The UAA hockey team hung tight with a member of one of college hockey’s most prominent conferences before falling in overtime on Saturday night.
The Maine Black Bears scored an overtime goal to edge the Seawolves 2-1 at the Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine.
Eduards Tralmaks notched the game-winner 3 minutes, 13 seconds into overtime for Maine, a member of the Hockey East conference.
Seawolves head coach Matt Curley said the effort was an improvement for his team from Friday’s 7-1 loss against the Black Bears, who have earned a pair of national championships.
“Tonight was a great response after a tough loss last night,” Curley said in a release from UAA. “I was proud of the effort put forth by our guys and felt we took a big step tonight. These are experiences we need to have to continue our growth as a team and will serve us well as we move into league play."
After a scoreless first period, Samuel Rennaker got Maine (2-1-0) on the board at 12:11 of the second period. The Seawolves would bounce back quickly, notching the equalizer four minutes later on the power play.
Tomi Hiekkavirta scored the goal for the Seawolves (0-2-0) with an assist from Nick Wicks. It would be the final tally of regulation as the two teams played a scoreless third period.
Anchorage native Jeremy Swayman earned the win between the pipes for the Black Bears. The junior collected 37 saves, including five in the overtime period.
According to the release, UAA’s 38 shots are the most they have recorded in a game since Nov. 11, 2017 when they fired 38 against Alabama-Huntsville in a 3-3 tie.
UAA’s next action will be in two weeks when it hosts UAF in the Alaska Airlines Governor’s Cup on Oct. 25 and 26.