FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, 18 February, 2005
Contact: Dave Geringer, Sports Information Director
907-474-6807

Nanooks Fall to Miami, 5-1


FAIRBANKS, AK-The first strike was decisive in the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Central Collegiate Hockey Association game against Miami University at the Carlson Center Friday evening.

The RedHawks scored on their first two shots, took a 3-1 lead in the first period and cruised to a 5-1 victory over the Nanooks.

The game had barely begun when Miami scored first.

Marty Guerin of the RedHawks took a pass in the slot and fired a shot that was stopped by UAF freshman goaltender Wylie Rogers (Fairbanks, AK/Victoria-BCHL). The puck rebounded off Rogers, and then deflected off MU’s Matt Christie, who was standing in front of the net, and deflected into the goal. Christie was credited with scoring, with Guerin and Chris Michael assisting at the 1:00 mark.

MU’s Joe Pomaranski made it 2-0 a little more than two minutes later. He took a pass in the slot and fired a hard shot by Rogers to make it 2-0 at the 2:11 mark. Stephen Dennis and Joe cooper assisted.

Sophomore center Lucas Burnett ((Rossland, BC/Trail-BCHL) got UAF on the board and made it 2-1 with a power play goal at 12:37 of the first period. Burnett took senior center Jared Sylvestre’s (Bonnyville, AB-Bonnyville-AJHL) pass and beat MU goaltender Brandon Crawford-West with a high shot. Senior forward Jason Grinevitch (Glendon, AB/Drayton Valley-AJHL) also assisted.

The RedHawks answered with a power play goal of their own. Guerin scored when he deflected a shot past Rogers. Michael and defenseman Mitch Ganzak assisted.

Guerin made it 4-1 with another power play goal at the 15:01 mark of the second period. He parked in front of the net and swept home a rebound, with Michael and Christie assisting.

Todd Grant increased Miami’s lead with a third power play goal less than four minutes later. Grant re-directed Guerin’s pass into the net. Geoff Smith also drew an assist.

The teams combined for 68 minutes in penalties. The RedHawks converted three of nine power plays, while the Nanooks converted one of nine.

“We just didn’t have it tonight, and we got beat by a very good team,” said UAF Head Coach Tavis MacMillan. “We looked like a team that was resting on its laurels. They did a very good job on the power play, and they blocked a lot of our shots. We need to make better decisions in certain situations.”

UAF out shot Miami, 32-23, with Crawford-West making 31 saves and Rogers and senior goalie Keith Bartusch (Graham, WA/Fairbanks-NPHL) combining for 18. An altercation with 33 seconds remaining resulted in a game disqualification penalty being issued to Ganzak, who must miss Saturday night’s game between the two teams.

With the victory, the RedHawks improved to 14-15-4, 10-12-3 in the CCHA, good for 23 points and a sixth-place tie with the Nanooks for sixth place. UAF dropped to 11-13-3 and 10-12-3. The teams will conclude their two-game series Saturday evening at the Carlson Center at 7:05 p.m.

-UAF HOCKEY-