UAA Athletics

No playoffs for UAA — UAF's 4-3 Governor's Cup win makes it so

UAA's faint playoff hopes flat-lined Saturday night – on its home ice, and at the hands of its bitter rival.

UAF's 4-3 victory at Sullivan Arena in Game 3 of the four-game Governor's Cup eliminated UAA from playoff contention in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and marked the third straight season the Seawolves failed to make the postseason.

UAA (7-20-6, 6-15-6 WCHA) will finish last in the 10-team league for the second time in three seasons. Only the top eight regular-season finishers reach the playoffs.

"Super-disappointing,'' said UAA junior defenseman Jarrett Brown. "It's been three years in a row for my class that we haven't made the playoffs. So disappointing.''

UAF (11-18-4, 10-13-4 WCHA), meanwhile, is locked into sixth place and will travel to third-place Minnesota State-Mankato for a best-of-3 series next week.

UAF owns a 2-1 lead in the Cup series heading into Saturday night's Game 4, the regular-season finale for both teams. To win the Cup, UAA must seize a three-point victory Saturday and then win a shootout that such a result would necessitate.

The Seawolves have not won the Cup since the 2008-09 season. The Nanooks have won the last four Cups, and won three immediately before that but had to vacate those titles as punishment for NCAA violations.

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The Nanooks on Friday cracked a 3-3 tie with less than seven minutes remaining when Brown couldn't quite clear the puck from his zone after blocking a shot and stabbing at the puck with one hand on his stick. UAF's Brandon Morley captured the puck and attacked the UAA net on a lightning-strike, 3-on-1. He dished to Troy Van Tetering at the right post — Marcus Basara was equally as open at the left post — for the game-winning goal.

Brown said the ricochet of the shot he blocked bounced too far from him to be able to corral it with two hands on his stick.

"I had to poke at it,'' he said. "I got the block and it went too far. It hit me and just blew up.''

Morley, UAF's senior captain, said he was in the right place at the right time.

"Luckily, it bounced right to me,'' Morley said.

He thought about shooting, but recognized Van Tetering, a freshman center, was open at the right post.

"He doesn't miss those very often,'' Morley said.

In recent seasons, UAA and UAF have played a collection of low-scoring, tight games. In 11 games over that span entering Friday, the teams never combined for more than five goals in a game.

Then came Friday, when UAF raced to a 2-0 first-period lead on goals from Tyler Cline, who went coast-to-coast on the power play, and Ross Heidt, who redirected Justin Woods' blast from the center point.

But Brown countered just 26 seconds after Heidt's goal, taking Dylan Hubbs' cross-ice feed and beating Jesse Jenks (17 saves) to the short side from the left circle. Just 38 seconds later, Mason Mitchell slipped a point-blank backhand through Jenks' legs to forge a 2-2 tie.

That lasted all of 38 seconds before Austin Veith deflected Woods' feed past Olivier Mantha (20 saves) off the rush to regain the lead for UAF at 3-2.

So, the teams combined for four goals in just 1:42.

"Like roller hockey,'' Mitchell said.

And when Mitchell delivered his second goal of the game, and team-high 12th of the season, just 23 seconds into the second period for a 3-3 tie, that made for five goals in just 2:05 of clock time.

"They did a great job of coming right back,'' Morley said. "They were desperate. We're a desperate team too. We knew we were in the playoffs, but we want the highest position we can get.

"Both teams were playing desperate. We made some plays and then they made some plays. It was desperate hockey both ways.''

Now, the Seawolves have just one goal left Saturday, when they close Parents Weekend with Senior Night and a chance at the elusive Cup.

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"That's been an even longer streak than missing the playoffs,'' Brown said. "That would be exciting, with everyone's parents in town.''

Seawolves notes

Mitchell's two-goal game was his second of the season and gives the sophomore winger 10 goals in his last 12 games.

"Staying focused before the game on what I have to do,'' Mitchell explained. "(Captain Matt Anholt) has set me up for some pretty easy tap-ins. Gotta credit my linemates, and the bounces are going my way.''

Props to UAF senior winger Basara, who absorbed a thundering, but clean hit from Hubbs early in the third period and later was bounced hard off the boards by Mitchell. Basara didn't miss a shift.

"He's a warrior,'' Morley said.

UAA's power play again killed the Seawolves – they went 0 for 5 and their 8.4-percent efficiency is last in Division I. Their 1.76 goals per game also ranks last.

Mantha is just 3-8-1 lifetime against UAF, but has deserved better considering his goals-against average in those 12 games is 2.42 and his save percentage is .923.

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With one game left, Anholt's team-leading point total of 5-17-22 in 33 games matches his production of 5-17—22 in 34 games last season.

Anholt (one assist Friday) and linemate Tad Kozun (two assists) are tied as the program's leading active scorers. Anholt owns 14-39—53 totals in 101 career games and Kozun, a junior wing, owns 24-29—53 totals in 99 career games.

UAF leads the season series, 3-1. The Nanooks beat UAA in Sullivan, 4-1, in a nonconference game on the first weekend of the season.

UAF  3  0  1   4

UAA  2  1  0   3

First Period – 1, UAF, Cline 4, 8:23 (pp); 2, UAF, Heidt 6 (Woods, Van Tetering), 17:54; 3, UAA, Brown 5 (Hubbs, Jackstadt), 18:20; 4, UAA, Mitchell 11 (Kozun, Brown), 18:58; 5, UAF, Veith 3 (Woods, Leer), 19:36. Penalties – Hope, UAF (hooking), 1:32; N. Renouf, UAA (hooking), 7:01.

Second Period – 6, UAA, Mitchell 12 (Anholt, Kozun), :23. Penalties – Cline, UAF (interference), 5:08; Mitchell, UAA (slashing), 8:10; Van Tetering, UAF (cross-checking), 8:10; Frye, UAF (hooking), 9:37; Anholt, UAA (interference), 9:39.

Third Period – 7, UAF, Van Tetering 8 (Morley), 13:34. Penalties – Mullaly, UAF (high-sticking), 9:09; Hope, UAF (hooking), 16:10; Kozun, UAA (hitting after whistle), 20:00; Mitchell, UAA (roughing), 20:00; Mullaly, UAF (roughing), 20:00.

Shots on goal – UAF 9-9-6—24. UAA 5-6-9—20.

Power-play Opportunities – UAF 1 of 2. UAA 0 of 5.

Goalies – UAF, Jenks, 6-9-1 (20 shots-17 saves). UAA, Mantha, 7-18-4 (24 shots-20 saves).

A – 2,736 (6,251). T – 2:23.

Referees – Ross Gibbs, Josh Lupinek. Assistant referees – Carl Saden David Tise.

Doyle Woody

Doyle Woody covered hockey and other sports for the Anchorage Daily News for 34 years.

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