Game Day - Brice Alaska Goal Rush - Nanooks vs. Pioneers

Game Day

Brice Alaska Goal Rush, Day 1, Game 2

Alaska Nanooks vs Denver Pioneers

8:07PM AKST - Carlson Center, Fairbanks, Alaska

Live Stats: AlaskaNanooks.com | Live Audio: KCBF 820 Sports | 820 AM Fairbanks

Live Internet Video ($9): AmericaOne | Twitter: @NanookHockey

Back at home, the 'Nooks look to recover from the 4-1 loss to Quinnipiac back on home ice as they take on Denver, a 2-0 team coming off of a sweep against Merrimack last weekend in non-conference play. As I posted last week, I thought the 'Nooks had good effort in the loss but it took a rough 1st period for the guys to realize that the team that they watched play Anchorage was not the same team that played them Saturday night. Watching the game a second time from different angles makes that even more apparent. 

The guys have Denver to contend with tonight, and the Pioneers are no joke. Gwozdecky may have been fired, but its not like Denver is in a bad spot. Their head coach Jim Montgomery even thanked Gwoz at this afternoon's Face-Off Club Luncheon. Multiple times.

Can't blame the guy, after nearly two decades of leading that team to a number of NCAA tournaments, including 2 national titles in 2004 and 2005. 

The last time Denver visited Fairbanks was back in 1992, when the Nanooks split with them at home with a 7-2 win, followed by a 7-3 loss.

A few line changes for tonight as the Morley brothers get split for the first time this season, centering their own lines. Brandon is flanked by Perry on the left and Erickson to the right. That should be a good gritty line. Tyler has Larson on the left and Basara to the right. The top line goes unchanged while Friese and Davies join the lineup for the first time centered by Hochhausen.

Atkinson and Campbell, as well as the Parayko and Quinn pairings are back to intact. Kaiser and Peterson round out the defensive corps.

The roster sheet also has David Jones starting ahead of John Keeney tonight. Not sure if that's accurate or not, but make sure to follow me on Twitter for tonight's starters and in-game updates.

Go 'Nooks!

Nanooks Fall 4-1 to Quinnipiac

That's going to be a tough one to swallow. Poor play by the 'Nooks early in the game buried them down two goals before they could get their legs under them and pull themselves up. Quinnipiac did not look like they did against Anchorage, but if the 'Nooks played their game it was very winnable.

First period was pretty sloppy from my perspective. I don't have the greatest angle on things here, but the 'Nooks couldn't create plays at all in the offensive zone. Quinnipiac took every passing lane away, forcing the puck carrier to make plays and couldn't.

The 'Nooks started getting more creative with their play, and got some chances late but as soon as momentum started to swing in the Nanooks' favor the official calls Tateson for a high sticking minor as he was checking the puck carrier, who was a clear 6" shorter than he was. Then Kunyk gets called for elbowing and now its 5 on 3 for the Bobcats and they get another power play goal. Then another call for Atkinson for interference on the final faceoff of the period as the timer expires.

If it weren't for the effort in the second period, this would be a lot less nice of a post. I'll at least be honest with you. Not like I wasn't before, that is...

Anyway Nanook boys played a tougher game in the second, bagging a power play goal as Huysmans put away his second of the year. Parayko with the initial shot on goal as the goalie couldn't cover it. Huysmans found it and poked it home to cut the lead to one, but a mental mistake on the Nanooks part as the puck was cleared near the net  to the left wing side as Connor Clifton pinched in from his defensive spot to bury a slapper to put the lead back to two. But the 'Nooks certainly played more disciplined hockey that period, no question.

Third period lead out with the Nanooks setting the pace early. A couple of quick chances early had the Bobcats on their heels before Colton Beck was called for a slash. But that didn't slow the 'Nooks down, they sped up. Quinn had some strong stick work at the blue line forcing a turnover and got a stride on Matthew Peca who fell asleep at the wheel. Quinn's rush in the zone forced Peca to trip him up, which equalized it 4 on 4.

Back to 5 on 5, the 'Nooks had some chances to close the gap again as Parayko, Morley, Beck, Kunyk, and Larson all had chances around the net, but none could find their way in. And after another Brandon Morley penalty, the Bobcats poured some more salt in the wound and put home another power play goal to close the scoring 4-1. But in 6 periods of hockey played this weekend, the 'Nooks have committed 73 minutes in penalties, nearing a total of 4 periods worth in just two games. If they stay out of the box, its a different game.

Don't get me wrong, Quinnipiac beat the 'Nooks tonight. They exposed some holes in the Nanooks' transition game that I'm sure will get addressed in practice. But that was not the same team that played Anchorage last night. They were much more sound defensively and played much better around their own net.

As far as the tournament goes, if Air Force beats Anchorage by less than 8 goals, the 'Nooks win the tournament. But Anchorage has to lose, not tie the Falcons. Should be interesting.

Game Day - Nanooks vs Quinnipiac Bobcats

Game Day

Kendall Hockey Classic, Day 2, Game 1

Alaska Nanooks vs Quinnipiac Bobcats

4:07PM AKST - Sullivan Arena, Anchorage, Alaska

Live Stats: GoSeawolves.com | Live Audio: KCBF 820 Sports | 820 AM Fairbanks

Live Internet Video ($9): AmericaOne | Live TV KFXF Fox 7 Fairbanks

Twitter: @NanookHockey

Line Charts: Alaska | Quinnipiac

Yesterday, the Seapups got the better of the Bobcats in a fairly gritty affair. I thought Quinnipiac played a cleaner game. Better changes, better plays, but ACC outplayed them in effort. Can't blame QU too much, considering the game ended at about 3:00AM EST. 

The Nanooks had a good night against Air Force, but in a bit of a weird way. The result obviously favored Alaska but they weren't as dominant as the score showed. I'm obviously a biased guy in that sense, but Air Force couldn't contain the Nanooks in the offensive zone. They had chances to clear, but the skill players took over and made the difference.

A few lineup changes tonight as J.D. Peterson, Trevor Campbell, and Nolan Youngmun will sit for the 'Nooks tonight as Justin Tateson, Nolan Kaiser, and Alec Hajdukovich will get in for the first time against the 10th ranked Bobcats.

Brandon Morley and Jared Larson will switch sides on Tyler Morley's line. Linnell and Perry will also swap lines, as Perry will join Erickson and Basara. The Nanooks were down to 10 forwards late in the game yesterday, which was kind of a blessing in disguise as coach Ferguson was able to mix and match some players together to see how they fit together. 

Basara had some good work up with Kunyk and Beck but there might be a bit of a learning curve for Basara to get used to the compete level at this level of hockey. Basara was a stud in juniors but I'm not convinced that he's fully up to speed yet. But I think he'll shape up to be a stud before the season is out. 

 For the Nanooks as a team tonight, they need to be better on offensive zone possession. They did well building chances on the rush, but too many times possession ended after the initial shot. Sound positioning to get rebounds, and making smart decisions with the puck to prevent turnovers. If they can keep it away from the Bobcats, they will lure them out of position, get them frustrated and force them to make bad decisions. They over-pursued Anchorage forwards yesterday, just hoping they make the same mistakes today. 

Go 'Nooks! 

Nanooks Ground the Air Force Falcons 6-1

The first period tonight was a bit of a weird one in my opinion. When the Nanooks had possession, they did rather well as the 3-0 lead would indicate, but with a total of 19 minutes in penalties in the first 20 minutes--5 and a game (10) assessed to Brandon Morley on a hit that was shoulder to shoulder but could have been called boarding at best--doesn't bode well for puck possession.

Obviously starting off quick with a goal 12 seconds in gets things started off on the right foot. Huysmans was good to stay where he was as the Air Force player recovered the puck from the crease and tried to clear it to himself but Huysmans was right there, snagged it and bagged it. Love the positioning there. He's a good compliment to Beck and Kunyk now that Taranto is scoring goals for the Aces these days.

Then Cody Kunyk with that magic wand that others call a stick made a few waves as Air Force defenders couldn't seem to touch him. Every stick lift and poke check they made, Kunyk kept it on and put on a show. Then buried it. Great play, great hands, should be a fun highlight to watch later.

Then with the Morley major, Michael Quinn hooked up with Jared Larson on a breakaway shorthanded goal with some nice mitts to get the goalie to bite before sliding it around his pad for the 3rd of the period.

2nd period much the same as the Nanooks kept the foot on the gas. Although it took a while to break through, Kunyk had one of the most beautiful high-to-low deflections that I've seen in a while. Parayko ripped one high from the point and deflected it just inside the faceoff circle to the goaltenders left. A phenomenal goal.

This was Kunyk's 9th multi-goal game of his career, and his 5th goal in the Kendall Classic tournament.

But Air Force answered just 23 seconds later as a crowd formed in front of Keeney, and Michalke got Air Force on the board with essentially an open netter. Then the 'Nooks answered right back 17 seconds later as Garrick Perry buried a rebound off of Parayko's shot on the rush. Goalie had to sprawl to stop Parayko's shot. Had no chance at Perry's.

Basara capped the scoring in the 3rd with his first goal of his collegiate career. Another crowd in front of the goaltender as he found the loose puck and buried it for the goal. In the books as an unassisted goal.

A bit of a weird game in the end. It was the most major penalties I've seen called in a single game. A lot of people have asked me in the arena about the Atkinson hit at the end, and I don't think that was intentional at all. He intended the hit after his pass was picked off. But Timar saw it coming and ducked  to the side just before impact. They went leg to leg, and Timar needed some help off the ice. Hope that he's okay. I wouldn't wish injuries on even my worst enemies.

Good on the Nanooks for staying disciplined defensively, Air Force had some good chances to get some goals but the Nanooks had 18 blocked shots on the day, as they put the Falcons down 6-1.

Anchorage plays Quinnipiac here in about 15 minutes from this post. Will be nice to get a read on the Bobcats offense after losing 11 seniors from last season.

Go 'Nooks!