GRAND FORKS, N.D. ? North Dakota extended its winning streak to six games as it would rally for three unanswered goals to skate past Alaska Anchorage 3-1 in front of a sellout crowd of 11,549 fans here tonight at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Junior defenseman Shane Lovdahl lifted the Seawolves (6-11-6, 2-11-4 WCHA) to a 1-0 lead at the 14:17 mark of the opening period with his second goal of the season, but the No.-4 ranked Fighting Sioux (15-8-1, 12-7-0 WCHA) would even up the game on a T.J. Oshie marker just over four minutes later before grabbing the lead for good on Evan Trupp's second-period power-play tally at 16:22.
UND would add an insurance goal from Andrew Kozek at 7:21 of the third.
Sophomore center Paul Crowder nearly gave UAA a 2-0 cushion moments after Lovdahl's first-period score, but his shot from point-blank range hit the post. Crowder was also denied a chance to tie the game at the 15:25 mark of the third as UND senior goalie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux made a sprawling save in the crease denying Crowder from what appeared to be a sure goal from the center slot.
Freshman goaltender Bryce Christianson gave a solid 31-save outing in his first collegiate game for UAA, including registering 11 saves in both the second and third periods. The first UAA goalie other than Jon Olthuis to start in net since Oct. 20, Christianson posted a .912 save percentage in the loss, while helping fend off five of six UND power-play opportunities.
Christianson, who joined the team at the semester break after playing the first half of the season with Vernon of the BCHL, was in and out of net for the final four minutes of regulation as the Seawolves skated with an extra attacker.
Making his 49th consecutive start in net for UND, Lamoureux made 18 saves for his 15th victory of the season, while thwarting off a handful of quality scoring chances by the Seawolves throughout the game.
The Seawolves, which went scoreless in three attempts with the man advantage, were held to under 20 shots on net for the second straight game as UND owned a 34-19 advantage in shot attempts.
Sophomore Jared Tuton collected his third assist of the season on UAA's lone goal, while freshman Tommy Grant recorded his second helper with the second assist.
The puck drops for Saturday's rematch at 4:07 p.m. (Alaska)
