Before a stunned and angry crowd the Falcons won 6-4 on Saturday, completely overshadowing the 'Nooks slim 4-3 win a day earlier.
"I got a sick feeling in my gut," said a visibly upset head coach Tavis MacMillan. "I didn't like this one, and you guys shouldn't like it either."
MacMillan's frustration came from two departments, the first being his own mistakes in line change-ups. Second, though, was the lack of calls being made by referees.
One instance on Friday was when a Falcon was playing with a broken stick. MacMillan was stunned, saying he had "never seen that before in my life."
And on Saturday, MacMillan was seen storming onto the ice immediately after the game, yelling at a referee and partially interrupting the handshake ceremony.
"I just wanted a fair chance for our boys," he said. "It's disappointing when you don't get it."
Politics aside, the 'Nooks played a fairly good game on Friday. Goalie Wylie Rogers delivered an incredible save in the second period after deflecting a puck off his stick into the air. The puck flew towards the goal, but Rogers miraculously followed and batted the puck away with his stick like a tennis ball.
Bringing in points for the 'Nooks as he always does, Kyle Greentree sunk in two of his eight shots. The first came in the first period with an assist from Dion Knelsen. Greentree scored a second in the second period, rebounding off a slapshot by Tyler Eckford and bringing the game to 2-1 by the end of the second period.
In the third period, fans saw additional goals made by Adam Naglich assisted by Greentree. Brandon Walls made a sneak shot with assists by Curtis Fraser and Aaron Lee. But the Falcons didn't let the 4-1 score stand long, rebounding back with scores by Todd McIlrath and the much hyped Jonathan Matsumoto.
In a move of desperation, the Falcons pulled their goalie for the last minute and a half, allowing Greentree and others to shoot multiple times. In each case, the puck was mere inches off.
The game ended 4-3 in the 'Nooks favor with no real surprises from the Falcons and a minor disappointment for Greentree in not pulling off yet another hatrick.
"It's a big two points," MacMillan said about the slim win.
He said he felt the team did well against a large adversity from last weekend's crushing defeats and the ineptness of the referees.
Saturday's game was whole other puck game.
Scoring four goals by the end of the second periods half, the Falcons looked like the same team 'Nooks fan's saw on Friday but with no one else playing against them.
"We were playing well and then we stopped competing," MacMillan said.
The 'Nooks had 5-0 shots against the Falcons in the first five minutes but allowed goal after goal afterwards.
The 'Nooks' defense simply crumbled. MacMillan pulled sophomore goalie Chad Johnson after the fourth consecutive goal from the Falcons.
"Chad just wasn't on tonight," MacMillan said.
However, the 'Nooks, or more accurately Curtis Fraser, fought back. Fraser scored his second career hatrick, leaving the 'Nooks 3-5 midway through the third period.
Greentree on a breakaway pulled the 'Nooks 4-5 in an attempt to tie up the game and force an overtime.
But after an aggressive offensive move in which MacMillan pulled Rogers for a press on the Falcons, Tomas Petruska for Bowling Green managed a shot past 'Nooks defense to score on empty net ensuring the Falcons win of 6-4 and an end to their nine-game losing streak.
"[This] leaves a bad taste in my mouth," said an upset Fraser, even with the euphoria of his second hatrick. "Now I have 14 to 15 days to think about it."
Despite the loss, the Nanook crowd seemed largely to blame referees. An elderly woman in yellow lost her voice screaming at the line judges.
MacMillan joked afterwards that if people asked, they could probably get a candid quote about what he thought about the referees.
But nobody did; it was already evident from his display earlier on the ice.
MacMillan did quote his mother saying she had a saying that was relevant to this situation.
"Say you're sorry the first time but don't do it twice," he said.
The 'Nooks next face instate rival UAA Seawolves in Anchorage for the second half of the Governor's Cup on Dec. 29-30.
