game going during the second period. In the third period, we had a five-on-three (power play) and we didn't capitalize on it, but a turnover at the blue line with 30 seconds left isn't the way you want to end the game. There are still a lot of positives to pull from this game, so we are going to focus on those moving forward."
The Alaska offense came out firing during the first period, as they posted 17 shots on goal. The Nanooks broke through for their first goal of the season eight minutes into the contest thanks to Western Collegiate Hockey Association's Co-Preseason Player of Year Tyler Morley. Morley received a Peter Krieger pass in the slot and flicked the puck past the Sun Devils goal keeper to give the Nanooks the 1-0 advantage. It was Morley's 43rd career goal and his 93rd career point, as he is just seven points away from 100 points in his career.
Krieger and freshman Jack Weiss were credited with the assists on Morley's goal. Weiss' assist would mark his first collegiate point.
Arizona State responded after the first intermission, as they got the equalizer 1:13 into the second period. Joey Ratts fired a shot on goal that bounced off Davis Jones. Jones was able to prevent the second attempted shot by the Sun Devils, but Notre Dame transfer Garrett Peterson succeeded on the third try, as he knotted the game at 1-1. Alaska had several good looks in the offensive zone in the closing minutes of the second frame, but came up empty, as the two teams went into the second intermission tied at 1-1.
The Nanooks had a 5-on-3 power play just four minutes into the third period, but were unable to break through with a goal, as the trio of Arizona State skaters successfully killed the power play. ASU had a chance to get on the board seven minutes into the final period, as a scrum in front of the net knocked down Jones, but sophomore Zach Frye was able to man the open net to prevent a Sun Devil goal. Arizona State would eventually net the winning-goal with 34 seconds remaining in the game to upset the Nanooks, 2-1.
Alaska held a 38-26 advantage in shots, as Davis collected 20-plus saves for the second-straight game, with 24.
The Nanooks return to Fairbanks to play in their season opener next weekend, as they host in the 2015 Brice Alaska Goal Rush. The two-day event starts on Friday, Oct. 16, with a contest against American International, followed by a Saturday, Oct. 17, date with RPI. Both games are slated for a 7:07 p.m. start.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like Alaska Nanooks Hockey on Facebook.
