FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Special teams proved to the be the difference-maker for the Alaska Nanooks hockey team on Saturday night, as the Nooks fell to the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers 4-1 in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association contest at the Carlson Center.

The loss drops Alaska to 9-16-3 overall and 8-11-3 in conference matchups while the Chargers improve to 8-19-3 overall and 8-13-3 in WCHA play. The Nooks remain in fifth place in the conference standings with 30 points with Ferris State and Lake Superior State deadlocked behind them in sixth place, each with 29 points.

The Chargers scored a power play goal, a shorthanded goal and two even-strength tallies to split the weekend with the Nooks, each team earning three points. UAH's Brennan Saulnier scored 1:12 into the first period before Josh Kestner buried a goal on the man-advantage to make it a 2-0 game with five minutes remaining in the first.  

Sophomore forward Chad Staley gave Alaska their only goal of the night, notching a power play goal at the 16:42 mark of the first period to pull the Nooks to within one. Staley's second goal and third point of the weekend came from junior forward Tayler Munson and junior defenseman Zach Frye.

UAH's Matt Salhany scored a shorthanded goal in the second period to make it a 3-1 game before Alabama-Huntsville's Sean Rappleyea scored an empty-net goal at the 17:51 mark of the third period to seal the Chargers' victory.

Senior goaltender Davis Jones collected 20 saves on the night, while UAH's Jordan Uhelski recorded 30 saves on the other end of the night.

The Alaska Nanooks hockey team travels to Northern Michigan this week, taking on the Wildcats in a two-game WCHA series on the road Friday, Feb. 10 and Saturday, Feb. 11. Puck-drop is slated for 3:07pm AKST on 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.