Any defeat of a bitter rival is delicious, of course, but UAA's slump-busting 2-1 victory over UAF in Friday night's Game 1 of the annual Governor's Cup proved tasty on myriad fronts.
The Seawolves snapped their four-game losing streak and six-game winless streak, and the win marked just their second victory in the last 14 games (2-10-2).
The victory at the Carlson Center in a game that doubled as a Western Collegiate Hockey Association match also furnished the Seawolves their first league win on the road this season.
That's also the first true road win the Seawolves have savored since eliminating the Nanooks from the WCHA playoffs last March at the Carlson Center. They banked a tournament victory over Air Force at the Carlson Center in October, but that was considered a neutral-site game.
Victory also kept the Seawolves (6-11-4, 3-10-2 WCHA) from sole possession of last place in the 10-team WCHA. UAA is tied for ninth with Lake Superior State of Michigan, which has played two more league games than UAA.
Backstopping all of those benchmarks was freshman goaltender Olivier Mantha, who delivered 34 saves in his debut in the rivalry, which dates back to 1979.
The only goal he surrendered was a second-period laser of a power-play one-timer from Nanooks defenseman Nolan Kaiser, which trimmed UAA's lead to 2-1. Among his best saves was a right-pad denial a backhander from Nolan Youngmun of Anchorage early in the game, when Youngmun accepted a stretch pass and blew in alone on the goalie.
"We got a huge performance in net,'' UAA coach Matt Thomas said by phone. "He was awesome.''
UAA scored both of its goals on first-period power plays, getting strikes from first-line wingers Scott Allen and Brett Cameron. Cameron's goal came on a two-man advantage.
The game degenerated in the waning moments, when the Nanooks (12-10-1, 7-9-1 WCHA) committed a slew of penalties. The most costly infraction was Kaiser's major penalty for checking from behind on UAA defenseman Derek Docken. Kaiser's penalty also came with a game disqualification that bars him from playing in Game 2 Saturday night.
"We don't want to be representing ourselves that way,'' said Nanooks coach Dallas Ferguson, the former UAF defenseman who knows the rivalry as well as anyone currently involved.
The Nanooks were whistled for one game DQ, five game misconducts (including one on their staff) and 87 penalty minutes to UAA's 10 penalty minutes.
Exploding tempers and hurt feelings have long been staples in a rivalry. Thomas' predecessor, Dave Shyiak, once threw a water bottle across the ice at the Carlson when he was upset about officiating. He was ejected.
The Cup series features four games -- Games 3 and 4 end the regular season for both teams in Anchorage on March 6-7. UAF has won 13 of the 21 contested Cups on the ice, but its lead stands at 10-8 because penalties for NCAA infractions forced the Nanooks to vacate three titles.
Thomas recently reunited his top line of junior center Blake Tatchell and senior wingers Allen and Cameron. That crew, which also plays on a power-play unit, generated 13 shots and both goals.
After UAF's Josh Erickson was busted for a major penalty for contact to the head 10 minutes into the game, Allen struck. Stationed between the face-off circles, he took a pass from Tatchell and rifled a shot over Sean Cahill's blocker for his team-leading seventh goal and a 1-0 lead. Six of Allen's seven goals have come on the power play, giving him nearly half of .UAA's 13 man-advantage goals.
Four minutes later, with UAA enjoying a two-man advantage, Tatchell threaded a pass from just above the goal line on right wing, through a crowd at the top of Cahill's crease to Cameron along the goal line on left wing. Cameron corralled the pass and swept a shot behind Cahill (22 saves), who was playing for the first time since Nov. 7, for a 2-0 lead.
"We need those guys to play well every night,'' Thomas said of his top line. "But we need our other lines to give us good minutes, and they did. This was a depth win.''
UAA still struggles to score. The Seawolves have managed eight goals in the last five games and their power play has disappointed them much of the season. Yet their last four goals over two games have all come on the power play.
The Nanooks, who are ineligible for this season's WCHA playoffs because of those past NCAA infractions, are a dynamic team with several threatening offensive players. Towering defenseman Colton Parayko (assist), center Tyler Morley (assist) and winger Marcus Basara are especially dangerous. UAF outshot UAA 35-24 and made a third-period push, yet didn't pepper Mantha with an abundance of high-quality scoring chances in the third period.
Regarding Game 2, Ferguson said, "We'll see what we're made of.''
Thomas, meanwhile, was pleased to get a thorough performance from a team that has been fragile.
"Everybody played well, brought their A game,'' he said. "Everyone really gave us everything they had, and that's what we need.''
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockey-blog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr