SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The Alaska Nanooks hockey team fell 4-1 to the Lake Superior State University Lakers in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association matchup at the Taffy Abel Arena on Saturday afternoon. The loss drops Alaska's overall record to 5-11-2 and 3-8-1-1 in WCHA play, while the Lakers improve to 4-9-3 on the season and 3-5-2-0 in conference contests.
The weekend split gives both the Nanooks and the Lakers three conference points, as the two teams are currently tied for seventh place in the WCHA standings with 11 points each.
"Unfortunate ending to the weekend," head coach
Lance West said on Saturday. "We played well for 40 minutes but made too many mental mistakes in the third period, which allowed them to gain momentum. It's hard to sweep in this league and we played well for five periods but in this conference, you have to play all three periods in back-to-back nights to be successful."
Turning Point
- After heading into second intermission with the Nanooks carrying a 1-0 lead, Lake Superior's Tyler Anderson netted an even-strength goal only 1:50 into the third period to tie the game at 1-1.
- The Lakers were able to capitalize on an Alaska bench minor at the 8:17 mark to officially take the lead and continue using that momentum throughout the remainder of the game.
Scoring Breakdown
- For the second-straight night, Alaska went on the board first, as junior forward
Ryker Leer netted his fourth goal of the season on the power play at the 15:49 mark of the second period. Leer's tally was assisted by redshirt-senior defenseman
Justin Woods and sophomore defenseman
James LaDouce.
- LSSU tied the game with Anderson's third period goal, courtesy of Chase Gamelin and Max Humitz.
- Henke's game-winning power play goal was assisted by Anthony Nellis and Humitz for his second point of the night.
- Nellis made it a 3-1 game at the 11:36 mark of the third period with an even-strength goal from Henke.
- LSSU's Diego Cuglietta netted an empty-net goal to make it 4-1 in favor of the home team at the 18:46 mark of the third.
Inside the Box Score
- The Lakers outshot the Nanooks for the second-straight night, 31-20
- Each team tallied a power play goal on Saturday, as the Nooks went 1-for-6 while the Lakers went 1-for-4.
- Alaska's sophomore goaltender
Anton Martinsson registered 27 saves on Saturday night, including 13 in the second period alone.
- On the other end of the ice, LSSU's Nick Kossoff collected 19 saves against the Nanooks.
Noteworthy
- Woods is currently on a four-game point streak, registering two goals and three assists for five points since Nov. 24's matchup at home against Michigan Tech
- Leer's first career power play goal is only Alaska's seventh PPG of the season.
- LaDouce is now on a two-game point streak, registering assists in back-to-back games.
The Alaska Nanooks hockey team will be on the road once again next week, taking on in-state rival Alaska Anchorage in a two-game WCHA series at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage on Friday, Dec. 8 and Saturday, Dec. 9. The weekend series will also count toward the coveted Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup and will be the Nanooks' final two games of 2017. Puck-drop is slated for 7:07pm AKST.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey team page on Facebook.
