No mystery what has ailed the Seawolves since mid-November – special teams are killing them.
That was the drill again Friday night in Marquette, Michigan, where UAA lost the battle of special teams and Northern Michigan hung a 3-2 Western Collegiate Hockey Association loss on the visitors.
The Wildcats converted on 2 of 5 power-play chances, and Robbie Payne's man-advantage strike delivered the game-winner with five minutes to go at the Berry Events Center.
The Seawolves, who went 1 for 6 on the power play, enjoyed two power-play chances with the game tied 2-2 in the third period prior to Payne's marker, but they could not convert.
That is a familiar theme.
In the first 10 games of the season, when UAA went 6-3-1, special teams were a wash – the Seawolves and their opponents each scored nine power-play goals and added one short-handed goal.
In the 17 games since, while UAA has gone 4-11-2, it has converted just 4 of 64 power plays (6.3-percent efficiency) compared to opponents' 13 of 69 (18.8-percent efficiency). UAA's opponents have also scored six short-handed goals in that span to the Seawolves' zero short-handed goals.
So, in those 17 games, not counting three opposing empty-net goals, UAA has been outscored by 21 goals, and the majority of that differential – 15 goals – has come on special teams.
"It's so hard this time of year to score 5-on-5 because both teams work so hard,'' UAA coach Matt Thomas said by cellphone. "When you get opportunities on special teams, you have to make the most of them, and we couldn't get anything going.''
UAA (10-14-3, 7-12-2 WCHA) entered the night tied with Lake Superior State for seventh in the 10-team WCHA, where only the top eight teams qualify for the league playoffs. About the only break the Seawolves received Friday was Lake Superior's 3-0 loss at Michigan Tech.
UAA defenseman Jarrett Brown opened the scoring with a power-play goal off Matt Anholt's feed less than three minutes into the second period. The Wildcats (11-10-6, 8-7-4 WCHA) answered with second-period goals about four minutes apart from Justin Rose at even strength and Brock Maschmeyer on the power play.
Tad Kozun's team-leading 12th goal forged a 2-2 tie for UAA five minutes into the third period, but Payne's power-play goal proved decisive.
Sophomore Olivier Mantha stopped 20 shots for UAA and junior Mathias Dahlstrom made 22 saves for the Wildcats. The teams close the series Saturday night.
Shuffling the deck
Brown's fourth goal of the season, and second in the last two games, ties him the sophomore with freshman Wyatt Ege for the team lead among defensemen. His 4-9—13 totals in 25 games leads Seawolves blueliners in points.
Kozun's 12 goals are twice as many as any other Seawolf.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockeyblog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr
UAA 0 1 1 2
NMU 0 2 1 3
First Period -- None. Penalties – Starzynski, NMU (slashing), 3:12; Payne, NMU (tripping), 15:19.
Second Period – 1, UAA, Brown 4 (Anholt, Van Allen), 2:33 (pp); 2, NMU, Rose 1 (Adair), 9:24; 3, NMU, Maschmeyer 4 (Shine, Nowick), 13:16 (pp). Penalties – Salminen, NMU (tripping), 1:53; Wright, UAA (tripping), 4:00; Trenz, NUM (roughing), 7:13; Ege, UAA (holding), 12:27; MacTavish, UAA (tripping), 15:17; Tatchell, UAA (interference), 19:27.
Third Period – 4, UAA, Kozun 12, 5:23; 5, NMU, Payne 10 (Kaib, Hanson), 14:50 (pp). Penalties – Paskaruk, NMU (tripping), 7:34; Rose, NMU (tripping), 11:21; Azurdia, UAA (hooking), 14:10.
Shots on goal – UAA 5-11-8—24. NMU 4-12-7—23.
Power-play Opportunities – UAA 1 of 6. NMU 2 of 5.
Goalies – UAA, Mantha, 9-13-3 (23 shots-20 saves). NMU, Dahlstrom, 3-0-0 (24 shots-22 saves).
A – 1,885 (4,260). T – 2:14.
Referees – Tony Czech, Bobby Lukkason. Assistant referees – Eric Froberg, Dan Juopperi.