On Friday night, the No. 9 Pioneers dominated the rink in their first of two games against the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks as they outshot the Nanooks 43-16 and won the faceoff dot by a tally of 46-27 to win the game 4-1. The win helped the Pioneers reach a record of 3-0-0 for the first time since 2014-2015 season.
The first period began slow as both the Pioneers and Nanooks took their time to adjust to the competition. The Nanooks struck first with a goal at the 8:21 mark. The Pioneers began to find their momentum as they controlled the puck and berated the goal with 12 shots. On lucky number 13, freshman Emilio Peterson (Manglerud, Norway) hit the net with a tap-in to get the Pioneers level at 16:34. He was assisted by senior Jarid Lukosevicius (Squamish, B.C.) and freshman Cole Guttman (Los Angeles, Calif.). The Pioneers continued to lay down the law and at the 18:21 mark; junior Michael Davies (St. Louis, Mo.) would join the scoring with a backhanded shot right between the legs of the Nanook goalkeeper. Davies was assisted on the play by Guttman and Peterson. Within the 29 seconds, the puck was back in the Nanook net with the goal coming from junior Liam Finlay (Kelowna, B.C.). The first period would end with the Pioneers on top 3-1.
The Pioneers and Nanooks would go scoreless in the second period. The Pioneers outshot the Nanooks by a tally of 28 to 8. The third period would see pushback from the Nanooks as they tried to crawl their way back into the game. The Nanooks were awarded a penalty shot after a hooking on the Pioneers at the 12:50 mark. Sophomore Devin Cooley (Los Gatos, Calif.) would stand tall and save the one-v-one shot to crush the Nanook momentum. Finlay would finish off the Nanooks with a goal on an empty net at 18:16. He was assisted by senior Colin Staub (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and junior Tyson McLellan (San Jose, Calif.).
Guttman, Pettersen and Finlay would end the night with two points to each of their names. Cooley stood strong in the net where he saved 25 of the 26 shots he faced as Lukosevicius and Pettersen record points for the third game in a row with four and six points, respectively. The Pioneers showed grit to come back from being down in the first period and take control of the game with three goals in 2:16 in the first.
On Saturday, the Pioneers would hit the ice to take on the Nanooks for the second game in the double-header. The Pioneers would see an immense amount of pressure early by the Nanooks who wanted to get payback for the 4-1 defeat the day before. The Nanooks got on the scoreboard at the 9:57 mark to make it 1-0. The Nanooks would increase their lead to two goals off of the power play at 14:31 in the first period. The Pioneers would end the period with an onslaught of seven shots on a late power play, but none was able to get past the Nanook goalkeeper.
In the second period, the Nanooks would strengthen their lead to 3-0 over the Pioneers with a goal in at the 5:58 mark. Quickly after the Nanook goal, Lukosevicius would score to get within two goals of the Nanooks. He was assisted by Guttman and freshman Slava Demin (Cypress, Calif.). This would close the second period.
The third period saw the Pioneers control the puck as they looked to equalize the score. As the third and final period reached two minutes left, Guttman scored while the Pioneers utilized the extra attacker on the empty net. He was assisted by Peterson and sophomore Ian Mitchell (Calahoo, Alberta). With 35 seconds left in the game, senior Les Lancaster (Ypsilanti, Mich.), with an extra attacker on the ice, zipped a one-timer into the net to level the score at 3. Lancaster was assisted by Mitchell and Peterson. With the score at 3-3, the Pioneers and Nanooks would enter overtime.
Overtime would see the Pioneers take the majority of shots, but none could hit the back of the net. The five minute overtime period would end with the Pioneers and Nanooks tying at 3 goals apiece. Cooley would end the night with 19 saves as Peterson and Lukosevicius continued their point streaks to four games with five and eight points, respectively. This game demonstrated the grit and determination present in the Pioneer squad as they fought back from a 3-0 deficit.
The Pioneers will face Western Michigan in a doubleheader two weeks from now on Nov. 2 and 3 at 7:07 p.m. MST.
