The Seawolves have earned their confidence entering the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs and not just because they are coming off a road sweep, own a three-game winning streak and are riding a hot goaltender.
In the second half of the WCHA season -- the final 14 games of a 28-game league schedule -- the Seawolves generated the fifth-best record (8-6-0) in the 12-team league. And they were only one point shy of matching three teams for the second-best point total in that span.
"That's awesome,'' said freshman Chris Kamal, the hot masked man. "I knew we'd been doing well, but I never looked into it to see how well.''
UAA's record in the second half of the league season is the second-best the program has delivered in its 18 WCHA seasons and just the second time it has played better than .500 hockey in the second half. UAA's first entry in the league, in 1993-94, produced a 9-6-1 mark in the second half -- league teams played a 32-game schedule back then.
The Seawolves (14-17-3) today are scheduled to fly to Minneapolis, where they open a best-of-3, first-round WCHA playoff series Friday night at Minnesota.
The 17th-ranked Gophers (16-12-6) were one of three teams, along with Denver and Nebraska-Omaha, that earned 17 points, one more than the Seawolves, in their last 14 league games. MacNaughton Cup winner North Dakota earned 21 points in its last 14 league games to top the circuit.
UAA grabbed the No. 8 seed in the playoffs with a sweep at Minnesota State-Mankato last weekend. Kamal furnished a career-high 35 saves and copped his second road shutout this season in Friday's 4-0 win, and backstopped the Seawolves to a 4-1 victory Saturday.
The Seawolves also have a good vibe about going back to Minnesota. They split a series with the Gophers at Mariucci Arena in late January, falling 5-1 in the opener before rebounding for a 1-0 win behind Kamal's 30 saves.
"We're happy with what we've done, but we're not content,'' said junior defenseman Curtis Leinweber. "The playoffs is a whole new level. We're confident enough that we can win in their rink because we split there.''
The Seawolves seek to become just the second UAA team to win a first-round series and advance to the WCHA Final Five in St. Paul, Minn. (granted, six teams now qualify). The 2003-04 team, which won a first-round series in three games at Wisconsin, is the only UAA team to advance to St. Paul.
Prior to sweeping Mankato, UAA beat rival UAF 4-1, so it has won three straight games for the second time this season.
"The team's been playing unbelievable hockey the past three games, and no one's shown signs of stopping,'' Kamal said.
Kamal hasn't been too shabby, either. He stopped 66 of 67 shots in Mankato, which earned him Co-Rookie of the Week honors in the league, and in his last seven starts is 6-1-0 with a 1.57 goals-against average and .941 save percentage.
Prior to that, fellow freshman Rob Gunderson made 11 straight starts and also generated a hot streak.
"It's such a different feeling when you have trust in your goaltending,'' said UAA leading scorer Tommy Grant.
The Seawolves emerged in the second half, in part, by being a physical team that wears down opponents, frequently blocks shots and kills penalties well. UAA's 85.8-percent penalty-killing efficiency in WCHA games led the league.
"We're not blessed with the most talent, so we have to play that way,'' Grant said. "We're at our best when we're frustrating the other team, blocking shots and hitting, and making it hard.''
The Seawolves will need to keep it up to succeed against the Gophers, who are riding a seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2).
UAA coach Dave Shyiak, in his sixth season, said he's looking forward to the postseason.
"I thought it was important we won two games on the road at Mankato,'' he said. "We proved to ourselves we could play on the road against a team that's fast and tenacious.
"We're playing a powerhouse (Minnesota) program that's playing like a powerhouse team.''
Seawolves notes
Freshman center Matt Bailey, the team's second-leading goal scorer (10) and tied for third in points (20 in 30 games), won't make the trip to Minnesota.
He's missed the last four games with a sprained right knee. He practiced with the team Tuesday afternoon, but said he's still not quite fit to play.
"Maybe in the Final Six,'' he said.
Grant, the team's leading scorer (15-15--30) carries a six-game point streak into the playoffs. He's earned 5-2--7 totals in that span.
UAA's three-game winning streak is the third-best streak it has carried into the WCHA first round.
The 1992-93 team took a six-game unbeaten streak into the playoffs -- UAA was an affiliate team in the WCHA that season. The 2008-09 team took a four-game winning streak into the playoffs.
Minnesota has been UAA's most frequent first-round playoff opponent -- this is the sixth first-round meeting between the teams. UAA has played the first round at Wisconsin four times and at Colorado College four times.
Find Doyle Woody's blog at adn.com/hockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.
Seawolves' 2nd-half surge
UAA in the second half of the WCHA's regular season generated the fifth-best record in the 12-team league and played better than .500 hockey in the second half for just the second time in the program's 18 WCHA seasons. Here's how the league stacked up in the second half:
2nd-Half
Place/Team Record Points
1) North Dakota 10-3-1 21
2t) Denver 8-5-1 17
2t) Nebraska-Omaha 8-5-1 17
2t) Minnesota 7-4-3 17
5) UAA 8-6-0 16
6t) Minnesota-Duluth 6-5-3 15
6t) St. Cloud State 6-5-3 15
8) Wisconsin 6-7-1 13
9t) Colorado College 5-7-2 12
9t) Bemidji State 4-6-4 12
11) Minn. St.-Mankato 4-8-2 10
12) Michigan Tech 1-12-1 3
By DOYLE WOODY
dwoody@adn.com