MARQUETTE, Mich. — The Alaska Nanooks now play the waiting game for the NCAA Tournament after not getting to play a third game against Northern Michigan in their Central Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinal series.

The fifth-seeded Nanooks ended the postseason Saturday night with a 5-1 loss to the fourth-seeded Wildcats in the Berry Events Center, but Alaska has an outside chance of an at-large berth into the national tournament.

Sophomore defenseman Aaron Gens scored on a power play in the third period and sophomore goaltender Scott Greenham made 15 saves for the Nanooks, who are 18-11-9 overall and No. 13 in the latest PairWise Rankings, which mimic the formula the NCAA Hockey Tournament Committee uses to select the 16-team field for the Division I national tournament.

“We’ve got to sit and wait, but it’s (NCAA tournament) part of what you want to do when you’re playing college hockey,” Alaska head coach Dallas Ferguson said. “You want to win your league and you want to get an opportunity to be in the national championship tournament.”

The Wildcats, 19-11-8 and headed to the CCHA Championship Tournament in Detroit on Friday and Saturday, are 12th in the PairWise. Senior goaltender Brian Stewart had 30 saves for Northern Michigan, which got a goal and assist each from junior left wing Greger Hanson, sophomore right wing Tyler Gron and junior defenseman Erik Gustaffson.

The Nanooks know that any chance of a berth in the national tournament, which starts March 26, isn’t in their hands. They have to wait for the outcomes of conference tournaments around the nation, including the one in Detroit, where Alaska placed fourth last year.

“Obviously, we want the opportunity,” said Ferguson, “but it’s all in the numbers and its about what the other teams are doing.

“It’s tough to think about right now.”

After getting swept in the series, most of Alaska’s thoughts Saturday were about not getting a third game that would have taken place today.

“It’s real tough because we all worked so hard to get to this point, and it’s real disappointing,” said center Dion Knelsen, who had an assist on Gens’ goal and was one of four Nanooks seniors experiencing their last CCHA postseason game.

The other Alaska seniors are Knelsen’s brother, Brandon, a right wing; defenseman Dustin Molle and wing Cody Rymut, who was a healthy scratch in the postseason that included a 4-3 loss in Friday’s quarterfinal opener.

Ferguson encouraged his players to leave with a positive mood from an arena which Alaska is 1-14-5 all-time.

“I think our guys have a lot to be proud of,” he said, “and they should leave the building with their heads held high and be proud of their efforts and proud of what they accomplished as a group.”

Those accomplishments include a scoreless first period where they outshot the hosts 12-2 on the way to a 31-20 advantage in shots on goal.

The Nanooks, despite missing on two power plays, dominated the ice in the first. They put up solid forechecking in the neutral zone, won battles in the defensive zone and effectively dumped the puck to create chances.

“I just thought we were making smart plays, we were winning puck races and we were keeping the puck when we had it,” Dion Knelsen said. “We just took it to them for most of the game, but we couldn’t quite get it done.”

Northern Michigan head coach Walt Kyle wasn’t surprised at Alaska’s first-period determination.

“You’re playing against a cornered animal. It’s a tough thing and you have to expect the storm,” Kyle said. “After we weathered the storm, I thought ‘OK, that was the kitchen sink. They threw the kitchen sink at us; now let us play hockey.”

The Wildcats formed storm barriers against Alaska’s relentless attacks. The Nanooks, though, often encountered traffic, as Northern Michigan packed the slot to block shots (a 24-7 advantage Saturday) and deflect passes.

“They’re a good team at blocking out and blocking shots,” Gens said. “We work on that in the same way and that’s what a good playoff team does.”

Gens got through Northern Michigan’s barrier at 3:53 of the third to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 2-1. Gens collected Sova’s crossing pass at the top of the slot and Gens launched a shot that crawled up Stewart’s glove arm and skipped in off the right post.

“I was getting everything blocked lately and I just wanted to get as much as I could on it,” he said. “I didn’t get quite all the wood, but I had a good screen out front and it just happened to find its way into the net.”

Hanson snuffed the Nanooks’ momentum at 13:03 of the third, as he and Gron were well screened on a 2-on-2 rush, but Gron got a cross off Hanson and flipped the puck over Greenham’s glove-side shoulder.

Gron and senior center Ray Kaunisto added empty-net goals at 17:48 and 19:45, respectively, to assure the Wildcats of a fifth straight trip to Detroit and an unbeaten record (3-0-3) this season against Alaska.

Northern Michigan took a 2-0 lead in the second period with sophomore left wing Justin Florek’s wrist shot at 31 seconds into the period and a power-play fling by senior center Matt Butcher that went in off of the right corner of the crossbar at 4:26.

Contact staff writer Danny Martin at 459-7586.