BOWLING GREEN, OH - For the second consecutive night the University of Alaska Fairbanks used early goals and defensive perseverance to capture a hard fought 6-3 victory over their host Bowling Green State University. With the pair of wins the Nanooks earned a sweep of the Falcons in the first round Central Collegiate Hockey Association playoff series, and will advance to the CCHA Super Six Tournament at Joe Louis Arena next weekend, March 17-19, in Detroit, Michigan.
UAF's
Aaron Lee (Calgary, AB/Sherwood Park-AJHL) put the Nanooks on the board first at 15:44 while on the power play, when he tapped in a second rebound shot by
Nathan Fornataro (Calgary, AB/Calgary-AJHL) and
Curtis Fraser (Surrey, BC/Vernon-BCHL).
A little over three minutes later, rookie skater
Ryan Muspratt (Calgary, AB/Camrose-AJHL) deposited the puck past BGSU's netminder Jordan Sigalet, giving UAF a two to zero advantage. The Nanooks were hungry to score outshooting the Falcons 16-8 in the first period.
After the first intermission, BGSU stepped up its play, getting a goal from James Unger at 7:50 of the second stanza. UAF's
Kyle Greentree (Victoria, BC/Victoria-BCHL) regained the two goal margin and became the third first-year skater to score on Sigalet, with a marker at 16:17 off the sticks of Ryan McLeod (Fernie, BC/Salmon Arm-BCHL) and Jason Grinevitch (Glendon, AB/Drayton Valley-AJHL).
The Falcons refused to give up the fight, battling the Nanooks for every puck. Two minutes into the third period they saw their hard work pay off when Mike Nesdill capitalized on a power-play opportunity to pull BGSU within one goal of UAF.
UAF's Lee registered his second goal of the night at 11 minutes of the third frame, after recovering from a blocked slap shot to his kneecap in the second period. He blocked the initial shot and despite being temporarily incapacitated with pain, he showed courage, crawling on all fours to find his stick and continuing to play defense as he managed to block another Falcon shot while on the all fours before play was stopped and he could leave the ice.
"The shot went right off the top of my knee cap and my leg was basically paralyzed," said Lee. "But we were still playing, and I didn't have my stick so I thought I should get it and try to block a passing lane."
The entire Nanook squad played with the same heart and courage that Lee did, and the hard work ethic and dedication inevitably gave UAF the edge they needed to finish off the Falcons for good.
BGSU's Jonathan Matsumoto got a second power-play tally for the Falcons at 12:55 of the third period again pulling them within one goal of the Nanooks.
Fraser made sure that UAF kept a two goal margin with a marker at 18:58, and then Grinevitch fired an empty netter to seal the Falcons fate.
"Tonight we knew we were going to face adversity," said UAF head coach Tavis MacMillan. "We also knew that the game would be determined with how we responded. I have to give the guys credit for continually getting back in the game. I liked our perseverance tonight and I'm really proud of them.
"Even though I wasn't expecting to go to the Joe, it doesn't surprise me we're going"
The sweep marks UAF's first road sweep in CCHA postseason play, and next weekend's trip to the Joe is only the second in the Nanooks 12-year CCHA history. The last time UAF visited the Joe was during the 2001-02 season, during the current six seniors' freshmen campaign.
UAF, Nebraska-Omaha, Michigan State, and Michigan all won the first round playoff series and will advance to the Super Six. Ohio State will play a third and deciding game against Ferris State tomorrow evening, as will Northern Michigan and Western Michigan.
The six winners will be re-seeded according to their regular season-standings and the top two remaining seeds will receive quarterfinal byes, while the No. 3 seed will face the No. 6 seed Thursday, March 17 at 4:35 p.m. EST, and the No. 4 seed will take on the No. 5 seed at 8:05 p.m. EST. The lowest seed to advance to the quarterfinals will take on the No. 1 seed in the semifinals Friday, March 18 at 4:35 p.m. EST, while the No. 2 seed will play the other remaining team at 8:05 p.m.
All UAF games will be broadcast live via KSUA 91.5 FM with Bruce Cech "The Voice of the Nanooks." KFXF Fox Channel 7 Fairbanks is also picking up the College Hockey Break Away Weekend that will air the CCHA Super Six games. Air times are still to be determined, but visit www.ccha.com or www.gonanooks.com for further details and information.
- UAF Hockey -
