Hockey wins final CCHA game, 4-2, against Michigan State
February 26, 2013
Jamie Foland
907-474-6807
Senior Andy Taranto (Woodridge, Ill./Communication) scored with just 1:03 to go in regulation and fellow senior and former Spartan Adam Henderson (Whitehorse, Yukon Territory/Masters of Business Administration) added an empty net score with eight seconds remaining and Alaska closed out its final Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season game with a thrilling 4-2 victory against Michigan State Saturday night at the Carlson Center.
Freshman goalie John Keeney (Twin Peaks, Calif./Business Administration) made 22 saves for the Nanooks (14-14-4, 12-13-3-1 CCHA) and improved to 10-9-3 between the pipes while MSU netminder Will Yanakeff dropped to 4-7-1 in net for the Spartans (10-21-3, 8-17-1-0 CCHA) despite making 39 saves.
Alaska scored three of their four goals on the power play and finished 3-for-5 with the man advantage while holding MSU scoreless in seven chances of their own. The Nanooks have now killed 19 consecutive power plays since Feb. 9 rank fifth in NCAA Division I and first in the CCHA for their penalty killing efficiency of 89.8.
For the second time in as many games, the visitors struck first. A delayed penalty to Henderson (indirect contact to the head elbowing) at 10:34 allowed the Spartans a chance to pull Yanakeff in favor of an extra attacker. They scored with the extra attacker, making it 1-0 in favor of the guests just over halfway through the opening frame.
Alaska cashed in on its first power-play goal on its third attempt with MSU's John Draeger serving two minutes for interference. Junior defenseman Michael Quinn (Surrey, B.C./Geography) tied the game at 7:43 of the second period, when he fired a shot from the top of the slot that snuck inside the left post. While the goal was waived off on the ice, upon further review it was clear that the puck had passed Yanakeff and crossed the goal line. Rookie defenseman Colton Parayko (St. Albert, Alberta/Business Administration) and junior center Cody Kunyk (Sherwood Park, Alberta/Business Administration) assisted on the play.
Taranto scored the go-ahead goal and his 11th of the season at 12:52, while MSU's Travish Walsh sat down for tripping. Parayko and junior left wing Colton Beck (Langley, B.C./Business Administration) helped set up the play that made it 2-1.
Coming back in the third period the Nanooks killed off three penalties early in the final frame, but Spartan Brent Darnell tied the game 2-2 at 17:19.
A two-minute minor for holding the stick to Matt DeBlouw at 18:41 gifted Alaska another opportunity to regain the lead as Taranto struck for his 12 of the season and the eventual game-winner just 16 seconds into their fifth and final opportunity of the contest. Quinn and Parayko collected assists on the goal that made it 3-2 for the home team.
Henderson added the insurance tally with eight seconds remaining int he game with assistance from Kunyk and Quinn.
A slew of extra cirricular activities and ensuing penalties peppered the final seconds of the game with five players combining for 34 penalty minutes, including two 10-minute misconducts to Alaska's Nolan Kaiser (Calgary, AB/Business Administration) and MSU's Jake Chelios.
With the victory, the Nanooks salvaged a series split and held on to sixth place in the CCHA standings. They can finish no worse than 7th place in the league standings now and will host a first-round playoff sereies Mar. 8-10 at the Carlson Center. They will host the 11th place team, currently MSU, should both teams hold their current rankings in the conference.
Next weekend Alaska plays its home-and-home series against Alaska Anchorage, facing the Seawolves in Fairbanks on Friday and then playing the series finale in Anchorage on Saturday. Alaska leads the all-time Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup series 11-8 all-time.