BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – Junior forward Austin Vieth scored an empty-net goal in double-overtime to give the Alaska Nanooks the extra Western Collegiate Hockey Association conference point as the Nanooks skated to a 3-3 tie against the Ferris State Bulldogs at the Ewigleben Ice Arena on Friday night.

Due to the WCHA's new conference game format, anything after the 65-minute mark will be considered a tie in the eyes of the NCAA, but Alaska earns two conference points with the double-overtime goal by Vieth. The Nanooks (6-14-3, 5-9-3-3 WCHA) sit tied for seventh place in the conference standings with Lake Superior State, each with 21 points, while the sixth-place Bulldogs (7-13-4, 6-8-3-2 WCHA) only hold a two-point advantage over Alaska with 23 points.

"Tonight was a great college hockey game, there was a good, up-tempo pace and both teams competed hard," head coach Dallas Ferguson said following Friday's tie. "We had great performances up and down our line-up. This group is starting to take the next step and it's fun to watch them come together."

Alaska scored one goal in each of the three regulation periods on Friday, outshooting their opponent 50-39, the most shots on goal from the Nanooks in a single-game so far this season. Both the Nanooks and Bulldogs created scoring chances throughout the night but the game went to the goaltenders, as Alaska senior netminder Davis Jones collected 36 saves, while FSU's Justin Kapelmaster tallied 47 saves on the night, including 21 in the second period alone.

After near back-to-back scoring opportunities by the Nanooks, the tide changed quickly and Ferris State's Gerald Mayhew tallied an even-strength goal at the 10:20 mark of the first period to take a 1-0 lead. FSU's Jared VanWormer turned and ripped a slapshot on goal from the blue line, trying to keep the puck in the Alaska zone, before Mayhew buried the loose puck backdoor.

Alaska answered three minutes later, as rookie forward Colton Leiter notched his sixth goal of the season at the 13:30 mark of the first. In the Bulldogs' defensive zone, Leiter won the face-off back to redshirt-junior defenseman Justin Woods, who fired a shot on net. A deflection in front sent the puck into their air, where Leiter followed up the play and batted the puck in the air behind Kapelmaster to tie the game at 1-1.

Senior captain Brandon Morley registered his second goal of the season, as the Burnaby, British Columbia native scored at the 7:30 mark of the second period to give Alaska a 2-1 lead. Vieth and Morley were on a 2-on-2 before Vieth entered the zone wide and tried to make a stuff play but Kapelmaster kicked the pad out to say no. Fortunately, Morley was crashing the net and cleaned up the rebound by roofing it upstairs.

Ferris State scored twice-more before the end of the second period, as Chad McDonald recorded a power play goal from a long shot with traffic in front at the 11:30 mark before Andrew Dorantes scored from a quick wrist-shot in the slot at the 18:22 mark to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead going into second intermission.  

Freshman forward Troy Van Tetering scored the lone goal of the third period in the opening two minutes, tipping in a shot from linemate Marcus Basara on the power play to tie the game 3-3. Van Tetering's seventh goal of the season was assisted by Basara and junior defenseman Nick Hinz.

Five-on-five overtime proved to be a quick-paced, transitional five minutes but ultimately, both teams would come up scoreless, as Kapelmaster collected eight saves and Davis tallied four in the first overtime.

In the 3-on-3 five minute overtime, senior forward Josh Erickson's forecheck into the FSU zone beat the Bulldog defender, causing Kapelmaster to play the puck behind his own net, rimming it right to Vieth along the hashmark. Erickson and Kapelmaster tripped each other up, giving Vieth an open net to seal the extra conference point.

In total, both the Nanooks and the Bulldogs capitalized on the man-advantage, as Alaska went 1-3 on the power play, while Ferris went 1-4.

"It's the second half of the season and these games will keep getting tougher and tough," Ferguson concluded. "It's time to reset and start our preparation for tomorrow, as we fully expect Ferris to come back with a hard game at home."

The Nooks will take on the Bulldogs again tomorrow, Jan. 14 in another WCHA contest at the Ewigleben Ice Arena with puck-drop scheduled for 3:07pm AKST. 

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey team page on Facebook.