ANCHORAGE
– Despite two goals by freshman forward Mickey Spencer, the Alaska Anchorage
Seawolves continued to struggle on Friday nights, as they dropped a Western
Collegiate Hockey Association game to the Minnesota Gophers, 7-4 at the
Sullivan Arena.
Spencer, a Gibbons, Alberta, native registered his first
career multi-goal game, while senior forward Kevin Clark and freshman forward
Daniel Naslund each chipped in a goal a piece for the Seawolves. Powered by a
pair of goals by sophomore forward Jordan Schroeder, the Gophers (13-12-2,
8-9-2 WCHA) claimed the two league points.
Scoring his team-leading 13th goal of the season
was Clark, with assists going to senior
forward Josh Lunden – in his second game back after sitting out 11 games due to
an injury - and junior forward Tommy Grant.
The Seawolves (9-16-1, 7-14-1 WCHA) received the majority of
their points from the second line, as Spencer, Naslund and junior forward Sean Wiles
each picked up three points a piece.
Spencer picked up his second career power play tally, while
Naslund – with parents in attendance from Sweden – notched his third career
goal. Wiles assisted on all three goals - extending his team-leading point-streak to six games.
UAA was backstopped by senior Jon Olthuis in net. The
Canadian registered 29 saves in the loss, dropping his record to 6-9-1. In goal
of the Gophers, junior Alex Kangas (11-9-1) stopped 17 of 21 UAA shots.
The Seawolves were tagged for 14 minutes of penalties, while
Minnesota
spent 12 minutes in the box. The Gophers were able to capitalize on
three-of-five power play opportunities, while UAA was held to one-in-four.
With the win, Minnesota
sits at No. 7 in the conference standings and takes a three-point lead over UAA
(15), who trails at No. 8.
The Seawolves and the Gophers will face off Saturday night
at 7:07 p.m.
