Alaskan Goal Rush Too Heavy for Falcons

Friday, October 29

Fairbanks, Alaska

11:05 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Alaska

October 30, 2010 | Ice Hockey

By: by Ryan Gasser, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The Bowling Green Falcon hockey team took to the ice at the Carlson Center (Fairbanks, Alaska) on Friday night but did not recover from an early barrage of shots and offensive pressure from the Nanooks of Alaska-Fairbanks University. With help from three power-play goals, the Nanooks defeated the Falcons, 4-1.

Box score (.html) | Box score (.pdf) | Updated statistics (.html)
Post game audio - Chris Bergeron (.mp3)
Post game video - Chris Bergeron (click here)

For the third straight game, UAF recorded the game's first goal at 8:43 of the first period. Nanook forward Cody Kunyk slipped through the Bowling Green defense and took a pass in the slot from Andy Taranto before popping off his fourth goal of the season to give Alaska an early 1-0 lead.

The remaining three Alaska goals were all scored on the power play as the Nanooks finished the night 3-for-7 with a man advantage. Bowling Green conversely went a combined 0-for-7 on their power play, twice coming up short on 5-on-3 opportunities totaling 1:36 of time. BGSU spent 13:49 on the power play, including their first of five minutes after UAF's Kaare Odegard was given a game misconduct and a five-minute major penalty for contact to the head.

Bowling Green's lone score was recorded by senior captain, David Solway (Green Bay, Wisc.). Halfway through the third period, Solway was the benefactor of a rebound off of UAF goaltender, Scott Greenham. The Falcons skated down the ice after a change in possession and sophomore Jerry Freismuth (Grosse Point, Mich.) drove into the UAF zone ready to take a shot. After drawing his defender to the ground by faking a one-timer, Freismuth wrapped the puck around an outstretched stick and put a shot on goal that bounced off Greenham's pillow and directly toward a streaking Solway who wristed it into the Nanook cage. The goal was the senior's third of the year and made the score 3-1, at the time.

The first of Alaska's three power-play goals game at the end of the first period off of the stick of Kevin Petovello. Petovello scored twice in the game, both on the power play. Teammate Jarret Granberg added a power-play score early in the third period before Petovello notched his second goal of the night later in the same period.

Bowling Green had its opportunities, mostly generated by the line of Mike Fink (Minnetonka, Minn.), Andrew Wallace (Bedford, Nova Scotia) and Ryan Viselli (Windsor, Ontario). Twice in the game, Viselli was found out in front of the net with his defender beat but came up without a goal. Viselli was stonewalled by Greenham early in the first period after attempting to capitalize on a loose puck out in front of the cage and missed with a wide shot with Greenham out of position on the posts. Solway was close to a scoring his first goal nearly four minutes earlier after catching a shot puck in the air for an easy tip-in, but Greenham followed the rubber rock all the way from the stick into his chest for another clutch save in the third.

The Falcons were outshot 11-5 in the first period but closed the gap over the course of the game when they finished only being outshot, 27-23. Bowling Green tested Greenham vigorously with 12 shots on goal in the third period but struck gold only once.

Nick Eno (Howell, Mich.) was in net for Bowling Green and finished with 23 saves on the night on 27 chances. Greenham finished the night with 22 saves on 23 shots against.

Bowling Green (3-4-0, 0-3-0-0) and Alaska (4-2-1, 1-1-1-1) will return to the Carlson Center on Saturday night for the finale of this weekend set. Drop of the puck is set for 11:05 pm EST (7:05 pm AT).