Sports

Next man up: UAA looks to replace scoring of departed seniors

After scoring three goals as a freshman, UAA winger Scott Allen racked 12 as a sophomore and boosted his bounty to 17 as a junior last season.

Sure, Allen got better at hockey in that span of three seasons, and he earned more opportunities, but he also credits his improved production to learning to better manage his time, his energy and his body.

As the Seawolves search to replace the goal scoring of departed senior forwards Matt Bailey and Jordan Kwas – their combined 33 goals accounted for 31.4 percent of UAA goals last season – finding new sources of scoring won't merely be about what happens on the ice.

When Allen arrived at UAA as a 21-year-old, getting accustomed to a higher level of hockey was merely one of several significant changes he encountered.

Beyond practices, games and off-ice training like hitting the weights, he also faced classes as a full-time student. Allen had to budget time for homework. He had to learn to eat properly, and regularly, to fuel his body. He learned he needed to get ample sleep. And he learned he needed to worry only about the things he could control – not, for instance, what his coach thought of him from week to week or what his teammates were doing to impress the coach.

"There's not enough hours in the day sometimes, and it can be stressful if you're having trouble in school or with hockey,'' said Allen, a senior. "And you're trying to be successful at these things, not just do them.''

Everything became easier, Allen said, once he gained the discipline to combine school, hockey and his lifestyle in a manageable package.

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"Time-management skills are huge when you're a student-athlete,'' Allen said.

That's why Allen said he's trying to impart the lessons he learned to UAA's freshmen – he aims to hasten their learning curve.

"If they can be prepared in October rather than December, that's two more months they can be better hockey players,'' Allen said.

Allen, a left wing, is one of three upper classmen who will be counted on for scoring. He produced 17 goals, 14 assists and 31 points in 33 games last season. Second-year coach Matt Thomas will also lean on junior center Blake Tatchell, the team's leading returning scorer (7-25—32 in 38 games) and senior right wing Brett Cameron (10-13—23 in 34 games).

Thomas will have to decide whether to load up one lethal, proven forward line – Tatchell centering Allen and Cameron – or take one of those wingers and place him on the second line to diversify scoring. One option is moving Cameron to center.

Thomas' decision will likely hinge on the progress of freshmen forwards like Matt Anholt, Tad Kozun, Anthony Conti and Austin Azurdia or the emergence of sophomore wingers like Brad Duwe (7-1—8 in 27 games last season) or Dylan Hubbs (4-6—10 in 35 games).

"It can't just be the go-to guys,'' Thomas said. "Who's going to take that big jump?''

Thomas will get an indication Saturday night, when UAA entertains Western Ontario in an exhibition game at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex. UAA, which finished 18-16-4 last season, opens the season in earnest with its Kendall Hockey Classic at Sullivan Arena on Oct. 10-11.

Cameron said he noticed right away in his transition from junior hockey to college hockey that talent wasn't going to be enough for success.

"In junior, you can get through strictly on skill,'' Cameron said. "In college, you have to work, and work hard. Once you do that, you get desperate to win and you come more prepared every night.''

After scoring nine goals in 67 combined games as a freshman and sophomore, Cameron delivered 10 goals last season.

Hubbs is intent on improving his production. For what it's worth, he had a hat trick in UAA's intrasquad scrimmage last week.

Like Cameron, Hubbs said the move to college hockey was an eye-opener.

"I had no idea what I was getting into,'' Hubbs said. "You realize you're not playing 16- and 17-year-olds, like in junior. You're playing against 23- and 24-year-old men.''

Thomas said one way he hopes his club will replace the scoring it lost when Bailey and Kwas moved on to pro hockey is by getting more production from the defense. Seawolves defensemen accounted for just 12 goals last season, and two of them – Austin Coldwell (6) and Ben Matthews (3) accounted for most of them. Thomas has set a benchmark of 20 goals for the defense in the upcoming season.

Up front, Thomas figures Tatchell moves into Bailey's old spot as the No. 1 center and Cameron fills the Kwas void as the No. 1 right wing. That leaves openings on the second line, where Tatchell and Cameron often played last season.

"Now the question we have is: Who is going to take Blake Tatchell's spot or Brett Cameron's spot?'' Thomas said.

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Motivation

Before Cameron returned to Alaska from his home in Edmonton at summer's end, he received a motivational gift from his mother, Carolyn. She framed a ticket from last season's Western Collegiate Hockey Association championship game at the Final Five.

Cameron keeps it on his nightstand to remind himself that's where he wants his team, which last season was eliminated by Ferris State in a playoff semifinal, to be in mid-March.

"That's the first thing I see every morning,'' Cameron said. "That's my biggest motivation. I need to win a championship.''

Reach reporter Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com and check out his blog at adn.com/hockey-blog

Doyle Woody

Doyle Woody covered hockey and other sports for the Anchorage Daily News for 34 years.

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