Anchorage Daily News

Jake Newton's fluky power-play goal with 16.4 seconds left helped the Texas Tornado to a 4-2 victory over the Alaska Avalanche Wednesday at Menard Memorial Arena.

With the score tied 2-2 and Texas on the power play for the final two minutes of regulation, Newton's slap shot ricocheted off the stick of Avs' forward Jared McIntosh and over the shoulder of goalie Adam Kraus, who had no chance on the play.

Ryan Fuller added an empty-net goal with 8.2 seconds left for Texas (16-8-3), the three-time champion of the North American Hockey League.

It was a deflating end to a well-played game for Alaska (10-17-3), which lost 4-1 to Texas on Tuesday. Swedish-native Victor Nordenson scored both goals for Alaska, including a power-play slap shot during a 5-on-3 power play that tied the game 2-2 in the third period.

After getting outshot 47-15 in Tuesday's loss, Alaska played Texas even most of the game. The Avs played especially well in the first period, forechecking aggressively and generating good scoring chances.

The aggressiveness paid off when Travis Stevens stole the puck in the Texas zone and launched a shot at Tornado goalie Thomas Tragust. Nordenson snapped in the rebound for his seventh goal and 15th point in 16 games.

But Texas took a 2-1 lead after a frenzied and intense second period. Justin King -- who in the first period took the brunt of punishment in a scrap with Polish-native Krystian Dziubinski of the Avalanche -- scored a short-handed, unassisted goal. And with 52.4 seconds left, John Bullis floated a wrister through traffic to catch Kraus unaware.

Kraus made 32 saves, and Tragust stopped 26 shots.

Alaska and Texas complete the series Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Menard Memorial Arena.