FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks hockey team skated to a 1-1 tie with the No. 17th-ranked Air Force Falcons in a non-conference matchup at the Carlson Center on Saturday night. The Nanooks improve to 0-1-1 overall, while the Falcons drop to 1-0-1 on the season.

Freshman forward Steven Jandric scored in double-overtime (3x3) to end the game, but according to NCAA Division I ice hockey regulations, the game is considered a tie if teams are still at a stalemate at the conclusion of 65 minutes.

Since the Nanooks were the home team this weekend, the game was played by Western Collegiate Hockey Association regulations that were put into place prior to the 2016-17 season. If the contest is still tied after 60 minutes, the game will continue into a 5-on-5, five-minute overtime. If two teams are still tied, the official result is considered a tie but the teams play on into a 3-on-3, five-minute overtime. Following a scoreless double-OT, the game will go into a shootout until a winner is determined.

Additionally, any statistics past the 65-minute mark do not count toward a player or a team and are deleted. Unfortunately, for the Nanooks, Jandric's goal and the double-overtime "win" are considered a wash since it was a non-conference game. If Saturday's game were a WCHA contest, the Nanooks would earn an extra conference point for scoring in the 3-on-3 or winning a shootout.

"It was an emotional game there, obviously, with some penalties and whatnot," assistant coach Lincoln Nguyen said on Saturday. "We just kept preaching to the team that we need to manage our game and we'll get a bounce and we did in the extra period."

Alaska opened the scoring on Saturday night, as senior defenseman Justin Woods made it a 1-0 game with a power play goal at the 18:06 mark of the first period. Sophomore forward Kylar Hope was along the wall in the Air Force offensive zone before he kicked the puck to Woods along the point. Woods ripped a slapshot that found its way through traffic to earn his first goal of the season. Sophomore forward Colton Leiter was awarded the secondary assist for Woods' goal.

After a scoreless second period, Air Force's Dan Bailey registered the game-tying goal after catching a breakaway pass coming out of the penalty box. Bailey made a move on Alaska sophomore goaltender Anton Martinsson that leaked in five-hole to make it a 1-1 game.

The final 10 minutes of play was anyone's game, as Alaska senior defenseman Zach Frye took an elbowing penalty at the conclusion of the third period to send the Nanooks on a two-minute penalty kill to start the first overtime. The Nanooks were able to kill Frye's penalty before Air Force's Zack Miregeas took an interference penalty at the 3:14 mark of the first overtime to put Alaska on the power play.

Miregeas' penalty carried over into the 3-on-3, five-minute overtime, putting Alaska on a 4-on-3 man-advantage for 1:46. Unfortunately, the Nanooks weren't able to convert on the power play but caught a break at the 3:34 mark when Jandric netted a one-timer past Air Force goaltender Billy Christopoulos to end the game.

Officially, the Nanooks went 1-for-8 on the man-advantage on Saturday night, while Air Force went 0-for-4. Alaska edged their opponents in shots 26-25 as Christopoulos posted a game-high 25 saves. Alaska's Martinsson collected 24 saves against the Falcons on Saturday.

The Alaska Nanooks hockey team will hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to St. Cloud, Minnesota to take on the St. Cloud State University Huskies in a two-game non-conference series this upcoming Friday, Oct. 13 and Saturday, Oct. 14.

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