Box Score FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- The Alaska Nanooks hockey team exploded for five goals in the second period, as they mounted an impressive 7-2 come-from-behind victory against American International College on the first night of the Brice Alaska Goal Rush.
Alaska (1-2) faced a 2-0 deficit heading into the first intermission, but the Nanooks would come out of the break with its offense firing on all cylinders, as they captured five second period goals to take a 5-2 advantage into the night's final break. Alaska tacked on two more scores in the third period, as they captured a 7-2 win. Friday's victory is the first of the season for Alaska and give them a 12-1-2 all-time record in the BAGR. Friday's victory sets the Nanooks up for a chance to win their fourth-straight BAGR title and their sixth championship overall in the Brice.
"I really liked the way we played in the first period, but we didn't get a goal," said Alaska head coach Dallas Ferguson. "We created a lot of good scoring chances, but were unable to break through, which reminded me a bit about last Saturday's game in Anchorage. We came out in the second period with a sense of urgency, looking for that first goal, and that one turned into five for us. We kept skating and kept moving the puck in the third after scoring five goals, and I'm happy with how our players stayed focused and played till the end of the game."
A grand total of seven Nanooks had multi-point games, as the trio of Tayler Munson (2 G, 1 A), Tyler Morley (1 G, 2 A) and Nolan Huysmans (1 G, 2 A) each accounted for three points. The trio ties the Brice Alaska Goal Rush single-game points record with nine other players. Josh Atkinson (2 A), Zach Frye (2 A), Peter Krieger (1 G, 1 A) and Alec Hajdukovich (1 G, 1 A) each had two points apiece to account for their first points of the year.
Munson, a Fairbanks native, put on a show in front of the home crowd, as he started the barrage of second-period goals. The Nanooks first goal of the night was a Fairbanks special, as Munson scored a little over three minutes into the frame off of an assist from another Golden Heart of Alaska native, Hajdukovich. The sophomore netted his second goal of the night nearly seven minutes later, as he fired a rope past the AIC (0-2) goalkeeper to pull his team even with the Yellow Jackets, 2-2.
Brandon Morley scored the eventual game-winning goal just 1:05 later in the period off of an assist from Frye and last year's BAGR MVP Austin Vieth. Hadjukovich and Krieger pushed Alaska's lead to three at 5-2 with a goal each. The Nanooks would strike again just 27 seconds into the final frame with a Huysmans goal, and WCHA Co-Preseason Player of the Year Tyler Morley capped off the night for Alaska with his goal to give his team the 7-2 victory. The goal marked three-point outing for T. Morley, as he now has four points on the year.
Freshman Jesse Jenks got the start in between the pipes for Alaska on Friday and turned in a 22-save performance. Jenks allowed a pair of first period goals, as AIC got a goal from Marc DuBeau three and a half minutes into the contest. AIC added another score right before the intermission with an Austin Orszulak score. Jenks kept a clean sheet in the final two periods of the night, which included an 11-save performance in the second period, as he picked up his first collegiate win.
The Nanooks will conclude the Brice Alaska Goal Rush tomorrow night against RPI. The Engineers fell to Alaska Anchorage, 4-3, in Friday's first matchup. Face-off is set for 7:07 p.m. at the Carlson Center.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like Alaska Nanooks Hockey on Facebook.
