Everything was going right for the 49ers through two plus periods on Saturday night against Northern Arizona University. Forecheck, defense, passing, goaltending, hitting—you name it and the 49ers were doing it right.

In complete reversal of the previous night, Long Beach asserted some dominance and jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a goal by Robbie Zdjelar and a pair by Matt Kresky.

NAU netted a pair of their own in the second period but the 49ers stretched the lead back to 5-2 after Brad Roberts’ wraparound goal and Joe Nalley’s partial breakaway. But in the third period, NAU capitalized on undisciplined 49er penalties to tie the game with 2:20 to go.

Overtime saw end-to-end action with quality chances from both teams and a shootout seemed eminent. However, with under a minute to go the 49ers had two chances to clear their defense zone but failed to do so. NAU moved the puck to the slot and a shot went off the right post, off 49er goalie Alex Miklivic and in for the OT winner. The 6-5 loss is the sixth one-goal loss of the season for the 49ers.

Next Friday, the 49ers travel to San Diego to battle the Aztecs at 9pm in the San Diego KROC Center. If you can’t make the trip, you can listen live on www.lbsuicehockey.com.

The following weekend, the 49ers travel to Las Vegas for a pair against UNLV. Those games will also be broadcast on www.lbsuicehockey.com. Game times will be announced shortly.

Reports From Beach Hockey & Phil Goodman