UAA Athletics

UAA hockey team finally gets back in the win column

More than two months after their first hockey win of the season, the Seawolves finally got their second victory Saturday night at Sullivan Arena.

Freshman forward Trey deGraaf scored the game-winning goal midway through the third period, senior goaltender Olivier Mantha made 28 saves and UAA killed all five Huntsville penalties in a 2-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Alabama-Huntsville.

"I was proud of our guy's effort," UAA coach Matt Thomas said in a press release. "It was a gritty win. We had to kill penalties tonight, which makes the win even better."

UAA survived a pair of five-minute majors as well as 94 seconds of a Huntsville man advantage after the Chargers pulled their goalie late in the game.

The Seawolves, whose previous victory came Nov. 4 against Lake Superior State, improved to 2-16-4 overall and 2-11-3 in the WCHA.

Huntsville (8-16-2, 7-11-2) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the game's first minute on a goal from Connor Merkley.

Alex Jackstadt, a junior forward from Anchorage, netted his first goal of the season to tie the game 1-1 with about seven minutes left in the first period. Assisting were Mason Anderson and Alec Butcher, an Anchorage player who registered his first point since joining the Seawolves as a transfer four games ago.

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The score remained tied until deGraff struck for his second goal of the season with about 11 minutes left. Nathan Renouf tallied his fifth assist of the season on the goal and Aaron McPhetres got his first.

Although both teams finished with 29 shots on goal, Hunstville outshot the Seawolves 12-3 in the third period. Jordan Uhelski made 27 saves for the Chargers.

On Friday, six Seawolves picked up points in a 4-2 loss to Huntsville.

Austin Azurdia and Nicolas Erb-Ekholm provided goals and Tad Kozun, Jarrett Brown, Brandon Switzer and Jordan Xavier supplied assists.

Erb-Ekholm's goal tied the score 2-2 in the third period, but Hans Gorowsky scored the game-winner for Huntsville on a rebound with three minutes left. The Chargers added an empty-net goal with one tick left on the clock.

The Seawolves head to Ohio this week for a WCHA series against Bowling Green.

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