Wcha

It looks like the WCHA could be turning to an old friend to help fill its membership void. collegehockeynews.com is reporting that former WCHA school Northern Michigan is close to reaching an agreement to re-joining its old league.   Northern Michigan is currently a member of the CCHA. That league also faces the loss of additional schools following the formation of a new super-conference that includes North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College, Minnesota State-Mankato, and Nebraska-Omaha out of the WCHA and Miami out of the CCHA.

Alaska's two collegiate hockey programs are losing several members of their existing conferences. The athletic departments at WCHA programs North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College, Nebraska Omaha, and 2011 NCAA champion Minnesota-Duluth, along with CCHA school Miami released a joint statement on Saturday, confirming their intention to leave their respective leagues to form a super-conference of six schools.  The new league will start...

For just the second time in school history, UAA has advanced to the WCHA final five on the strength of a 2-0 shutout. The Seawolves swept Minnesota on the road in the first-round best-of-three series.  Chris Kamal stalled the Golden Gophers, stopping all 23 shots he faced. It’s the netminder’s third goose egg of the season.  The game was tied until Mickey Spencer’s highlight-worthy top-shelf shot just 2:23 into the third period.  With time ticking away on Minnesota, the Gophers were forced to press a bit, allowing Tommy Grant to get behind the defense and add an insurance tally at 13:24.

The UAA hockey team never recovered from a poor start, and fell 6-1 at 5th-ranked North Dakota in WCHA action on Friday night. The Seawolves gave up two goals in the span of 17 seconds in the first period and trailed the Fighting Sioux, 3-0 after one.  By the time Matt Bailey scored in the third period, the Seawolves were already five goals behind.  Anchorage native Evan Trupp added the final tally of the night for North Dakota ( 15-6-0 WCHA ). UAA drops to 9-12-2 in conference play entering Saturday's series finale with North Dakota.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers peppered UAA goaltender Rob Gunderson with 48 shots, and walked away with a 5-1 victory over the Seawolves Friday night at Mariucci Arena.  The loss drops UAA ( 6-11-2 WCHA ) to a third straight loss. The Seawolves got off to a poor start, allowing two Minnesota goals in the opening 5:36 of the opening period.  The early 2-0 deficit led to a strong lecture from coach Dave Shyiak.  Mitch Bruijsten responded with a power play strike, making it 2-1 by the end of the first.

Tommy Grant scored with 8.1 seconds left in regulation to lift the UAA Hockey team to a thrilling 2-1 victory over #15 Wisconsin on Friday night.  Theatrics are becoming a habit for the Seawolves, who have played 10 games this season decided by one goal, including last week's overtime win at Colorado College featuring a tying goal with six seconds to play.   Craig Parkinson buried the Seawolves other goal, a shorthanded strike in the second stanza.  They move to 4-6-1 in WCHA play, while the Badgers drop to 3-6-2 in league play.

The youth of the University of Alaska Anchorage’s hockey team should not be confused for weakness -- a fact displayed by the Seawolves’ 3-6-1 record in WCHA play this season. UAA is staying competitive with freshmen in major roles. Matt Bailey and Jordan Kwas are tied for the team lead with 10 points apiece, and their play has helped the Seawolves in the clutch. The Seawolves have posted overtime victories in consecutive series to rise into a tie for seventh in the league -- one spot behind this weekend's opponent, Wisconsin.

The University of Alaska Anchorage hockey team is preparing for its second WCHA home series against St. Cloud State. The Huskies haven't been capturing any best-in-show awards, as the pre-season No. 4 team in the nation is off to a 4-6-2 start -- but coach Dave Shyiak knows they have the talent to be dangerous. “They have Garrett Roe and the Drew LeBlanc kid -- they're just a team (where) if you give them time and space they'll capitalize, so our job is to not give them the time and space,” Shyiak said.

The University of Alaska Anchorage has dibs on the Sullivan Arena this weekend. The Seawolves host the Minnesota State Mavericks this weekend, in their first home series of the WCHA season. Coach Dave Shyiak's UAA crew is coming off a pair of losses in Duluth, Minn. last weekend, including a 6-0 shutout loss on Saturday. The Mavericks are coming to town after splitting with Colorado College last weekend. They're 1-2-1 in league play, and though they've played two more conference games than UAA, Minnesota State has three points more than the Seawolves.

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.