MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Alaska Anchorage's lone goal by freshman forward Mickey Spencer wasn't enough as the Minnesota Gophers defeated UAA, 4-1 for a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series sweep on Sunday afternoon.
The Gophers (2-3-0, 2-3-0 WCHA) registered three unanswered goals -- two in the first period and one in the second -before Spencer scored a goal in the middle of the third period. Just 19 seconds later, UM added another tally for the final 4-1 score in front of 9,310 spectators.
Minnesota scored its first power-play goal of the year off junior Patrick White's stick. With sophomore Jade Portwood in the box for slashing, White received the pass from seniors Tony Lucia and David Fischer and was able to send the puck past UAA netminder Bryce Christianson at 12:31 of the first period.
UM junior Mike Hoeffel extended the Gopher lead to two with his third tally of the season with just 17 seconds remaining in the first frame.
With just over five minutes into the second period, Lucia added his third goal of the series at 5:13 for a 3-0 lead.
At 11:14 of the third, the Seawolves (3-5-0, 1-3-0 WCHA) ended the shutout with Spencers first career goal. Freshman forward Daniel Naslund was credited with the helper - his second of the season.
The momentum was quickly lost as UM's senior Jay Barriball slipped the final goal by Christianson.
The Seawolves outshot the Gophers, 32-31, with Christianson picking up 27 saves. Christianson dropped his season record to 1-3-0, while UM goaltender Alex Kangas (2-2-0) posted 31 saves en route to his second win of the season.
UAA was held scoreless with the man advantage, losing out on four opportunities. UM took advantage of one-of-four power plays and is now 1 of 29 on the year. After Friday night's penalty-fest, both teams cleaned up their act and were only tagged for four penalties apiece.
The last time Minnesota swept UAA was on Feb. 2-3, 2007 at the Sullivan Arena.
Following four conference games, the Seawolves are currently tied for ninth in the WCHA with Michigan Tech with two points apiece. Minnesota moves up to No. 3 for a four-way tie with Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota and St. Cloud State.
The Seawolves will play host to the No. 2/3 Denver Pioneers at the Sullivan Arena in a WCHA series on Nov. 6-7. Both games are scheduled to start at 7:07 p.m. AST.
