Nanooks edge Seawolves in first game of series

Submitted by Dave Geringer
Phone: (907) 474-6807
03/05/05

It took the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ hockey team more than 58 minutes to finally put away stubborn Alaska Anchorage in the first of their two-game, regular-season ending series for the Alaska Airlines Governor’s Cup at the Carlson Center Friday night.

Freshman left wing Kyle Greentree’s (Victoria, BC/Victoria-BCHL) breakaway, power play goal was the coup de grace. He picked up a loose puck, skated in and fired a shot over the shoulder of UAA goaltender John DeCaro with 1:16 left in the third period to account for the final score of the night and give the Nanooks a 3-1 victory.

UAF had taken the lead for good late in the second period. Sophomore center Curtis Fraser (Surrey, BC/Vernon-BCHL) took a pass from Greentree, skated in and beat DeCaro to make it 2-1, Nanooks, at the 16:28 mark of the second period. Senior right wing Jason Grinevitch (Glendon, AB/Drayton Valley-AJHL) also drew an assist.

The teams had exchanged goals during the second period after a scoreless first stanza.

UAF freshman right wing Ryan Muspratt (Calgary, AB/Camrose-AJHL) deflected home a pass from Greentree at the 3:10 mark, 20 seconds after a goal by Blair Tassone of the Seawolves had caused the red light to come on, but play continued. After Muspratt’s goal, referee Barry Pochmara consulted with his crew and ruled that Tassone’s goal stood, which wiped Muspratt’s tally out.

"It went in, but (freshman center Ryan) McLeod tried to play it like it didn’t, and it almost worked,"? said UAF freshman goalie Wylie Rogers (Fairbanks, AK/Victoria-BCHL). "I tried to catch it, but it hit something and went in."?

The Nanooks tied the game a little more than three minutes later. Senior right wing Scott Vockeroth (Calgary, AB/Langley-BCHL) and freshman left wing Troy Newton (Kimberley, BC/Trail-BCHL) broke in two on one. Vockeroth took Newton’s pass and fired it past DeCaro. The net subsequently came off its moorings, but the goal stood, since the puck had entered the net before it became dislodged.

"We knew we would be ready for this weekend, and we wanted to make sure that we were in control,"? said UAF Assistant Coach Dallas Ferguson. "I think the first couple of goals settled us down. We wanted to get the puck deep, and use our speed and our strength. In the third period, we got the puck deep, and we were successful."? The Nanooks out shot UAA, 31-28, and DeCaro made 28 saves to Rogers’ 27. UAF converted two of six power play opportunities, while the Seawolves were blanked in four chances.

UAF improved to 13-15-3 with the victory, while UAA dropped to 11-17-5. The Nanooks took a 2-1 lead in the battle for the Alaska Airlines Governor’s Cup. A UAF win or a tie in Saturday night’s game would give the Nanooks their fourth consecutive cup, while a UAA victory would force a shootout to decide the winner.