Anchorage Daily News

Grand Forks, N.D., has been the sight of numerous hockey horrors in UAA history, and while things got a little spooky for the visitors late Friday night, the Seawolves nonetheless prospered with a 3-2 victory.

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Wiles

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Backstrom

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The Western Collegiate Hockey Association win over the nation's 18th-ranked team, before a standing-room-only crowd of 11,772 at opulent Engelstad Arena, was notable on several front:

• It marked just the third time in 29 games in Grand Forks -- both at this new Engelstad and the old barn of the same name -- that the Seawolves have prevailed.

• It allowed the Seawolves (6-3-2 overall, 3-2-2) to match their conference win total of last season -- and they still have 21 league matches remaining.

• It leaves them just one victory shy of last season, when they went 7-21-8 overall and 3-19-6 in the WCHA.

The Seawolves also received contributions from the back line unlike any all season. They entered with just one goal from a defenseman -- courtesy of senior captain Mat Robinson -- but blueliners Nils Backstrom and Curtis Leinweber provided UAA its first two goals on the way to a 3-0 lead through two periods.

Backstrom one-timed a blast from the right point past Fighting Sioux senior goaltender Aaron Walski just 67 seconds into the game, which marked just Walski's sixth career appearance. The goal was Backstrom's third in 60 career games.

Seven minutes into the second period, Leinweber, a freshman who furnished four assists last weekend against Minnesota State-Mankato, scored his first career goal.

And 13 minutes into the second period, sophomore winger Sean Wiles bagged his first career goal in 25 games to not only extended UAA's lead to 3-0 but chased Walski in favor of freshman Brad Eidsness.

Defenseman Luka Vidmar assisted on the goals by Leinweber and Wiles, and defenseman Trevor Hunt assisted on Backstrom's goal. That gave defensemen five of UAA's nine scoring points.

The Seawolves survived a perilous stretch early in the third period after freshman winger Jade Portwood, back after missing six games with a knee injury, was issued a major penalty for checking from behind. But the Sioux (3-6-0, 3-4-0) could not beat Seawolves goaltender Jon Olthuis (19 saves) on the subsequent five-minute power play.

Things got dicey again late for the Seawolves. Former Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Ryan Duncan, North Dakota's captain, scored on a power play with just 2:04 remaining to give the Sioux a glimmer of hope.

Those hopes swelled when the Sioux pulled Eidsness for a sixth attacker and Bryan Hextall cut UAA's lead to 3-2 with 43 seconds left.

The victory vaulted UAA into a three-way tie for fourth place in the WCHA entering tonight's series finale, and the Seawolves are just two points behind league-leading Minnesota.

The Seawolves already have won two league road games this season, matching their total from last season. The win was UAA's first in North Dakota in five games there under fourth-year bench boss Dave Shyiak.

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

UAA 1 2 0 -- 3

UND 0 0 2 -- 2

First Period -- 1, UAA, Backstrom 1 (Hunt, Haddad), 1:07. Penalties -- Backstrom, UAA (tripping), 7:35; Backstrom, UAA (slashing), 13:56.

Second Period -- 2, UAA, Leinweber 1 (Vidmar, Tuton), 8:23; 3, UAA, Wiles 1 (Crowder, Vidmar), 13:01. Penalties -- Martens, UND (tripping), 3:09; Miller, UND (hooking), 8:23; Lafranchise, UAA (checking from behind), 14:33; Clark, UAA (slashing), 17:01; Parkinson, UAA (delay of game), 18:30.

Third Period -- 4, UND, Duncan 4 (Genoway, Vandevelde), 17:56 (pp); 5, UND, Hextall 3 (Genoway, Miller), 19:17. Penalties -- Portwood, UAA, major-game misconduct, served by Moir (checking from behind), 3:17; Malone, UND (holding), 8:49; Blood, UND (boarding), 15:17; Hunt, UAA (charging), 17:48.

Shots on goal -- UAA 9-4-5--18. UND 6-4-11--21.

Power-play Opportunities -- UAA 0 of 4; UND 1 of 7.

Goalies -- UAA, Olthuis 3-3-0 (21 shots-19 saves). UND, Walski 0-3-0 (12-9); Eidsness, enter 13:01 2 nd period (6-6).

A -- 11,772 (11,406). T -- 2:19.

Referees -- Bill Mason, Brett Klosowski. Linesmen -- Mike Eslinger, Andy Carton.

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