BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Bemidji State Beavers handed the Alaska
Anchorage Seawolves their second shutout of the season, splitting the Western
Collegiate Hockey Association series with a 4-0 defeat on Saturday evening in
front of 3,451 fans.
The Beavers (2-5-1, 2-5-1 WCHA) picked up their first win at
the new Sanford Center after scoring two goals in the first, and a power-play and
an empty-net goal in the third. With the loss, the Seawolves (2-6-2, 1-4-1
WCHA) fall to a tie at No. 11 in the WCHA
standings with Michigan Tech with three points apiece.
BSU's Matt Read claimed the first goal of the game with just
17 seconds expired on the clock. Eleven minutes later, the Beavers went up by
two with Jamie MacQueen's second tally of the season.
UAA had five straight power-play opportunities throughout
the periods – including three in the second – with no luck before the Beavers
got their first man-advantage chance at 4:11 of the third when sophomore
forward Mickey Spencer was tagged for a 5-minute major for contact to the head
and a game misconduct.
After killing off the five-minute power play, the Seawolves
were handed two more penalties within 28 seconds of each other, giving the
Beaver's a 5-on-3 advantage. UAA's senior forward Craig Parkinson made two
blocks before BSU's Ian Lowe sent a one-timer to the mesh for a 3-0 lead.
With 4:45 left in the game, head coach Dave Shyiak pulled
freshman netminder Rob Gunderson for the extra attacker and at 16:28, Read
recorded the empty-netter and his fourth goal of the series from center ice.
The Seawolves posted a season-low four shots on net in both
the first and second frames and a combined season-low 16 shots overall. UAA
also kept the Beaver to a season-low 17 shots. Gunderson (2-4-1) made 13 saves
in his fourth consecutive start, while BSU's Mathieu Dugas (1-1-1) had 16 stops
for the win.
For the fifth time this season the Seawolves were
unsuccessful on the power play, missing out on five opportunities, while BSU
was 1-for-3. All of UAA's 19 minutes of penalties came in the third period.
The Seawolves will return to the Sullivan Arena on Nov.
19-20 for a WCHA series against the St. Cloud Huskies. The puck is scheduled to
drop at 7:07 p.m. AST on both nights.
