The University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks swept away the Thunderbirds of the University of British Columbia in a two-game series this weekend, winning 5 to 0 and 5 to 3 in the first and second games, respectively.

Before the first game, freshman Kyle Greentree was honored as the CCHA (Central Collegiate hockey Association) Rookie of the Week, after his outstanding play at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan earlier this season.

The first period of the first game was scoreless, but with UAF out-shooting UBC 13 to 6, and with a single penalty to the Thunderbirds three, including one with only 36 seconds to play. The first half of the second period played through in a similar fashion, with Greentree ending the stalemate at 12:32 on the clock, after scoring on an assist from Curtis Fraser and Darcy Campbell.

Just under two minutes later, Campbell scored on an assist from Corbin Schmidt; and Jared Sylvestre, assisted by Adam Powell and Kelly Czuy, scored the third UAF goal, less than two minutes after Campbell's shot.

At the 6:04 mark, there was one of several fights between the two teams, with UAF's Czuy and Schmidt each being given a penalty, and Mark Vodden of the Thunderbirds was given a double-minor. The teams resumed play with the Nanooks being down by two players, and the T-Birds down by one. There was evidently some confusion at this point, however, as the T-birds were given an extra penalty shortly after play resumed. Due to a couple other penalties, UAF did not return to full strength until 1:50 on the clock in the period.

When the clock finally ran out, UAF had out-shot UBC 17 to 1 in the period.

As the final period was about to begin, a crew had to be called on to the ice to fix a problem with one of the signs along the sidewall of the ice. At 8:19, Powell scored a power play goal, assisted by Ryan McLeod, adding a little more insurance to the Nanook's lead.

With only 2:39 left to play in the game, Powell scored again, also on a power play, this time assisted by Jason Grinevitch and Sylvestre. This pushed the score to 5 to 0, and by the end of the period, the Nanooks had out-shot UBC 43 to 14. Thunderbird's goalie Chris Levesque managed 38 saves, but this was not enough.

On Saturday night, the game went much the same way, except with a trio of power play goals by the Thunderbirds in the second period.

Czuy scored the first goal of the game, at 12:50, assisted by Fraser and Greentree. This goal was balanced out by UBC's Nick Marach, at 3:20 in the period, assisted by Stephane Gervais.

In the second period, UBC earned a penalty at 19:09, and a second at 17:57, giving the Nanooks a double power play. Sylvestre was able to make good on this opportunity with only a single second remaining, assisted by Schmidt.

At 11:42, Powell scored another power play goal, his third of the weekend, assisted by Grinevitch and Schmidt.

The Thunderbirds refused to be put down as easily as before, however, scoring two goals within a minute of each other, one by Adam Gibson, assisted by Jarrett Winn and Marach, on a double power play. The second goal came at 7:21, Mike Gough, assisted by Steve Bunney, also on a power play, and tying the game at 3.

With 2:34 left in the period, UBC received a penalty. They managed another one at 2:01, and a third at 1:29, but as they were already down by one, one was put on hold until the first ran out. This gave the Nanooks a double power play, allowing Fraser to score, assisted by Nathan Fornataro. This opened up the score, putting UAF up by 1.

The third period began with UAF net-minder Keith Bartusch replaced by Ryan Comeau, in his first appearance of the season. Bartusch had allowed three goals, out of only six shots by the Thunderbirds.

At 9:59 on the clock, Czuy notched another goal the last of the game, assisted by Fraser. The score at this point was 5 to 3. At 5:01, another fight broke out, with UAF's Cramer Hickey and UBC's Marach each being given a 4-minute penalty, along with an additional 2-minute penalty for Ryan Muspratt of UAF. With just over a minute remaining, at 1:14, the Thunderbirds pulled their goalie, but to no avail. When the clock ran out at the end of the game, another fight happened, but with the game over, no penalties could be awarded. If this had been a conference game, suspensions may have been awarded. Two Thunderbird players stormed off the ice without waiting for the customary handshake with the other team.

The final score was 5 to 3, with shots on goal for the game at 35 to 14, with a total of 78 to 28 for the weekend.

The Nanook's next games are the home conference openers against the Mavericks of the University of Nebraska-Omaha on Friday and Saturday.

Comment on this story...