Wcha

The UAA hockey team wasted an early lead and fell, 3-1 to the Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks in Friday night WCHA action.  The Seawolves dropped to 1-5-3 in league play while the Mavericks won their fifth straight to reach 6-5-0 in conference. Matt Bailey opened the scoring 1:49 into regulation with a beautiful backhander top shelf for his second goal of the season.  UAA quickly went to the penalty box, however, and the Mavericks scored on the ensuing power play to tie the game.

The Seawolf hockey team defeated #14 St. Cloud State 3-1 Saturday night.  For fans of the green and gold the teams 3-0 lead in the third period may not have offered much comfort.  Only a night prior UAA saw a similar 3-0 lead evaporate and end in a 4-3 overtime loss.  In a show of toughness the home town team was able to shake off the rough ending in that game and play their way to the groups first WCHA win this year.  The scoring parade got started...

The UAA hockey team got off to a roaring start on Friday against 14th-ranked St. Cloud State but couldn't sustain their momentum in a 4-3 overtime loss.  Jordan Kwas, Tyler Currier, and Hayden Trupp all scored goals for the Seawolves in the opening 10:13 of the first period.  After that, the Seawolves managed a mere seven shots on goal for the rest of the night. Jimmy Murray scored twice for the Huskies, including the game-winner in overtime as St. Cloud State gradually turned play in its favor.  The Huskies trailed 3-1 after two periods, and tied it up with 2:36 remaining in the third to set up Murray's heroics.

The 2nd-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers scored all their goals on the power play and finished 4 for 5 on the man advantage in a 4-0 win over UAA on Friday night at Sullivan Arena.  The Gophers also dominated in the shots on goal department, 31-14 to improve to 6-2-0 overall and 3-2-0 in the WCHA.  The Seawolves, who were playing their conference home opener, fall to 0-2-1 in league play and 2-3-2 overall. Chris Kamal played in net for UAA and made 27 saves.  Kyle Rau scored twice to lead Minnesota.

The UAA Seawolves took one point of a possible four in their initial weekend of WCHA play this season with a 3-3 tie at 4th-ranked North Dakota on Saturday.  The Seawolves took a 3-2 third period lead on goals by Tyler Currier and Jordan Kwas before the Fighting Sioux tied things up with an extra attacker goal with 1:08 left in regulation. Currier's goal was the fourth shorthanded strike this season for UAA, most in the country.  Scott Allen buried his team-leading fourth goal of the season for the Seawolves as well.  UAA owns one conference point in the WCHA standings and has next weekend off.  

Danny Kristo had three assists as fourth ranked North Dakota took down UAA in Friday's first WCHA contest for both schools, 4-1 in Grand Forks.  The Fighting Sioux, who defeated the Seawolves 5-0 in a non-conference contest one week ago, struck three times in a span of less than seven minutes in the second period to break open a contest that was scoreless after one frame. Alex Gellert scored UAA's lone goal, his third of the season to cut the deficit to 3-1 in the second.  However, Derek Forbort tallied just 22 seconds later to give North Dakota its final victory margin.  UAA drops to 2-2-1 overall with the loss.  Chris Kamal made 14 of his 30 stops in the first period.

A Western Collegiate Hockey Association referee who was arrested on state and federal charges Sunday after allegedly making a comment about a bomb in a bag at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport has been "suspended indefinitely," the association said Monday. Men's referee Pete Friesema, a 44-year-old from Highland Ranch, Colo. who was visiting Anchorage to help referee a University of Alaska Anchorage hockey tournament, has been suspended pending a review of the incident by the WCHA.

The UAA Seawolves claimed their second consecutive season opening tournament, with a tie against Air Force Saturday at the Sullivan Arena. The Falcons jumped ahead 2-0 in the first period before UAA got on the board.  Jordy Kwas tallied one late in the first, and Matt Bailey with the equalizer in the second. Late into the third period, Alex Gellert scored the go-ahead with less than 6 minutes left in the game.  A 6-4 advantage goal at .2 seconds left in the period tied the game at 3's, forcing overtime.

The nine future members of the WCHA recently concluded productive meetings in Detroit, during which the league approved a 28-game conference schedule and a postseason tournament involving all nine schools. The WCHA has been hurt by team defections to other leagues that take effect in the fall of 2013.  At that time, the league will consist of Alaskan schools UAA and UAF, plus current WCHA teams Minnesota State-Mankato, Bemidji State, and Michigan Tech.  Current CCHA programs Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State, Bowling Green, and Ferris State will also join the conference.

Erik Haula scored twice in a decisive second period as the 4th-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers outlasted the UAA Seawolves, 2-1 in game one of a best of three WCHA playoff series on Friday night. All of the scoring took place in the second period, but the regular season WCHA champion Gophers took control by outshooting the Seawolves in the frame, 16-4.  Minnesota held a 34-17 advantage in shots for the game, but UAA's Brad Gorham made things interesting by scoring with two seconds left in the period to make it 2-1. Kent Patterson's final save of the night came with less than five seconds to play, when the first team all-WCHA goaltender denied Daniel Naslund's effort to tie the game.