FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks hockey team improved to 9-14-2 on Saturday night with their second-straight 5-1 win over the Long Island Sharks. With the loss, LIU is now 11-14-1.
How it Happened
The first 20 minutes of play were scoreless; LIU outshot the 'Nooks 11-5. In the second,
Dean Spak and the Nanooks struck first. Spak scored his first-career goal 12:05 into the middle stanza for a 1-0 lead; he tipped the puck out front of the crease, redirecting it past LIU netminder Daniel Duris.
Adam Cardona earned the primary off the initial shot from the point and
Tommy Cronin picked up the secondary. 1:12 later,
Peyton Platter scored the second of the evening. He took a pass from
Cade Ahrenholz and wrapped a shot past Duris in the slot for the 2-0 lead.
The Nanooks took a 2-0 lead into the third period but 2:28 into the third, while on the power play, LIU cut the lead in half on a Nate Benoit goal. Noah Serdachny picked up the primary and Sixten Jennersjö picked up the secondary. That goal was nothing but a temporary setback for Alaska as they answered back with three unanswered goals in the next 4:11.
Tommy Cronin picked up the first, making it 3-1 off a
Rylen Roersma assist. Less than a minute after Cronin's goal,
Chase Dafoe made it 4-1.
Jhett Larson and
Carson Reed teamed up for the assists on the captain's goal. Just 1:15 later,
Alexander Malinowski scored the final goal of the night making it 5-1.
Dean Spak and
Cade Ahrenholz earned the assists, giving both of them multipoint nights.
Inside the Numbers
- Alaska did not score on the power play tonight, going 0-2. They were 4-5 on the penalty kill.
- Lassi Lehti had a strong night in goal for Alaska. He earned his eighth win of the season with a 36-save effort. The Nanooks put 24 shots on net.
- Chase Dafoe was 9-18 on the draw tonight. His nine wins were a team-high. Peyton Platter won seven of 12 to follow Dafoe.
- The teams were almost even on the dot. LIU had the advantage 25-24 on faceoff wins.
- 10 Nanooks tallied a point in tonight's game.
- Cade Ahrenholz had a pair of assists, Tommy Cronin scored a goal and added an assist and Dean Spak also had an assist and goal - his first-career goal.
- Alaska blocked 15 shots tonight. Three finished with two; Jackson Anderson, Peyton Platter, and Nathan Rickey.
What's Next
The Nanooks travel to Anchorage next weekend for the second set of Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup games. They will face the Seawolves on Feb. 6-7 at Sullivan Arena. Friday's game is a 7 p.m. AKST start and Saturday is a 5 p.m. AKST start time.
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