Anchorage Daily News

UAA mustered just 14 shots on goal, afforded Minnesota-Duluth a generous nine power plays and nearly allowed a three-goal lead to dissolve Friday night.

None of which mattered.

What counted was the Seawolves seized their Western Collegiate Hockey Association opener for the second time in 16 seasons, turning back the Bulldogs 4-3 at Sullivan Arena.

So what if UAA's leads of 2-0 and 4-1 shrunk to a margin thinner than a skate blade?

Or if a video review by referees wiped out what appeared to be a game-tying, power-play goal by Minnesota-Duluth with 10 minutes to go?

Or if the Seawolves had to burn off yet another short-handed situation in the waning minutes?

Last time UAA junior winger Kevin Clark (two goals) checked, there was no column for style points in the WCHA standings.

"It was ugly, but we got the win, and that's what matters,'' Clark said.

The Seawolves (4-1-0, 1-0-0 WCHA) prospered by virtue of signature performances from their top four scorers -- Clark, Josh Lunden, Brian Bales and Paul Crowder each notched two points -- as well as continued production from their power play, an opportunistic start and persistent shot blocking.

That allowed them to assemble their first three-game winning streak in nearly two years.

Next up: A rematch with the Bulldogs tonight, when the Seawolves have the opportunity to collect the first sweep of a WCHA opening series in their history.

"We've got to keep building,'' said goaltender Jon Olthuis, who stopped 18 shots. "We know how tough this league is.''

Things became a bit dicey for the Seawolves after Clark's second goal, a power-play strike off a give-and-go with Lunden, forged a 4-1 lead 12 minutes into the second period.

Minnesota-Duluth's Justin Fontaine scored a power-play goal late in the period and added another three minutes into the third period to slash UAA's lead to 4-3.

The Bulldogs (3-1-1, 0-1-0 WCHA) appeared to tie the game midway through the third period on a power-play blast by defenseman Trent Palm. But referees Timm Walsh and Don Adam reviewed video of the play and ruled that a Bulldog interfered with Olthuis as the goalie moved to his right while trying to stop Palm's shot. Olthuis said his right skate struck the skate of the Minnesota-Duluth skater.

"I knew the longer (the referees) were looking at it, the better the chances for us,'' Olthuis said.

Minnesota-Duluth coach Scott Sandelin's crew didn't gain much in the way of great opportunities the rest of the way, but he was nonetheless pleased the Bulldogs rallied after he called a timeout when UAA gained that 4-1 lead.

"Our team showed character,'' Sandelin said. "But catch-up hockey is not easy, especially in this league.''

The Seawolves used a dose of puck luck to earn their 2-0 first-period lead. After Tommy Grant scored off a Crowder rebound 10 minutes into the game -- those were UAA's only two shots on goal to that point -- Clark banked a shot off the skate of Bulldogs defenseman Josh Meyers.

"We wanted to come out and have a strong start,'' Clark said. "That's something we've been preaching. And it's important, especially in the WCHA, because the competition is so much tougher than we've faced."

Minnesota-Duluth senior center MacGregor Sharp cut UAA's lead to 2-1 two minutes into the second period. The Seawolves countered with Crowder's 5-on-3 power-play goal off Bales' slick cross-crease pass and Clark's second goal.

Clark's second goal came after the Seawolves gained a power play when Meyers was whistled for checking Clark from behind.

The Seawolves, who managed just 20 power-play goals in 36 games last season, when their man-advantage unit operated at just 13.4-percent efficiency, have scored at least one power-play goal in all five games this season. They scored twice on four chances Friday. And, yes, it's early, but their 30.3-percent efficiency (10 of 33) ranks third in the nation among Division I teams.

Meanwhile, when Minnesota-Duluth enjoyed power plays, the skaters in front of Olthuis kept a lot of artillery from reaching his doorstep. Many of the Seawolves' 17 blocked shots came when they were short-handed.

"This was probably one of the best games I've seen for guys laying out to block shots,'' Olthuis said. "They were blocking shots like mad.''

Seawolves notes

• Just five weeks after he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, junior Jared Tuton made his season debut.

Tuton centered the fourth line and delivered a couple of crunching hits. Tuton, who stepped in a hole in late August and broke his fibula and suffered some cartilage damage, was happy only to miss the first four games.

"My leg felt good,'' he said. "Four games -- I'll take that.''

• Lunden, Crowder and Bales have each scored points in every game this season.

Find Doyle Woody's blog at adn.com/hockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.

UMD0 2 1 -- 3

UAA2 2 0 -- 4

First Period -- 1, UAA, Grant 3 (Crowder, Robinson), 10:05; 2, UAA, Clark 3 (Lunden, Bales), 17:43. Penalties -- J. Connolly, UMD (holding), 3:06; Vidmar, UAA (holding), 13:32; Haddad, UAA (interference), 19:55.

Second Period -- 3, UMD, Sharp 5 (M. Connolly, Kemp), 2:00; 4, UAA, Crowder 2 (Bales, Lovdahl), 8:41 (pp); 5, UAA, Clark 4 (Lunden, Lafranchise), 12:04 (pp); 6, UMD, Fontaine 3 (Meyers, Oberg), 17:23 (pp). Penalties -- Fulton, UMD (misconduct), 3:03; Tuton, UAA (hooking), 6:22; Oberg, UMD (slashing), 7:16; M. Connolly, UMD (slashing), 8:07; Meyers, UMD (checking from behind), 10:08; Smith, UAA (interference), 12:51; Vidmar, UAA (hooking), 17:08; Moir, UAA (interference), 18:48.

Third Period -- 7, UMD, Fontaine 4 (Akins, Oberg), 3:09 (pp). Penalties -- Selby, UAA (roughing), 2:37; Smith, UAA (tripping), 9:11; Parkinson, UAA (tripping), 15:30.

Shots on goal -- UMD 5-7-9--21. UAA 4-5-5--14. Power-play Opportunities -- UMD 2 of 9; UAA 2 of 4. Goalies -- UMD, Stalock 3-1-1 (14 shots-10 saves). UAA, Olthuis 2-1-0 (21-18). A -- 3,172 (6,251). T -- 2:14. Referees -- Don Adam, Timm Walsh. Linesmen -- Scott Sivulich, Steve Glines.

B. Green 1, UAF 0

Brandon Svendsen ended a scoreless game with less than four minutes left Friday to lift Bowling Green to a 1-0 victory over the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Svendsen scored with 3 minutes, 14 seconds left to play in a CCHA game that saw both goaltenders shine. Bowling Green's Jimmy Spratt and UAF's Chad Johnson each made 30 stops in goal.

Both teams are 2-2-1 heading into the rematch tonight at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks.

ADVERTISEMENT