Could Carlo Finucci find a better time to score? Likely not. His 3rd period game-tying goal capped off a 2 goal rally for the Nanooks, taking the game to overtime.
A lot of credit is due for Ohio State. They really upped their game Saturday, and the Nanooks were on the responding end all night. After Ohio State went up 3-1, I thought for sure it was going to be a mirror opposite of Friday's game (including the 1st responding goal, which I found slightly humorous).
After OSU scored goal number 3, the Nanooks took that as a kick in the pants and got in gear. I don't think they came out flat. Often times, if teams don't get a great start out of the gate, bloggers and beatwriters alike will accuse their teams for skating flat. I don't think that was the case. I think OSU came out very strong, and I think the Nanooks were caught a little off guard. OSU started very physical and got a pretty early goal. Alaska responded just 32 seconds later, but that deadlocked the two teams at 1 a piece for the next 30 minutes of hockey.
Well into the 2nd period, two unanswered goals gave OSU that coveted two goal lead, but the Buckeyes have recently been notorious for giving up two goal leads, as they have done so in their most recent 4 games after they've lead by 2 or more. Dustin Sather had a pretty sweet goal, beating netminder Dustin Carlson over the glove.
Then, with three minutes to go in the 3rd, on a crucial power play chance, Carlo Finucci buried one off of a rebound from Scott Enders to knot the game up at 3, which would take the game to overtime.
Shots were basically even in overtime, but that doesn't really tell the story. UA's two shots on goal weren't very quality chances, where as 2 of OSU's 3 shots on goal were pretty decent scoring chances. Fortunately, Greenham stood tall.
Coach Ferguson opted for a varied shootout lineup from his typical combination, electing to go with Petovello (who had a good shootout chance a few weeks ago), Dustin Sather, and Carlo Finucci. Dion has been struggling in that area in recent shootouts (save for the one against MSU, Palmisano just made a great play) and its good to give other guys some chances to shine and go one on one.
After the Nanooks' first 4 point weekend on the road, Alaska sits in 20th place on USCHO/CBS poll. INCH puts Alaska on the bubble, hovering just outside of their proprietary college hockey power rankings.
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