UAA's week off is perfect timing

UAA coach Dave Shyiak said winger Tommy Grant (knee), center Nick Haddad (hip) and defenseman Brad Gorham (knee) will be back in the lineup tonight to open a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series at Minnesota State-Mankato.

"That's good news,'' Shyiak said by phone from the road Thursday while returning to Mankato from a recruiting trip elsewhere in Minnesota. "They eat up a lot of minutes and do a lot of things for us.

"There's always dog days this time of year, and those usually fall in January and February. To get a week off is ideal, especially with those guys who were injured.''

Grant, who is UAA's second-leading scorer and has played in all situations this season, missed two games. Haddad and Gorham, who likewise have played in all situations, each missed three games.

Still, the Seawolves will be without center Craig Parkinson, a pivotal penalty killer and face-off man who chips in the occasional goal. Shyiak said Parkinson suffered a knee injury blocking a shot at St. Cloud State two weeks ago, but only recently began to be bothered by swelling. He's week-to-week, the coach said.

With four WCHA games remaining, the Seawolves and Minnesota are tied for seventh place in the 10-team league with 18 points, though the Gophers have two games in hand. Sixth-place North Dakota, likewise with two games in hand on UAA, owns a three-point advantage over the Seawolves and Gophers.

Ninth-place Minnesota State-Mankato also has two games in hand on UAA but sits five points back, which means the Seawolves potentially could park the Mavericks in ninth for good. That's because the Mavericks' last two series are against league-leader Denver and second-place St. Cloud State.

"It'll be a pretty intense series,'' Shyiak said. "We're obviously trying to get some separation and they're trying to tighten up on us.''

The Mavericks and Seawolves split a series in Anchorage in November, with Mankato throttling UAA 8-2 before the Seawolves rebounded for a 4-1 win.

Find Doyle Woody's blog at adn.com/hockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.