Two Third-Period Goals Lift Nanooks Over FSU In WCHA Road Series' Opener

Highlights

Big Rapids, Mich. - A pair of third-period goals enabled the host Alaska Nanooks to rally from a deficit to beat the Ferris State University men's ice hockey team by a 2-1 count on Friday (Jan. 2) night as the Bulldogs opened a four-game road stretch in Alaska at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks.

Alaska trailed 1-0 heading into the final period before scoring two unanswered goals in the third frame to pull out the home ice win over the Bulldogs.

Ferris State struck first as forward Jared VanWormer scored the first goal of the night on the power play 18:26 into the first frame off assists from sophomore forward Gerald Mayhew and junior defenseman Simon Denis.

The goal would stand up throughout the entire second period as FSU carried a one-goal advantage into the final 20 minutes of action.

However, the Nanoonks were able to tie the contest up on Josh Erickson's unassisted goal only 2:44 into the third and then claimed the eventual game-winner on Peter Krieger's marker at 14:28 off a feed from Tayler Munson to account for the final score.

The Nanooks capitalized twice in the final period and outshot the Bulldogs 40-22 for the night, which inlcuded a 16-7 edge in the opening period followed by a 13-7 margin in the middle frame and 11-9 total over the final 20 minutes of action.

Both teams stayed out of the penalty box for the most part as FSU and Alaska were both called for only three penalties totaling six minutes. UAF finished scoreless in three tries on the power play while FSU went one-of-three on the night.

In net, Bulldog senior goaltender CJ Motte made 38 save for the Bulldogs, who fell to 9-10-1 overall and 6-5-0 in league action with the setback.

Alaska's Davis Jones improved to 8-4-0 in net and stopped 21 FSU scoring opportunities in picking up the win before a crowd of 1,800 fans at the Carlson Center.

Ferris State entered the contest tied for fourth in the WCHA standings as the Bulldogs resumed league play in the New Year, but Alaska improved to 11-8-0 overall and 6-7-0 in league action in the Nanooks' first game back off the holiday break.

FSU, which is essentially midst a 15-day road trip following an appearance in the Great Lakes Invitational at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit earlier this week, will wrap up the series' with Alaska on Saturday (Jan. 3) night with the puck drop set for 11:07 p.m. (ET) at the Carlson Center.

After the series with Alaska, FSU then heads to Anchorage to face Alaska-Anchorage in WCHA play on Thursday and Friday, Jan. 8-9.