Ferris State Hockey Falls In Weekend Opener At Alaska

Fairbanks, AK. - The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team fell 4-2 to the University of Alaska Nanooks at the Carlson Center on Friday (Feb. 2) night in Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) play in Fairbanks, Alaska.

FSU senior forward Mitch Maloney scored his career-best and team-leading 13th goal of the season while sophomore defenseman Nate Kallen added a power play tally for the Bulldogs in the contest.

Ferris State scored first when Maloney deflected a shot from junior defenseman Ryker Killins past UAF goaltender Anton Martinsson for a 1-0 Bulldogs lead at 2:20 of the first on the power play. Killins picked up assist number 12 on the season for his 20th point, while junior forward Corey Mackin added his 13th assist of the year on the goal.

Alaska scored a power play marker of their own at 5:18 of the first when Tayler Munson scored from Chad Staley and Zach Frye to even the game.

Kallen broke the tie on the power play with his fifth goal of the season from sophomore defenseman Joe Rutkowksi (9) and freshman forward Coale Norris (8), giving Ferris State a 2-1 lead at 16:55 of the opening period.

However, the Nanooks scored twice in the second, first Frye at 4:12 and then Munson at 13:54 before later adding an insurance marker at 8:21 of the third when Tyler Cline scored for the 4-2 final.

Ferris State kept its hot power play alive, going 2-for-2 on the man advantage. FSU is now 6-of-10 over the last two weeks with the man-advantage. Alaska went 1-of-6 for the game.

The Nanooks held a 28-25 edge in shots on goal overall for the contest.

FSU junior goaltender Darren Smith made 24 saves in the loss while Martinsson picked up the win on 23 saves for Alaska.

Ferris State and Alaska finish the season series on Saturday (Feb. 3) at the Carlson Center with an 11:07 p.m. (ET) puck drop from Fairbanks. The game can be watched live online at WCHA.TV.