ANCHORAGE – Freshman Paul Crowder scored two goals and junior goalie Nathan Lawson stopped 26 of 27 shots as Alaska Anchorage clinched the Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup with a 4-1 victory over rival Alaska Fairbanks tonight in front of a season-high 5,150 fans at Sullivan Arena.

The win gives the Seawolves (9-8-2) a commanding 2-0-1 series edge over their instate rivals in the annual four-game series giving UAA  its first Cup title since the 2000-01 season.

UAA's special team units came up big against the Nanooks (7-6-4), connecting for two power plays on seven attempts, while holding UAF scoreless on seven of eight man-advantage opportunities, including killing off a five-minute Nanook power play in the first period.

Both of the Seawolves' power-play scores occurred in the opening 6:05 of the second period as Crowder and sophomore Jay Beagle found the back of the net to give UAA a 2-0 lead.

Crowder lifted the puck over UAF netminder Wylie Rodgers' (21 saves) shoulder from the right post at the 1:28 mark of the second to break a scoreless deadlock while Beagle slid a backhander in from the front of the crease four minutes and 33 seconds later.

The first power-play goal was scored with UAA skating on a 4-on-3 advantage and the second came with it holding a two-man advantage on the ice.

Senior Justin Bourne assisted on both goals while senior Chad Anderson tallied a helper on the first Seawolf score and senior Mark Smith on the second.

Crowder gave UAA a three-goal cushion at the 3:14 mark of the third by redirecting a Merit Waldrop blast from the blue line off his stick and into the net for his second two-goal game of the season.

UAF pulled Rodgers in favor of an extra attacker with just over four minutes remaining in regulation but Seawolf junior Peter Cartwright would bury a shorthanded empty netter at 15:28 to seal the victory.

Kyle Jones scored the Nanooks lone goal of the night on the power play at 16:26 of the period, denying UAA from earning its second-ever shutout in 132 all-time meetings with UAF.

Lawson, who stopped a game-high 12 shots in the final frame, improved his season record to 8-7-1 with the win -- his third victory in six career starts against the Nanooks (3-2-1).

The final game of the Governor's Cup series faces off at 7:07 p.m. Saturday night at the Sully.