FAIRBANKS - Senior goaltender Jon Olthuis backstopped Alaska Anchorage's defensive end with his second career shutout, helping UAA defeat RPI, 3-0 in game one of the second annual Brice Alaska Goal Rush at the Carlson Center on Friday.
Freshman forward Alex Gellert and senior Josh Lunden added a pair of goals in the first period for the initial 2-0 lead, before senior forward Kevin Clark added a goal in the second period for the final, 3-0 score in front of 1,179 fans.
Olthuis, a local of Neerlandia, Alberta, registered his first shutout since Feb. 1, 2008 against Michigan Tech. Olthuis posted 25 saves en route to the victory, improving his all-time record to 17-32-10 and his season record to 2-0-0.
At 2:44 of the first period of play Gellert put the Seawolves (2-1-0) on the board with his first collegiate strike and the game winner. The Kelowna, B.C. native received a pass from classmate Mickey Spencer and junior Kane Lafranchise and sent the puck by RPI's netminder, sophomore Allen York, for the 1-0 lead.
Three minutes after his goal, Gettert was whistled for checking from behind and received a game misconduct, putting the Engineers (1-2-0) on the power play. The Seawolves, backed by Olthuis, successfully killed off the five-minute penalty.
On a four-on-four situation, Lunden improved the Seawolves lead by two with 5:19 remaining in the first period with his second goal of the season. Lunden, a 6-2, 202-pound forward from Coquitlam, B.C., added his 41st career tally on Lafranchise's second assist of the night.
Clark, from Winnipeg, Manitoba, boosted UAA to a 3-0 lead with 2:29 left in the second period. After a scramble in front of the Engineer's net, Clark, laying on his side, was able to control the puck and lift it top-shelf for his second goal of the season. Junior forwards Nick Haddad and Tommy Grant were credited with the assists.
With what ended as a scoreless third period, UAA had two shorthanded scoring chances. With junior Sean Wiles serving two minutes for hooking, Haddad and sophomore forward Jade Portwood came down into the Engineer zone on a two-on-one. Haddad send a cross pass to Portwood who sent the puck high and away.
Second later, Clark broke away from the pack with only RPI's Bryan Brutlag between him and York. Clark went glove side and Brutlag got his stick on the puck and deflected the puck into the chest of York.
The Seawolves placed 27 shots on net, including a season-high 14 in the first period. Both teams were scoreless on the man advantage, as UAA went 0-5 and RPI was 0-4. The Engineers were 6-23 on penalties, while UAA found themselves in the box on five occasions, serving 21 minutes.
In addition to Gellert's game misconduct, RPI's freshman CJ Lee was also ejected from the game for checking from behind.
The Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks play the Robert Morris Colonials tonight in game two of the tournament. The Seawolves will return to the ice at 3:05 p.m. on Saturday against the Colonials, while the Nanooks and Engineers faceoff at 6:35 p.m.
