Box Score FAIRBANKS – Garrick Perry's second period breakaway goal, his second in as many games, gave the Nanooks a 2-1 victory over Lake Superior State on Saturday night at the Carlson Center. The win completed a Western Collegiate Hockey Association sweep of the Lakers.
Post-Game Interview
Shawn Hochhausen gave Alaska the lead early in the first period before Perry doubled the lead in the second. Lake Superior State added a third period power play goal for the second game in a row to pull the game to within 2-1, but Alaska was able to hold on for consecutive victories.
Despite the close score line, the game was dominated by Alaska, who outshot LSSU by a 44-21 overall and held the Lakers to just three shots in the second period. Sean Cahill was impressive in net for the Nanooks, as he made 20 saves and was only denied by shutout by a power play goal late in the game. Lake Superior State's Gordon Defiel made 42 saves on the night, and was the main reason LSSU stayed in the game.
Hochhausen's goal came right in front of the goal, when a shot by Zach Frye from the point was saved by Defiel but the rebound was slammed home by the forward. Up until that point, the game was fairly even, with both teams creating chances, but set from that point on it was nearly all Nanooks.
In the second period, Lake Superior State could sustain no pressure, as Alaska harried and harassed the Lakers all over the ice. Perry epitomized that effort, with strong play on the penalty kill blocking several shots and making sure the puck stayed out of the Nanook zone.
At the 9:41 mark of the second period, Perry forced a turnover at the LSSU blue line, went in all-alone and beat Defiel to double Alaska's lead.
From that point on, Alaska seemed the more likely to score. In the third period, Defiel made several key saves to deny the Nanooks. On occasions that he wasn't there, Alaska was unlucky. Josh Erickson just missed the net from close range and Nolan Kaiser rang the iron from the point.
Lake State set up a nervy ending, however, as it converted on its fourth power play opportunity. Eric Drapluk beat Cahill to make it 2-1.
The Lakers pulled their goaltender with around a minute and a half left, but despite the man-advantage they could not create many clear cut chances. In fact, with the exception of a few Cahill saves, it was Alaska who would come the closest to scoring, as Perry's ambitious effort from center ice rolled off the post.
In the end, the Nanooks deserved their victory, and improved to 14-13-1 on the season and 9-12-1 in the WCHA. Alaska will now welcome the No. 1 team in the country, Minnesota State, next weekend in its final home stand of the 2014-15 season. Earlier this year, when Minnesota State was ranked No. 2, the Nanooks and Mavericks split a series in Mankato, Minnesota.
