Nanooks snap winless skid with 5-4 victory at Yost

January 14, 2013

University Relations

Jamie Foland
474-6807

Five different players lit the lamp and freshman goalie John Keeney made 19 saves in their first game of 2013 as the Alaska Nanooks beat the host Michigan Wolverines 5-4 on Friday night at Yost Ice Arena.

The Nanooks, who last played on Dec. 8, 2012 against Bowling Green, showed their long break played no effect in their return to the ice as they improved to 7-8-4 overall and 5-7-3-1 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association to take sole possession of seventh place.

“When you take that much time off, you're not sure how you'll come out so we just wanted to get a good start to the game,” said head coach Dallas Ferguson. “We did a good job of managing the puck and keeping it out of our zone and that was the game plan.”

It was the Nanooks fourth win ever at Yost, 11th all-time against the Wolverines, and snapped a seven game-winless skid that dated back to their last triumph, which was a 6-1 decision over Western Michigan at the Carlson Center on Nov. 16.

Junior defenseman Michael Quinn (Surrey, B.C./Geography) was named the game's Perani Cup first star after he assisted on Nolan Youngmun's (Anchorage, Alaska/Petroleum Engineering) go-ahead goal midway through the second period and then scored his second of the season while on the power play a few minutes later, giving the visitors a 4-2 lead at the time.

After failing to capitalize on two first-period Wolverine penalties early in the opening stanza, the Nanooks opened the high-scoring affair at 14:43 of the first period. Senior defenseman Kaare Odegard (Red Deer, Alberta/Business Finance) had just served a two-minute minor for interference, when he exited the penalty box and jumped into a breakaway with senior forward Jarret Granberg (Foremost, Alberta/Business Administration). The later fed Odegard as he streaked into the offensive zone, where he collected the pass and unleashed a shot that beat U-M goalie Steve Racine. Granberg also assisted on Quinn's tally for a two-point night, earning the game's Third Star for his effort in the road win, Alaska's third of the season.

Freshman Matthew Friese (Anchorage, Alaska/Business Administration) notched his first career goal at 3:21 of the second period with assistance from Alec Hajdukovich(Fairbanks, Alaska/Business Administration) to make it 2-0 but the home team responded 15 seconds later to cut the lead in half. Wolverine forward Andrew Copp beat Keeney at 3:36 to make it 2-1.

The teams combined to score four more goals throughout the rest of the second stanza with Alex Guptill making it 2-2 at 12:37, Youngmun putting Alaska up 3-2 at 13:57, Quinn widening the gap to 4-2 at 17:20 and U-M's Jacob Trouba capping it on the power play at 18:54 to make it 4-3. Friese tallied his second point of the game on Youngmun's marker, while junior winger Cody Kunyk chipped in on Quinn's.

Entering the final period of play, the Wolverines were eager to change the course of the game and pulled Racine in favor of Adam Janecyk. Alaska was unfazed as they found themselves up 5-3 just 3:46 in, amidst a penalty kill for a holding minor on defenseman Josh Atkinson (Spruce Grove, Alberta/Petroleum Engineering). Rookie Tyler Morley (Burnaby, B.C./General Studies) buried his team-leading seventh goal of the season short-handed and senior forward Andy Taranto (Woodridge, Illinois/Communication) and sophomore defenseman Trevor Campbell (Kansas City, Mo./Mechanical Engineering) picked up helpers on the play.

“We wanted to put our best effort forward and I thought in the first and the third we played a good structured game but things got away from us in the second,” Ferguson said. “We had times to clear the puck or get it in deep and play the percentages but we didn't and we need to eliminate those mistakes tomorrow.”

Down but not out, Michigan pulled Janecyk in favor of an extra attacker with just under two minutes remaining. It paid off 31 seconds later as Zach Hyman cut the Nanooks' lead to one goal at 18:40. After a short-lived return to the cage, Janecyk was pulled for the final 1:12 but the Nanooks held on for the 5-4 victory.

Alaska held the shot advantage at 8-4 through the first 20 minutes but the Wolverines turned the tables the rest of the way, outshooting the Nanooks 23-21 in the contest. It was just the second time this season that the Nanooks were outshot by their opponent and marked the lowest shots on goal in a game this season. It was also the fewest shots fired since Feb. 4, 2012, when they mustered just 18 in a 4-1 win over Western Michigan in Kalamazoo.

“The guys gutted it out and got the job done in the third but we've got to be better tomorrow and tighten up our puck management,” added Ferguson.

For the game Alaska was 1-for-3 with a man advantage and killed off all four of their own penalties.

Michigan's goalies combined for 16 saves with Racine turning aside 13 with four goals allowed and Janecyk letting one in and turning three aside.

The two teams rematch on Saturday night at Yost where faceoff is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. EST.

“They are going to be hungry to come out and get points and we have to come out ready to combat, dig a little deeper and push a little harder,” Ferguson said. “If we stick to the game plan and do that I think we'll be in good shape.”