Laura Stickells

A thrilling back-and-forth third period of hockey between the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Bowling Green State culminated in season-ending heartbreak for the Nanooks, as they fell 3-2 in game two of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Quarterfinals at the Carlson Center on Saturday.

Two Bowling Green power play goals in the third period lifted the Falcons to a 4-2 win over the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Friday at the Carlson Center.

The loss leaves the fourth seeded Nanooks trailing 0-1 in the best-of-three Western Collegiate Hockey Association Quarterfinals and one more loss will end their playoff run, all but eliminating them from further postseason play.

Three weekends ago, Bowling Green and the University of Alaska Fairbanks left the Carlson Center with two ties and three points each.

With Bowling Green ranked 24th and Alaska ranked 33rd in the national PairWise Rankings, an automatic bid as a conference champion will likely be either team’s only shot at a berth in the 16-team NCAA postseason tournament.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks went into Saturday night’s game needing only one point to win its 11th straight Governor’s Cup — anything but an outright loss followed up with a tie-breaking shootout loss would have been enough to clinch the title — but the last contest of the 27th annual four-game series against the University of Alaska Anchorage still felt like a must-win.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks is one point away from hanging a new Governor’s Cup banner from the Carlson Center rafters after overcoming its third consecutive multi-goal deficit, with the help of a third period hat trick from Steven Jandric, to defeat the University of Alaska Anchorage 5-2 in the third game of the four-game series.

For the second night in a row, Bowling Green State coughed up an early lead to the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the teams couldn’t determine a winner after 60 minutes of regulation and five minutes of overtime.

However, unlike Friday’s game, which was decided 45 seconds into 3-on-3 play with a goal from Alaska’s Kylar Hope, Saturday’s game was decided by Bowling Green’s Brandon Kruse in the fourth round of a shootout after a 3-3 tie.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks overcame an early two-goal deficit to earn its fourth tie of the season and secured the extra point in 3-on-3 overtime against Bowling Green on Friday at the Carlson Center.

Both the Nanooks and Falcons are battling for home ice in the eight-team Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs, an advantage reserved for the top four teams at the end of conference play.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks hockey team fell 2-1 in double overtime to Lake Superior State on Saturday at the Carlson Center, for its first tie of the season.

While they missed out on the extra point, reaching 3-on-3 play felt like a small victory for the Nanooks, as it helped them collect more than three points in a home series.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks hockey team fell just shy of its first ever double series sweep of Western Collegiate Hockey Association opponent Michigan Tech when it lost 2-1 to the Huskies on Saturday at the Carlson Center.

A brawl broke out between the players remaining on the ice as the final buzzer sounded at the Carlson Center on Saturday night, ending what was a high strung Western Collegiate Hockey Conference matchup between University of Alaska Fairbanks and Ferris State.

Alaska won the game 3-1 and UAF forward Max Newton said the “stick up for one and other” mentality was what made the difference.