Beck scores twice to lead blue to 2-1 victory over gold
October 2, 2012
Jamie Foland
474-6807
Alaska Nanooks junior left wing Colton Beck lit the lamp twice to lead the Blue team to a 2-1 victory over the Gold team in the hockey team's intrasquad exhibition contest on Friday night at the Patty Ice Arena.
Fairbanks native and freshman Alec Hajdukovich responded for gold late in the second period with an extra attacker marker, but the Blue Nanooks would hold on to their one-goal margin to secure the win.
Junior center Cody Kunyk assisted on both of Beck's goals with help from rookie Nolan Huysmans on Beck's first tally at 12:40 of the first period and senior Nik Yaremchuk on the second at 18:12.
Rookie blueline Colton Parayko collected the lone dish on Hajdukovich's goal at 24:00 of the second frame.
Alaska's goaltending trio of senior Steve Thompson, sophomore Sean Cahill and freshman John Keeney split time between the pipes.
Thompson made 10 saves in 34:50 of action on the Gold team, while Keeney made nine stops at the opposite end for Blue in 40 minutes and five seconds of play. Cahill split time between the team, starting out in net for Blue and making eight saves in 9 minutes and 55 seconds before switching over to Gold late in the second stanza and turning aside nine of his previous teammates shots in 13:54.
It was a solid night for Beck, who was also crowned Fastest Skater after defeating freshman Josh Atkinson in the preliminary heat, sophomore Nolan Youngmun in the semifinals and then senior Chad Gehon in the final showdown.
Sophmore defensemen Justin Tateson and Nolan Kaiser tied for the teams' hardest shot in the first round, each topping out with a 100-mile per hour slap shot, but Tateson prevailed over his classmate in a one-shot tie-breaker, 98-97 (mph).
In the shootout, Cahill was the winner among the goalies, turning aside four of the seven shots he faced. Thompson made three saves and allowed two goals (two shots missed wide) and Keeney saved one of six, allowing three goals and having two shots miss the cage. The Gold squad outscored the Blue 5-3 with sucessful attempts by Parayko, Hajdukovich, Atkinson, Youngmun and senior Jarret Granberg.
The Nanooks host the Regina Cougars for their final exhibition game next Friday, Oct. 5 at the Carlson Center at 6:15 p.m.
The game is a part of a hockey double-header with the Ice Dogs and the teams have partnered to benefit fans who want to attend both games. Anyone presenting an Ice Dogs ticket when purchasing admission to the Nanooks' game against Regina at the Patty or Carlson Center Box Office will pay just $10. Likewise, anyone showing their ticket stub from Alaska's exhibition game will gain admittance to the Ice Dogs contest, which follows at 8:15 p.m. at the Big Dipper against the Wenatchee Wild, for just $10.