HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Three Nanooks had a two-point night to lift the Alaska Nanooks hockey team to a 6-3 victory over the University of Alabama-Huntsville in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association contest on Friday evening at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Earning two WCHA points on the night, the Nooks had an explosive third period effort that included the game-winning goal from senior forward Alec Hajdukovich, his second game-winner in the last five games.
The Nanooks improve to a 6-11-4 overall record and move to 4-9-4 in WCHA contests, while the Chargers drop to 4-15-2 overall and 2-11-2 in WCHA games.
"We were fortunate to get three goals in the third to get the win, but I think the biggest takeaway from the night was how we got to that point," head coach Dallas Ferguson said following Friday's win. "I think we had a decent start to the night but we gave up two goals, so the process of trying to get back in the game on the power play was big for us. It's nice to get over the hump and capitalize on an opportunity to win a hockey game and I thought the guys responded well."
Senior forward Tyler Morley and junior forward Marcus Basara each had a goal and an assist, while senior forward Nolan Huysmans collected two assists on the night. After Friday's victory, Basara and Huysmans are on a three-game point streak, while T. Morley is riding a four-game point streak. Senior defenseman Josh Atkinson collected his first shorthanded goal of his collegiate career, while freshman forward John Mullally now leads all Nanook rookies in points with five (2G, 3A).
"Last week before we started playing, we talked to our team about our core guys and how our leaders need to start leading. If you're a goal-scorer, you need to score goals. If you're a depth guy, you need to check well, everyone's got a role on the team. But at the end of the day, our go-to guys need to start getting the job done and I thought everyone has responded well. I'm happy for them (Basara, Huysmans & T. Morley), but it was really nice to see guys like John Mullally and Peter Krieger find the back of the net as well," Ferguson said of the eight-man contribution Friday night.
Junior goaltender Davis Jones made 28 saves on the night, while Huntsville's Carmine Guerriero made 11. The Nanooks were outshot by the Chargers 31-29, but Alaska was able to capitalize on 2-of-3 power play opportunities, while Huntsville was 1-of-7 on the power play.
The first period saw three goals between both teams, including two power play goals, with Huntsville taking a 2-1 lead after the first 20 minutes in regulation. The Chargers put themselves on the board first when Chad Brears scored at the 4:11 mark of the first to make it 1-0. Max McHugh rushed the puck up the middle of the ice with speed, drawing four Nanooks to him on the backcheck, when McHugh then kicked the puck out Brears, who was entering the zone wide, before ripping a wrister short-side upstairs on Jones. Brennan Saulnier was awarded the secondary assist.
Seven minutes later (11:35), the Chargers struck again, this time on the power play, to make it 2-0. Brears had the puck on the side flank of the umbrella before moving it back to McHugh, who was on the blueline quarterbacking the power play. McHugh found a gap in the Nanooks penalty kill and fired a low wrist shot on Jones, who was screened, to extend the Chargers' lead to two. McHugh's goal was assisted by Brears and Brandon Parker.
The Nanooks responded by scoring a power play goal at the 15:25 mark of the first period, making it 2-1. Senior forward Tyler Morley got his 11th goal of the season, third goal on the power play, after being left alone in front of Guerriero. The play began when junior forward Marcus Basara and senior forward Nolan Huysmans drew both Huntsville defensemen below the goal line, before Huysmans kicked the puck out to T. Morley for a quick top-shelf snapshot on Guerriero.
Senior defenseman Josh Atkinson kept the party going, scoring shorthanded at the 6:19 mark of the second period to tie things up 2-2. Atkinson was breaking the puck out of the Nanook zone on the penalty kill, when he saw a lane up-ice and skated past four Huntsville skaters. Atkinson's rush turned into a 3-on-1 with sophomore forward Tayler Munson and junior forward Brandon Morley, before Atkinson snapped one past Guerriero far side for his first shorthanded goal of his career.
At the 8:41 mark of the second period, Brears scored his third point of the night to give the Chargers the 3-2 lead. McHugh started the play by crashing the net hard and throwing the puck on net, when the rebound continued on in the corner for Kurt Gosselin to pick up and kick up top to Brears who was floating high in the Nanook D-zone. Brears shot on net with two Huntsville players screening in front to score his second goal of the night.
The Nanooks stuck on the power play once more, when Basara scores seven seconds into the man-advantage at the 10:23 mark of the second period. T. Morley won the face-off back to sophomore defenseman Justin Woods in the Charger zone, when Woods walks across the blueline to the center of the zone, before kicking it backwards to Basara who was along the boards. Basara saw an opening toward Guerriero with T. Morley and Huysmans screening in front before scoring his sixth goal of the season.
The third period started off with a bang, when senior forward Alec Hajdukovich gave the Nanooks their first lead of the game, scoring at the 19:49 mark of the third period to make it 4-3 Alaska. The Chargers were looking to breakout of their zone when one Huntsville defenseman whiffed on a pass, turning it over to Huysmans in the corner. Huysmans made a heads-up play, buying some time for himself before dishing it cross-ice to Hajdukovich, who was crashing the net hard. Hajdukovich connected on the pass before making a quick move on the Charger defenseman before putting it five-hole on his backhand.
"I think that anytime you have a lead, it's always about the next goal," Ferguson said. "No matter what that lead is, I think the mentality is to get the next one, I think that's where momentum comes into play. Last weekend we had leads, I think, five different times and we couldn't get the next one to get a two-goal lead, and good teams in this league will find ways to come back into the game no matter what. You're going to have to win tight games in the second-half stretch here and learning to play with a lead is crucial."
Ten minutes later (10:39), fresh out of the penalty box, sophomore forward Peter Krieger ripped one past Guerriero to extend the lead to 5-3 for the Nanooks. The Nanooks forced a turnover inside the Charger zone for Krieger to pick up the loose puck before rifling it inside the face-off dot. Krieger's third goal of the season was assisted by sophomore forward Colton Sparrow and sophomore defenseman Nick Hinz.
To seal the victory, freshman forward John Mullally capitalized on a Charger defensive turnover right outside the Nanook blueline to go on a breakaway. Mullally faked a shot on Guerriero, before he pulled a toe-drag across the crease, putting it away on his backhand. Mullally's second collegiate goal came at the 14:33 mark of the third period.
The Alaska Nanooks hockey team returns to the Von Braun Center for the second game in this weekend's WCHA series against the University of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers on Saturday, Jan 9 in Huntsville, Alabama. Puck-drop is set for 4:07 p.m. AST.
"Tomorrow's game plan is to continue to play the game the right way," Ferguson concluded. "I think we need to recognize that we won the game in the third period and Huntsville probably isn't going to feel too good about how the game ended in their building, so I think our team needs to respond with a good start. Last year when we were down here, we won the first game in the third period and when we didn't start the game on Saturday very well, they scored in the first shift. We needed to learn from that and it's something to be prepared for tomorrow. Having a good start is something that's really important to us and staying focused on how we need to be successful."
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