ANCHORAGE – Sophomore
forward Mitch Bruijsten scored a goal at the 3:34 mark in overtime Friday to
lift Alaska Anchorage to a 3-2 victory over the St. Cloud State Huskies in a
Western Collegiate Hockey Association game at Sullivan Arena.
The Huskies
(4-6-2, 2-4-1 WCHA) came back from a two-goal deficit to forge a 2-2 tie at
2:52 of the third period, but the Seawolves (3-6-2, 2-4-1) were first to light
the lamp in extra minutes, earning their first league win on home ice.
UAA opened
up the scoring with a goal by sophomore Scott Warner at 5:25 of the first frame
– his second on the season. Freshman Mark Pustin dropped the puck back to the blueline
where Warner fired a shot through traffic and into the net.
Senior
defenseman Luka Vidmar picked up his first goal of the year when he gave the
Seawolves a 2-0 lead at 6:14 of the second period. Vidmar connected off of
junior Jade Portwood's rebound that just missed and hit the pipe. Junior Curtis
Leinweber also assisted on the play.
Less than
three minutes later, SCSU's Jared Festler ended the shutout at 8:42, and then
Tony Mosey knotted the score at 2-2 on the power-play to send the game in
overtime.
SCSU
goaltender Mike Lee made two quick saves off of Pustin's and sophomore Daniel
Naslund's shots, but Bruijsten was able to capitalize on the second rebound for
his second tally of the season and second game-winning goal of his career.
Earning his
first collegiate win between the pipes was freshman goaltender Chris Kamal.
Kamal (1-2-1) made 18 saves for the win, while Lee (3-4-1) recorded 17 saves.
Both teams peppered the net with 20 shots.
UAA was
tagged for five penalties, serving 10 minutes, while SCSU went had seven for 14. The
Seawolves were held scoreless on the man advantage in seven attempts, while
SCSU went 1-for-5.
Naslund (0-2—2)
picked up his third career multi-point game, while Pustin (0-2—2) netted his
first.
The
Seawolves are currently tied for No. 8 in the league with St. Cloud and Bemidji
State with five points apiece.
UAA and SCSU
will rematch on Saturday night at 7:07 p.m. at Sullivan Arena.
