Down a goal entering the third period, Alaska-Fairbanks refused to back down against No. 1 Minnesota. The result was a wild finish to a game that both teams surely believed was theirs for the taking.<\/p>\n
UAF goals by Jordan Hendry and Tyler Eckford gave the Nanooks a 3-2 lead late in the third period, but after a Gino Guyer goal — shorthanded with an empty Gopher net — in the final minute of regulation tied things up, Kyle Greentree scored at 3:45 of the extra session to provide the Nanooks the upset win, 4-3.<\/p>\n
Still down a man to start overtime, the Gophers killed off the rest of a bench minor for too many men and went on offense, but a Tyler Hirsch shot attempt rang off the right post and harmlessly across the goalmouth.<\/p>\n
Seconds after Hirsch’s bid, Greentree ended the game with a patient play. Skating into the Minnesota zone on the left-wing side, Greentree slid to the high slot and snapped a wrister high to Briggs’ left that dented the twine for the win.<\/p>\n
“We asked a lot of Jordan Hendry, we asked a lot of Tyler Eckford even though he’s a freshman, and we obviously asked a lot of Kyle Greentree,” said UAF head coach Tavis MacMillan.<\/p>\n
“I thought they were really hungry and blocked a lot of shots,” said Minnesota head coach Don Lucia of UAF. “They played well and it’s a big win for them.”<\/p>\n
The third period started as the story of UAF’s comeback. At 5:58, junior captain Hendry made his return from last season’s medical redshirt official, scoring on a slapshot just inside the left post to knot the game at 2. Hendry’s equalizer came from the point, off a pass by Greentree, the Nanooks’ top scorer last season.<\/p>\n
A penalty on UAF’s Aaron Lee did Minnesota no good, and the Nanooks picked up a power play of their own on a call against Danny Irmen. As the Minnesota power play wound down, Irmen nicked Nanook goaltender Wylie Rogers after a save, and picked up a two-minute minor for checking the goaltender.<\/p>\n
At 13:18, the Nanooks capitalized. A well-placed pass from Greentree to defenseman Eckford left the freshman a wide-open net, and he easily put away the shot from just above the circles past a diving Kellen Briggs.<\/p>\n
A tripping call against R.J. Anderson made matters even worse for the homestanding Gophers, and with just over a minute left, a too-many-men bench minor against Minnesota seemed to seal the UAF victory.<\/p>\n
Stunningly, Minnesota rallied. With Briggs out of the net, a Derek Peltier shot got underneath Rogers, who was unable to locate the puck as teammates and opponents swarmed around, until Gopher captain Guyer dislodged it for the game-tying goal at 19:29.<\/p>\n
“We rotated it up to Derek at the point, and [after his shot] the puck was sitting behind the goalie,” said Guyer. “He didn’t know where it was, and the ref didn’t blow it dead, so I knew it had to be sitting there.”<\/p>\n
The Nanooks, though, were unfazed, coming up with Greentree’s winner in overtime.<\/p>\n
“We’re not surprised at all. We can enjoy it for a while,” said Greentree, who added two assists to his game winning goal. “But we’re all business, and we’re coming back to win tomorrow.”<\/p>\n
The game began auspiciously for the Nanooks. At 2:51 of the first period, UAF’s Darcy Campbell threw a puck on net from a low angle, and it banged out into the slot, where Justin Binab fired on net. Briggs blocked the puck down, but Kyle Jones was there to put it away.<\/p>\n
Penalties slowed the Gopher offense for much of the first period, as UAF earned three consecutive power plays, but could not take advantage. However, play picked up in the second.<\/p>\n
Steaming up the slot, Minnesota’s Andy Sertich fanned on a slapshot, but recovered to flip the puck to linemate Blake Wheeler, who lined up a wrist shot that beat Rogers to the far side at 1:32, the freshman’s first goal in a Minnesota uniform.<\/p>\n
On Minnesota’s third power play, the man-advantage unit came to life. With Campbell off for holding the stick, Hirsch hit Ryan Potulny with a pass out to the point. Potulny rifled a one-timer along the ice and inside the right post to make it 2-1 Minnesota at 14:30 of the second.<\/p>\n
That Gopher lead — their only one of the game — set up the wild finish.<\/p>\n
For MacMillan, the win carried a little added significance, coming against Lucia, his coach when MacMillan himself skated for UAF some 15 years ago.<\/p>\n
“It felt special just to compete against Coach,” said MacMillan of Lucia. “It’s a great way to start the season.”<\/p>\n
For Lucia, the result was partly about the Gophers’ learning curve.<\/p>\n
“At times, I thought we got a little too cute,” he said, adding, “We’re rated high, and we have some good young players, but we have a long way to go.”<\/p>\n
The two teams rematch Saturday night at Mariucci Arena.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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