Michigan
4-1-0, 2-1-0CCHA
Alaska-Fairbanks
3-2-0, 2-1-0CCHA
Nanooks Upset Wolverines, Hand U-M First Loss
10/22/1999 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Finding themselves down 2-1 after two periods, Michigan (4-1-0, 2-1-0 CCHA) began to pressure the Nanooks, but UAF freshman goaltender Lance Mayes stayed composed, stopping multiple shots from inside 15 feet in the last half of the period. After the Nanooks scored a third goal with 2:18 remaining, Michigan immediately pulled goaltender Kevin O'Malley (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) and turned the man-advantage into a goal when Mark Kosick (Victoria, B.C.) scored to make it 3-2 with 1:37 remaining.
Keeping O'Malley out, the Wolverines kept pressure on Mayes, including an open shot which went wide with 28 seconds remaining and a great shot by Mike Comrie (Edmonton, Alberta) that was saved eight seconds later, until Alaska Fairbanks found the empty net to close out the scoring.
The game started in the same fashion as it ended, with two wild goals. To open the scoring at the 14:56 mark of the first, Comrie skated from the far blue line and netted his eighth goal of the year with one second remaining in a 5-on-3 power play after his pass through the crease, hit a UAF defender's skates and slid through the legs of Mayes. O'Malley earned the first point of his career with an assist on the play.
To match Michigan's goal, Alaska Fairbanks' defenseman Daniel Carriere scored off O'Malley's stick less than three minutes later at 17:43 of the first. O'Malley had left the crease and ventured to the edge of the left face-off circle to intercept a pass when Carriere crept in and pushed the puck off of his stick and into the net.
Alaska Fairbanks (3-2-0, 2-1-0 CCHA) took a lead over the Wolverines for the first time in nearly three years when Nathan Rocheleau fired a one-timer from the right side past O'Malley glove hand. The 2-1 lead was the first time since the second period of the Oct. 25, 1996, game in Fairbanks that the Nanooks had led the Wolverines, a span of nine games.
The Wolverines had several opportunities to tie the game in the remainder of the second, including a point-blank shot from Jed Ortmeyer (Omaha, Neb.) after he maneuvered through the defense and another from Jeff Jillson (North Smithfield, R.I.) after he rushed the net from the blue line on a breakaway, but failed to capitalize on any, sending Michigan to the locker room trailing 2-1 after the second period.
O'Malley finished the game with 20 saves and three goals allowed and his record fell to 2-1-0, while the Nanooks' Mayes ended with 45 saves and two goals allowed.
The Wolverines and the Nanooks finish their two-game series in the last meeting of the season tomorrow night (Saturday, Oct. 23) at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks. Start time is 7:05 p.m. ADT.
GAME SUMMARY
| Goals By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
| Michigan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Alaska Fairbanks | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
1st period
1, MICH, Mike Comrie 8 (Kevin O'Malley) 14:56 (pp 5x3).
2, UAF, Daniel Carriere 2 (unassisted) 17:43.
2nd period
3, UAF, Nathan Rocheleau 2 (Dwayne Zinger, Aaron Grosul) 10:06 (pp).
3rd period
4, UAF, Blaine Bablitz 1 (unassisted) 17:42.
5, MICH, Mark Kosick 3 (Mark Mink, Josh Langfeld) 18:23 (6x5).
6, UAF, Ryan Reinheller 1 (unassisted) 19:59 (EN 5x6).
Shots on goal: MICH 11-14-22-47; UAF 13-5-6-24.
Power plays: MICH 1 of 8; UAF 1 of 7.
Penalties: MICH 10 (20 min.); UAF 11 (22 min.).
Goalies: MICH, Kevin O'Malley (58:14, 23 shots-20 saves); UAF, Lance Mayes (47-45).
Referee: Jon Gosger
Assistant Referees: Chris Milles, Rick Redick
Attendance: 3,595
Time: 2:40
NOTES
-- Michigan has scored first in each game of its five games this season.
-- Mike Comrie has a five-game scoring streak, scoring in each game of the season.
-- Earning an assist on Comrie's goal, Kevin O'Malley scored the first point of his career in the game.
QUOTES
Head Coach Red Berenson
On the game overall ... "I think our team has to play better for 60 minutes. We have to put more pressure on their team, and their team played well. It was a good game, a great game for the fans and certainly a great finish."
On the missed opportunities in the final minutes ... "You have to make your chances count in a close game, and we had some great chances. We had two or three [point-blank] shots and you have to put those in."
On the play of the team throughout the game ... "I though we were sluggish. We didn't feel like we were clicking, and their team is playing with more desparation than we were. They made this game out to be a huge game, and it is a big game for both teams. We were just on our heels for most of the game. We never really got going until the last five minutes, and we could have won the game in the last five minutes."
On the physical play of the Nanooks ... "I think their team is trying to establish a real physical presence in the league this year. That's what their coach is saying and their players are all saying. That's how they're playing, and we're not going to run and hide if we have to play in that kind of a game."
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
