BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – Rookie defenseman Danny Kiraly scored 25 seconds into overtime to lift the Alaska Nanooks hockey team to a 2-1 victory over the Ferris State University Bulldogs in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association contest at the Ewigleben Ice Arena on Saturday night. The Nanooks improve to 7-14-3 overall and 6-9-3-3 in conference play, while the Bulldogs drop to 7-14-4 overall, 6-9-3-2 WCHA.
After Saturday's victory, the Nanooks earned five conference points on the weekend, collecting two from Friday's 3-3 tie and three WCHA points from Kiraly's goal within the 65-minute mark. Alaska now sits in fifth place in the conference standings with 24 points.
"We battled hard tonight and I really liked how our team dug deep when they needed to," head coach Dallas Ferguson said following Saturday's game. "Credit to our penalty kill for the job they did tonight, especially killing off that five-on-three and the five-minute major."
In the opening seconds of the Nanooks' second-consecutive overtime game, the Nanooks came out firing on all cylinders and sustained pressure on the forecheck in the offensive zone. Junior defenseman Zach Frye kicked the puck down into the corner to freshman forward Tyler Cline, who rimmed the puck behind the FSU goal to Kiraly, who was sitting on the blueline on the far side. Kiraly let loose a long shot from the point which snuck passed FSU's goaltender Darren Smith to seal the overtime victory.
"The game-winning goal is something we talked about all weekend," Ferguson continued. "Let's get pucks and bodies to the net and usually good things will happen."
Ferris State struck early against the Nanooks, as senior forward Gerald Mayhew scored 49 seconds into the first period to take a 1-0 lead. Mayhew's 12th goal of the season came off of a neutral zone turnover by the Nanooks, creating an odd-man rush into Alaska's zone. Mayhew's linemate Corey Mackin made a nifty backhand pass to Mayhew for his ninth assist of the season.
Alaska refused to accept the early push by the Bulldogs, as junior forward Tayler Munson scored at the 12:25 mark of the first period to tie the game at 1-1. Cline dished the puck back to sophomore forward Chad Staley, who was sitting along the blueline in the Bulldog's defensive zone. Staley kicked the puck across the blueline to Munson, who was the high forward in the slot, before the Fairbanks native's wrist shot caught Smith off his target to tally his third goal of the season. Cline's assist on Munson and Kiraly's goal marks the rookie's first multi-point game of his career, while Staley picks up his eighth assist of the season.
Not to be overshadowed, senior goaltender Davis Jones registered 45 saves on the night, only three short of his single-game career-high of 48. Jones collected double-digit saves in each of the three regulation periods on Saturday, including a single-period game-high of 17 in the second.
On the other end of the ice, Ferris State's Darren Smith recorded 26 saves on the night, including 11 in the third period.
"It was a great start to our road trip," Ferguson concluded. "The league is tightening up and it's only going to get tougher. We'll take tomorrow off and start preparing for two big games in Bowling Green."
The Alaska Nanooks continue their two-week road trip, taking on the Bowling Green Falcons next Friday, Jan. 20 and Saturday, Jan. 21 for a two-game WCHA series. Puck-drop is slated for 3:07pm AKST both nights.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey team page on Facebook.
