Seawolves prepare for WCHA opener in Duluth

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The University of Alaska Anchorage hockey team is on its way to Duluth, Minn. for its WCHA opener: a Friday-Saturday series against the Univeristy of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.

Over the last few years, the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center has been friendly to the Seawolves, who have amassed a 4-2-2 record in their last eight contests there -- including a March 2009 sweep of Duluth.

Whatever the reason for those successes, UAA is counting on its streak continuing this weekend.

“Duluth's always a great team, really a skilled team, but we've had a lot of success going there to their rink,” said UAA forward Nick Haddad. “We've done really well there in the past, so hopefully we can get off to a good start this year and get a couple of wins.”

“They've got a smaller rink, we've got a big team that's fast -- we move our feet well and we just take away time and space,” said UAA defenseman/forward Curtis Leinweber. “And that allows ourselves to make some plays, and we just want to continue that down there.”

Contact John Carpenter at jcarpenter@ktuu.com