Overtime in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association is merciless for the vanquished – no consolation point awarded in the standings, just pain absorbed.
UAA swallowed that hard lesson Friday night, when it twice forged ties, but glided off the Sullivan Arena ice, collective shoulders slumped, with zero to show for its 3-2 OT loss to Ferris State of Michigan.
"It's obviously frustrating,'' said UAA defenseman Jarrett Brown. "We battled back, for nothing, kind of. We've just got to regroup.''
"Pretty tough,'' winger Tad Kozun said.
The only solace for the Seawolves (5-3-1, 2-2-1 WCHA), other than pride reinforced from fighting a good fight, is that they get another shot at the Bulldogs (5-4-2, 4-3-0 WCHA) on Saturday night.
And as much as an overtime loser in the WCHA suffers, the winner rejoices, not just because it gains two points in the standings, but also because it deprives the opponent of any reward.
The Bulldogs seized the series opener on the strength of Kyle Schempp's power-play strike at 3 minutes, 12 seconds of the five-minute overtime. His snap shot from the left circle beat UAA goaltender Olivier Mantha (20 saves) high to the glove side, rang off the crossbar and in.
Schempp and his teammates know the other side of the equation – they lost, with just 46 ticks left in overtime, at Michigan Tech two weeks ago.
"It's tough,'' Schempp said. "You don't get anything out of that.''
The Bulldogs prospered courtesy of their power play, which furnished all of their goals – Ferris converted three of eight chances – and is clicking at 20.8-percent efficiency one season after working just 9.5 percent of the time.
"It has been a point of emphasis this year, and we've worked on it a lot,'' Schempp said.
For Kozun, the end of the night brought thoughts of what might have been. Shortly after the Seawolves killed a third-period penalty that carried into overtime, they enjoyed a 3-on-2 rush that culminated with Kozun's deft, point-blank redirection. But Ferris State freshman goaltender Darren Smith (18 saves) flashed his blocker to make the save of the game.
"I don't know what else I could have done,'' Kozun said.
Schempp was just thankful Smith continued to show signs he may be an able replacement for C.J. Motte, who closed his Bulldogs career last season with 66 wins, a 2.13 goals-against average, .926 save percentage and 15 shutouts.
"He makes the big saves when we need a big save,'' Schempp said.
Kozun enjoyed another glorious chance earlier, this one with UAA short-handed and about 30 seconds left in regulation, when he had a semi-breakaway. But the puck rolled on him as he unloaded a wrist shot that was high of the net and wide left.
'I couldn't get (the puck) to settle down,'' Kozun said.
The Seawolves were in position to win late in regulation, and in overtime, because Brown notched their first short-handed goal of the season midway through the third period to forge a 2-2 tie. Brown's goal came at the tail-end of Ferris State's five-minute power play, afforded it when UAA freshman center Nicolas Erb-Ekholm received a five-minute major and game misconduct for checking from behind.
Brown made a pass from his zone to Kozun in neutral ice. Kozun went 1-on-1 into the slot in the Bulldogs' end and his shot was partially blocked, but Brown raced in on the follow-up to furnish the equalizer.
"We talked about that on the bench – being aggressive even though we were on the penalty kill, because we were down one,'' Brown said. "Tad made a great move with a toe-drag. I just cleaned up the mess.''
That goal proved the second time UAA delivered a tie. Brown's goal pulled the Seawolves even after Ferris State defenseman Simon Denis earned his club a 2-1 lead late in the second period, when his backhand from behind the goal line banked off Mantha and just over the goal line.
Ferris State took a 1-0 lead in the first period when it received a two-man advantage after UAA captain Austin Sevalrud was penalized for tripping at the same time winger Dylan Hubbs was busted for boarding. The Bulldogs generated a tic-tac-toe goal – Chad McDonald fed Gerald Mayhew (two assists) at the bottom of the left circle and Mayhew immediately fired a cross-crease pass that left Corey Mackin with an easy back-door goal and left Mantha with no chance.
But UAA sophomore winger Anthony Conti tied the game at 1-1 deep into the second period after Brown moved in from the right point and prevented a Ferris State attempt to clear the puck from its zone. Conti collected the puck, moved to the middle of the ice and threaded a 50-foot wrister inside the left post as UAA's Blake Tatchell was checked into Smith.
Conti's goal was his fourth in seven games this season, matching his output in 32 games last season as a rookie and tying Kozun and Tatchell for the team lead.
The Seawolves' joy was short-lived. Denis put Ferris State back on top three minutes later.
Still, UAA, which this season has won two games and tied another after trailing in the third period, could not convert on two third-period power plays and failed to score on its four power-play chances.
Even so, the Seawolves got to overtime, where a victory is worth two points, a tie is worth one point and a loss is worth nothing tangible.
As Kozun noted, one precious point can decide home-ice advantage for the league playoffs or even whether a team makes the playoffs in 10-team league in which only the top eight qualify for the postseason.
"Any point we can get is big,'' he said.
Seawolves notes
UAA's loss saddled it with consecutive losses for the first time this season. The Seawolves were coming off a bye week and, in their previous game, lost 2-0 to Bowling Green on Oct. 31.
Conti's goal snapped UAA's goal drought at 116 minutes, 31 seconds, the equivalent of nearly two regulation games.
Brown's goal and assist was his first multiple-point game at UAA.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockeyblog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr
Ferris State 1 1 0 1 -- 3
UAA 0 1 1 0 -- 2
First Period – 1, Ferris State, Mackin 4 (Mayhew, McDonald), 13:48 (pp). Penalties – Hubbs, UAA (boarding), 13:22; Sevalrud, UAA (hooking), 13:22.
Second Period – 2, UAA, Conti 4 (Brown), 14:47; 3, Ferris State, Denis 2 (Schempp, Mackin), 17:57 (pp). Penalties – Sevalrud, UAA (checking from behind), :14; VanWormer, Ferris State (roughing), 6:45; MacTavish, UAA (high-sticking), 10:13; Anselmini, Ferris State (high-sticking), 10:13; Robertson, Ferris State (interference), 10:30; Hubbs, UAA (tripping), 17:39; Van Allen, UAA (misconduct), 17:57; Tatchell, UAA (roughing), 18:07.
Third Period – 4, UAA, Brown 1 (Kozun), 9:51 (sh). Penalties – Erb-Ekholm, UAA, major-game misconduct, served by MacTavish (checking from behind), 5:06; Anselmini, Ferris State (cross-checking), 11:26; Dorantes, Ferris State (cross-checking), 16:31; Duwe, UAA (hooking), 18:51.
Overtime – 5, Ferris State, Schempp 4 (Mayhew, Mackin), 3:12 (pp). Penalties – Conti, UAA (high-sticking), 2:21; Denis, Ferris State (charging the goalie), 3:12
Shots on goal – Ferris State 5-10-7-1—23. UAA 3-8-8-1—20.
Power-play Opportunities – Ferris State 3 of 8. UAA 0 of 4.
Goalies – Ferris State, Smith, 4-1-1 (20 shots-18 saves). UAA, Mantha, 4-3-1 (23 shots-20 saves).
A – 1,682. T – 2:30.
Referees – Brad Albers, Mike Forys. Assistant referees – Chad Jackson, Chad Colliander.