Still another way of looking at this series is that the UAA program has not enjoyed even a sliver of success at the National Hockey Center in Minnesota. Since the Seawolves first stepped skates into the concrete bunker on campus in December 1989, they have gone 0-27-3 and at least once been taunted by the raucous student section with a 10-minute send-off chant of "Warm up the sled! Warm up the sled!''
That means the series against a program once coached by the late Herb Brooks -- one street bordering the National Hockey Center is Herb Brooks Way -- is that the Seawolves have a chance to furnish their program's own minor Miracle On Ice.
Yet another way of looking at the series is that, hey, the Seawolves have savored nearly as much success on the road as at home in Western Collegiate Hockey Association games this season. UAA is 3-6-1 (.350 winning percentage) in hostile WCHA rinks and 5-7-0 (.417) in WCHA games at Sullivan Arena.
Still, there is that pesky matter of series openers. UAA is 1-9-1 in the first games of league series this season. So, glass half full, the Seawolves can bust out of their Friday funk tonight.
Besides, they're coming off a 2-1 home-ice win over Minnesota on Saturday. But, the Seawolves are only 3-6-0 this season in games following a victory and just 1-6-0 in league games following a league win.
In any event, Grant didn't make the trip because he suffered a sprained knee last Saturday. Best-case scenario for him is to return against Minnesota State-Mankato on Feb. 19-20 -- the Seawolves are idle next week.
Gorham is out with a knee injury, the severity of which has not been revealed. And Haddad is out with a bruised hip, but is expected back for the Mankato series.
In practice Tuesday, freshman center Alex Gellert took Haddad's spot in the pivot between senior wingers Josh Lunden and Kevin Clark. Defenseman-turned-winger Curtis Leinweber popped into the middle to center Mitch Bruijsten and Tyler Currier. The line of center Daniel Naslund centering Mickey Spencer and Sean Wiles remained in place, as did the combination of Craig Parkinson centering Jade Portwood and Chris Crowell.
"We've just got to go in and focus on what we do best,'' said UAA coach Dave Shyiak. "Take good angles, take away time and space, be good with our puck possession, be fundamentally strong and positionally sound.''
The Seawolves will run into a hot Huskies team. St. Cloud lost 6-4 at Colorado College last Saturday, but is 12-2-1 in its last 15 games. That stretch included 3-1 and 3-2 wins at Sullivan in early December.
"St. Cloud is very talented,'' Shyiak said. "They can score goals and this year, more than any other, they're balanced on both sides of the puck.''
Seawolves notes
After furnishing just one assist in his first eight games this season, Wiles has produced 9-7--16 totals in his last 16 games.
Clark owns 7-5--12 totals in the last nine games.
St. Cloud junior Garrett Roe owns a 10-game point streak, with 5-10--15 totals in that span. And junior Tony Mosey owns a six-game streak. He's 1-6--7 in that stretch. And he has delivered at least one point in nine of the last 10 games, with 2-10--12 totals.
Find Doyle Woody's blog at adn.com/hockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.