In getting off to their best four-game start since 2011, when they also went 3-0-1 out of the gate, the Seawolves have savored some tasty performances.
Saturday's 4-1 victory over Air Force at the Brice Alaska Goal Rush hockey tournament in Fairbanks, for instance, featured 23 saves from UAA freshman goaltender Olivier Mantha. All Mantha has done in his two starts is deliver two victories and stop 50 of 53 shots for a .943 save percentage.
"Mantha was the difference tonight,'' UAA coach Matt Thomas said by text. "Played solid and bailed us out during some sloppy periods of play.''
Sophomore defenseman Chase Van Allen of Anchorage furnished his first college goal and also added an assist. All he's done is generate at least one point in every game and rocket to the top of the UAA points list with 1-5—6 totals – and that's after his scoring line of 0-8—8 in 30 games as a freshman.
"He's playing well and finding a way to create offense consistently,'' Thomas said.
The Seawolves have also received the first college goal from each of their four freshman forwards -- center Matt Anholt racked his first strike Saturday to join previous rookie goal scorers Austin Azurdia, Tad Kozun and Anthony Conti.
Also, UAA is proving adept at killing major penalties. That's obviously not a facet of the game any team wants to confront on a regular basis, but the Seawolves have killed all three major penalties they have been busted for this season. Freshman defenseman Tanner Johnson, making his college debut, got the gate Saturday just 2 minutes, 2 seconds into the match, when he was sentenced for checking from behind.
Granted, four games is a small sample size -- just 12 percent of the regular-season schedule. A grueling road trip to Maine awaits this week -- the Seawolves beat the Black Bears 3-1 last week, but that was on home ice at Sullivan Arena, not four time zones and a full travel day away. And UAA has not yet begun the grind of its schedule in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. All four of its games have been nonconference.
Still, the Seawolves have outscored opponents 14-7, scored at least three goals in every game and only once -- in Friday's 3-3 tie with Air Force in Fairbanks -- surrendered as many as three goals.
UAA ran into potential trouble right off the hop Saturday when Johnson got the gate with a major and game misconduct. He did not threaten the unofficial Seawolves record for earliest trip to the dressing room in a debut -- winger Kevin Clark's green and gold debut in 2006 ended when Clark was docked for checking from behind a mere 11 seconds into UAA's season opener.
Referees have been encouraged to closely monitor both hits to the head and checking from behind, two infractions that present a danger to player safety. Thomas didn't think Johnson's penalty was an egregious hit, but knows the game is being called tight.
"Discipline is a major concern,'' he said. "It's my job to hold our team accountable for their actions and I will.''
But UAA prospered on that five-minute penalty kill, not only holding the Falcons (1-3-0) off the board, but getting short-handed strike from sophomore winger Dylan Hubbs. He converted off a Van Allen feed for his first career shortie and a 1-0 lead as the Seawolves lent on-ice support to Johnson.
Anholt's goal nine minutes into the second period staked the Seawolves to a 2-0 lead. Air Force sophomore forward A.J. Reid halved the deficit with a power-play one-timer late in the period. Reid leads the Falcons with three goals, all on the power play, after scoring five goals in 38 games as a freshman.
After being held to just 11 shots in the first two periods and seeing its top line of center Blake Tatchell and wingers Scott Allen and Brett Cameron held to zero shots in the first 40 minutes, UAA rifled 11 shots in the third period.
Van Allen's first college goal, less than three minutes into the period, restored UAA's two-goal lead at 3-1 and Cameron added an empty-net goal with more than four minutes remaining.
Van Allen and Tatchell were voted to the all-tournament team. UAF (4-0-0) rallied with two late goals, both from freshman winger Austin Vieth, to beat Penn State 4-3 and win its tournament. Vieth, who also had an assist Saturday and a goal in Friday's 4-3 win over Air Force, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockey-blog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr
Air Force 0 1 0 -- 1
UAA 1 1 2 -- 4
First Period – 1, UAA, Hubbs 1 (Van Allen), 6:21 (sh). Penalties – Johnson, UAA, major-game misconduct, served by Conti (checking from behind), 2:02; Azurida, UAA (roughing), 10:46.
Second Period – 2, UAA, Anholt 1 (Friesen, Hubbs), 9:00; 3, Air Force, Reid 3 (Gunner, Boje), 17:08 (pp). Penalties – Conti, UAA (holding the stick), 14:43; Conti, UAA (tripping), 16:53.
Third Period – 4, UAA, Van Allen 1 (Conti, Duwe), 2:28; 5, UAA, Cameron 1 (Tatchell), 15:47 (en). Penalties – Hrabovsky, Air Force (tripping), :14; Hubbs, UAA (kneeing), 5:54; Azurida, UAA (interference), 10:05; Gunner, Air Force (tripping), 10:24; Demers, Air Force, minor-game misconduct (holding the stick), 18:41.
Shots on goal – Air Force 11-9-4—24. UAA 7-4-11—22.
Power-play Opportunities – Air Force 1 of 6. UAA 0 of 3.
Goalies – Air Force, Truehl, 1-3-0 (21 shots-18 saves). UAA, Mantha, 2-0-0 (24 shots-23 saves).
A – 916 (4,595). T – 2:16.
Referees – Brad Albers, Kevin Hall. Assistant referees – Carl Saden, Travis Jackson.