FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Alaska's defense, which is ranked No. 1 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and fourth nationally, shutout Lake Superior State in the third period and led the Nanooks to a 4-1 victory Friday night at the Carlson Center.

UAF (8-4-1 overall, 6-3-0-0 CCHA) jumped to a 3-0 lead before giving up a power-play goal to LSSU's Rick Schofield at 18:11 of the second period. Matt Cowie and Zac MacVoy had assists for the Lakers as Schofield tallied his first goal of the season.

LSSU (4-6-3 overall, 3-4-2-1 CCHA) out-shot the Nanooks 10-5 in the third period, but UAF goaltender Chad Johnson kept the Lakers from further cutting into his team's lead. Alaska's Adam Naglich finished off the scoring with an empty-net goal at 18:06.

After going scoreless during 22 straight power plays including 0-for-15 last weekend, Lake Superior State finished 1-for-4 with the man-advantage against the Nanooks. UAF was 1-for-3 on the power play.

Johnson stopped 23 of 24 shots on goal. LSSU starting goaltender Brian Mahoney-Wilson totaled 19 saves and allowed three goals through two periods. Back-up goaltender Mitch Edmondson stopped all four shots he faced.

Johnson leads the CCHA in goals-against average (1.63) and save percentage (.941), while the Nanooks allow a league-best 1.38 goals per game.

Ron Meyers, Derek Klassen and Carlo Finucci scored goals for Alaska. Finucci and Naglich also had assists to finish with two points each for the night.

 LSSU, which dropped to 3-1-1 during Friday CCHA games, and UAF play Game 2 of the series at 11:35 p.m. EST tonight in Fairbanks. The Nanooks have won three straight games.

Box Score