Things had already been going quite nicely for the Seawolves on Friday afternoon when they found themselves killing a penalty and protecting a one-goal lead against No. 15-ranked Bemidji State inside the last five minutes of regulation.
Then UAA captain Matt Anholt received the most beautiful of bounces and his greatest gift of the holidays — 24 square feet of open net.
Anholt's short-handed goal off a fluke bounce with less than three minute to go restored UAA's two-goal lead on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association-leading Badgers, and Austin Azurdia added a true empty-net goal to seal a 4-1 victory at Sullivan Arena.
For UAA (4-13-2, 3-8-2 WCHA), which struggled mightily in the first half of the season, finally getting a rink ricochet that went in its favor seemed fitting.
"I'm a big believer in the hockey gods, and maybe I was owed one," Anholt said.
Anholt's security goal came when Tad Kozun winged the puck the length of the ice from UAA's zone and off the end boards in the Beavers' end as the Seawolves clung to a 2-1 lead and killed a holding call against defenseman David Trinkberger. Bemidji State's standout junior goaltender, Michael Bitzer, pivoted to his left out of his crease to play the puck. But the biscuit bounced hard off the kick-plate at the bottom of the boards and ricocheted back between his legs and into the slot, where Anholt awaited.
"My eyes were pretty wide open," Anholt said.
So was the net.
The Seawolves cemented their third win in the last five games when Azurdia skated the length of the ice, with Bitzer on the bench for an extra attacker, and fired into an empty net with 1:50 to go.
Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore said the Beavers (13-7-3, 13-2-2) have benefited from some beautiful bounces this season — "lived right," he said — and know the breaks sometimes balance out.
"That was obviously a back-breaker," Serratore said. "Those things happen. Nothing you can do. We've been on the other side of that. What goes around, comes around."
The Seawolves, who managed just one goal against Bitzer in two losses in Minnesota in October, jumped to a 2-0 first-period lead when Mason Mitchell and Alex Jackstadt solved Bitzer (16 saves) 35 seconds apart.
Mitchell skated into the Beavers zone on left wing, 1-on-1 against defenseman Dan Billett. Billett fell while skating backward, which put Mitchell in alone on Bitzer, and he roofed a wrister over Bitzer's blocker. Jackstadt on the next shift banged home Anholt's centering pass from the left corner.
Those goals aside, the Seawolves were prospering. They do not possess an abundance of size among their forwards, but they consistently won battles for the puck along the boards. They also generally broke the puck out of their zone cleanly against a Beavers team that, at its best, forechecks relentlessly.
"We managed momentum," said UAA coach Matt Thomas.
The Beavers cut UAA's lead to 2-1 on Phillip Marinaccio's team-leading eighth goal, on the power play, eight minutes into the third period. Still, UAA goalie Olivier Mantha (26 saves) said his teammates' strong work prevented Bemidji State from racking many quality scoring chances.
"There were a few, but it was actually a simple night — make the first save, and the defense took care of the rest," Mantha said.
Still, the Beavers received a chance to gain the equalizer when Trinkberger was penalized with 4:22 to go.
But UAA defenseman Nolan Nicholas blocked a shot on Bemidji State's ensuing power play. Anholt knocked a Beavers cross-ice pass out of the air and cleared the puck the length of the ice. And, on the sequence that led to Anholt's short-handed goal, he won a defensive-zone face-off and defenseman Eric Roberts got the puck to Kozun, who flung it the length of the ice to trigger Anholt's team-leading fifth goal and a 3-1 cushion.
"Those are big-time plays in the big-time minutes," Thomas said.
Seawolves notes
Anholt's goal and assist marked his first multiple-point game this season and the sixth of the junior's career. He also extended his point streak to five games, with 2-4–6 totals in that stretch. Anholt leads UAA in scoring with 5-8–13 totals in 19 games.
Kozun's two assists earned him his third multiple-point game of the season and the eighth of the junior's career.
The Seawolves went 0 for 5 on the power play, which was composed of two new units.
Mantha's 26 saves raised his season save percentage to .911.
Those goals 35 seconds apart from Mitchell and Jackstadt were not the Seawolves' two fastest this season. Jonah Renouf and Jarrett Brown scored 23 seconds apart against Northern Michigan.
Bemidji State's penalty-killing crew, ranked No. 3 in the nation with 91.1-percent efficiency, has killed all 12 UAA power plays in three games this season.
BSU 0 0 1 1
UAA 2 0 2 4
First Period – 1, UAA, Mitchell 3 (Kozun, Van Allen), 11:56; 2, UAA, Jackstadt 2 (Anholt, Brown), 12:31. Penalties – Baudry, BSU (hooking), 4:52; Roberts, UAA (interference), 8:29.
Second Period — None. Penalties – McCrory, BSU (hooking), 3:14; Sjodahl, BSU (holding the stick), 7:20; N. Renouf, UAA (holding), 12:27.
Third Period – 3, BSU, Marinaccio 8 (G. Fitzgerald, Whitecloud), 8:21 (pp); 4, UAA, Anholt 5 (Kozun, Roberts), 17:17 (sh); 5, UAA, Azurdia 1, 18:10 (en). Penalties – N. Renouf, UAA (interference), 7:21; Arentz, BSU (interference), 8:46; Trinkberger, UAA (holding), 15:38; Baudry, BSU (tripping), 19:25.
Shots on goal – BSU 7-10-10—27. UAA 8-7-5—20.
Power-play Opportunities – BSU 1 of 4. UAA 0 of 5.
Goalies – BSU, Bitzer, 13-6-3 (19 shots-16 saves). UAA, Mantha, 4-11-2 (27 shots-26 saves).
A – 1,429 (6,251). T – 2:10.
Referees – Brett Klosowski, Kevin Langseth. Assistant referees – Carl Saden, Matt Anderson.