FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks hockey team picked up their first tie of the season on Saturday, Jan. 11 against Lake Superior State. The Lakers grabbed the extra point on the table, winning in three-on-three overtime, however the result will not result in a full three-point win.
The Nanooks grabbed the first goal as
Kylar Hope put his name back into the scoring column after missing Friday's matchup due to a suspension. Hope took a pass from
James LaDouce and
Steven Jandric, firing wrist-shot from the slot past Mareks Mitens glove. The goal came only 7:56 into the first, giving the 'Nooks an early lead and shot at grabbing the weekend sweep.
Before taking the 1-0 lead into the second period, the Nanooks almost struck again when
Colton Leiter pinged the post on a breakaway opportunity.
Erik Largen felt his teams early chances were nice to see but needed to be taken advantage of, "I thought the game started well, we came out with good energy in the first twenty minutes. It's not like we didn't have enough chances to win that game, we just need to find a way to capitalize and have a sense of urgency around the net."
The second period flew by as three penalties filled the stat-sheet and nothing more. When the teams came back to the ice for the third, the Nanooks held a small advantage in shots on goal 19-17, but also had the lone goal on the night. Things changed unfortunately almost 13 and a half minutes in. Pierre-Luc Veillette threw a puck in front of the net that squeaked past Gustavs Grigals, ending his shutout streak at nearly 115 minutes. The tying goal swung the momentum to Lake State, as they kept the push on, putting 12 shots on net to Alaska's five.
In overtime, the teams only combined for three shots after the first five minutes. About midway through the three-on-three overtime, the Lakers struck once more, grabbing the extra point when Veillette struck again sending the Nanooks home.
Alaska takes to the road next weekend when they face off with the Ferris State Bulldogs one last time this season.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey team page on Facebook.
