newsminer.com

Photo by John Wagner

Photo by John Wagner

Photo by John Wagner

Photo by John Wagner

FAIRBANKS — Thanks to Joe Sova, the Alaska Nanooks got to raise the trophy in a tournament in the 49th State for the second straight weekend.

The 17th-ranked Nanooks did the honors on Saturday night in their own Brice Alaska Goal Rush one weekend after hoisting the prize at the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage for the second straight year.

Sova helped make the Nanooks’ Brice title possible by scoring on a power play with 1:36 left in the game for a 1-1 tie against the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers in the finale of the two-day tournament.

Senior center Dion Knelsen added icing to the cake with a backhand goal against RPI goaltender Allen York in a shootout following a scoreless overtime. Alaska, though, had sealed the title based on tournament standings.

Sophomore goaltender Scott Greenham recorded 23 saves for Alaska and remained unbeaten this season (3-0-1) and in his career (6-0-2). York, a junior, stopped 33 shots for the 1-2-1 Engineers.

Sova was the last Nanooks player to come off the ice following the postgame celebration, awards ceremony and photo shoot. He was holding a plaque for being named to the all-tournament team and was smiling as brightly as the lights reflecting off the arena’s ice.

“We knew we were in our building and we wanted to win this so bad. ... We knew what we had to do in the third and we got it done,” Sova said.

The Nanooks’ intrastate rival Alaska Anchorage Seawolves won the inaugural Goal Rush last year, but UAA finished 1-1 this year after a 5-3 loss to the Robert Morris Colonials earlier Saturday.

The tie against RPI combined with Friday’s 4-2 win over Robert Morris gave the Nanooks three points in the tournament standings compared to two points each for UAA and Robert Morris, who had a win apiece. RPI got one point for its tie.

Sova’s game-tying goal was a product of a relentless third-period attack by the Nanooks, who outshot the Engineers 18-2 in the final 20 minutes of regulation.

“We jacked it up,” Alaska junior center and team captain Derek Klassen said. “We wanted to get pucks to the net and bodies to the net, so everybody stepped up their game.”

Alaska gained its seventh power play of the game after RPI defenseman Peter Merth tripped Nanooks left wing Dustin Sather near the half-boards in the RPI zone with 2:25 left in the third. It turned into a 4-on-3 power play for Alaska 23 seconds later after coincidental minors for the Nanooks’ Ryan Hohl and RPI’s Scott Halpern.

Sova tied the game by taking fellow blueliner Scott Enders’ crossing pass and unleashing a slap shot from the top of the left circle that cleared York’s glove-side shoulder.

“Enders just slid it over and I had all kinds of time, and I just found some netting finally,” Sova said.

RPI controlled the momentum for the first two periods, outshooting the Nanooks 17-13 and capitalizing with the game’s first goal at 9:13 of the second.

Freshman center Brandon Pirri notched his first career goal with a tip-in at the right post off of defenseman Bryan Brutlag’s rebound shot.

“We pretty much came out and played our game for the first two periods. We’re a fast, aggressive team,” RPI junior defenseman and team captain John Kennedy said. “In the third period, the penalties started taking their toll and they started getting momentum from that.”

RPI collected nine penalties for 18 minutes to Alaska’s five for 10 minutes. The Nanooks also killed three power plays, giving them a 100-percent efficiency (13 for 13) this season.

Contact staff writer Danny Martin at 459-7586.