UAA wins with 8 ticks left

"I was just gonna throw a muffin on net,'' he said.

Then he spotted linemate Tommy Grant racing to the net with the teams skating 4-on-4, and what seemed like a harmless attack suddenly turned heavenly for the Seawolves.

A diving Grant redirected Kwas' centering feed off the left post and behind Badgers goaltender Scott Gudmandson with 8.1 seconds remaining to earn UAA a 2-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association victory.

Kwas feathered a pass between Schultz's body and stick and Grant maneuvered around defenseman Craig Johnson to rack his second game- winning strike in eight days. Grant's overtime goal gave UAA a 4-3 road win against Colorado College on Nov. 26.

Grant, a left-handed shooter who was veering to his right as he bolted to Kwas' pass, appeared to twist his stick enough to get the puck on his forehand and shovel it home.

"I can't even remember how I scored, to tell you the truth,'' Grant said minutes after the game, before turning deadpan. "I'm trying to put it behind me and get ready for (tonight's rematch).''

Gudmandson, who stopped 29 shots, said he thought he was well-positioned for the Seawolves' final bid and credited Grant for an excellent play.

"It was a perfect shot,'' he said.

It was also a redeeming one for Grant. On a Seawolves power play less than three minutes earlier, Grant prepared to unload a one- timer from the right circle with Gudmandson pushing across his crease, but Grant's stick snapped on the shot and he threw the shaft of his twig to the ice in disgust.

Soon enough, he scored on, of all things, a chip shot.

On a night when the Seawolves outshot the Badgers 31-22, trumped them in the face-off circle 36-21 and spent ample quality time below the dots in Wisconsin's zone, they prospered by virtue of driving to the net for what hockey players call greasy goals.

Craig Parkinson's short-handed goal to open the scoring about six minutes into the second period proved a case in point. As Seawolves defenseman Luka Vidmar whipped a wrist shot on Gudmandson from atop the left circle off the rush, Parkinson busted to the net. Gudmandson made a pad save and was covering the puck when Parkinson dove in and nudged it into the net.

"I just jammed at it, and it worked out,'' Parkinson said. "Luckily. Otherwise I was caught out of position.''

Grant said that's the style in which the Seawolves must score.

"There's no secret -- in our league, and for our team, we usually score from within two inches of the crease, or in it,'' Grant said.

Parkinson said that kind of sweat equity pays off.

"It's easier said than done, especially against a good team like Wisconsin that protects the net,'' he said. "That's how we get success -- going to the net. That's what coach (Dave Shyiak) tells us to do.''

Wisconsin's Jordy Murray notched the equalizer on a power play 15 minutes into the second period, deflecting Craig Smith's shot off the right post and in for a 1-1 tie.

But Parkinson's willingness to drive the net was one reason the teams were skating 4-on-4 in the late going. Wisconsin went on the power play with 1:01 left after UAA center Daniel Naslund was penalized for hooking, but Wisconsin defenseman Jake Gardiner took an interference penalty against Parkinson with 47.7 seconds left.

The Badgers also afforded the Seawolves four straight power plays in the third period.

"We need to be more disciplined,'' Gudmandson said.

UAA (5-8-2, 4-6-1 WCHA) leapfrogged over Wisconsin (7-7-3, 3-6-2 WCHA) into sixth place in the 12-team league.

Seawolves freshman goaltender Rob Gunderson delivered his third straight strong performance, turning back 21 shots. He has stopped 76 of 81 shots in that span for a .938 save percentage.

Seawolves notes

• The victory came with a price for the Seawolves -- wingers Jade Portwood and Sean Wiles both left the game with shoulder injuries.

Portwood, who assisted on Parkinson's goal, left late in second period with an injured left shoulder and Wiles departed late in the game with an injured right shoulder. UAA already was without sophomore wing Mitch Bruijsten, who sat out the game with a back injury.

• Seawolves freshman defenseman Wes McLeod returned to the lineup after missing eight games with a shoulder injury.

• Vidmar assisted on both UAA goals for his first multiple-point game of the season. His seven assists are second on the team to Kwas' nine.

• Kwas and Grant each notched their 11th point, tying them for the team lead.

• Parkinson's short-handed goal was the third of his career.

• Junior defenseman Curtis Leinweber was a healthy scratch, marking the first game he has missed this season.

The announced crowd of 2,765 marked the third straight time, and the fifth time in seven home games, that UAA has drawn less than 3,000.

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

Wisconsin 0 1 0 -- 1

UAA 0 1 1 -- 2

First Period -- None. Penalties -- Grant, UAA (hooking), 11:28; Smith, UW (diving), 11:28; P. Johnson, UW (tripping), 15:13.

Second Period -- 1, UAA, Parkinson 4 (Vidmar), 5:49 (sh); 2, UW, Murray 11 (Smith, Gardiner), 15:00 (pp). Penalties -- McLeod, UAA (tripping), 4:24; McLeod, UAA (tripping), 14:23; Grant, UAA (high-sticking), 19:32.

Third Period -- 3, UAA, Grant 5 (Kwas, Vidmar), 19:51. Penalties -- C. Johnson, UW (tripping), 2:22; Wisconsin bench minor, served by Mersch (too many men), 6:34; Smith, UW (tripping), 12:33; Smith, UW (high-sticking), 16:47; Naslund, UAA (hooking), 18:59; Gardiner, UW (interference), 19:12.

Shots on goal -- UW 8-9-5-22. UAA 9-13-9--31.

Power-play Opportunities -- UW 1 of 4; UAA 0 for 5.

Goalies -- UW, Gudmandson, 4-5-1 (31 shots-29 saves). UAA, Gunderson, 4-5-1 (22-21).

A -- 2,765 (6,251). T -- 2:12.

Referees -- Scott Bokal, Paul Depuydt. Assistant referees -- Scott Sivulich, Carl Saden.