ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The Seawolves were robbed of UAA's first ever victory at the National Hockey Center when No. 4 St. Cloud State scored the game-tying goal with .01 second remaining in regulation for a 4-4 Western Collegiate Hockey Association overtime tie on Friday night.
After the SCSU Huskies (17-8-4, 12-6-3 WCHA) took the early 1-0 lead, the Seawolves (10-15-2, 8-13-2 WCHA) led the majority of the game, including a two-goal cushion following the second period. The Huskies responded in the third frame with three goals, sending the game into sudden death.
The Seawolves hopes of breaking a 30-game winless streak at the sold-out NHC was propelled by a three-point offensive strike by senior forward Kevin Clark. With his parents in attendance, Clark netted UAA's first tally of the game at 9:19, evening the score at 1-1.
At 13:15, junior forward Craig Parkinson gave the Seawolves a 2-1 edge on a pass from sophomore forward Jade Portwood - Parkinson's fifth goal of the season and Portwood's first helper on the year.
Clark, who is 9-6-15 in the last 10 games, posted his team-leading 16th goal of the season, giving UAA a 3-1 lead at the second intermission.
The Seawolves final tally of the night came from junior defenseman Kane Lafranchise at 11:53 of the third. Lafranchise, who leads UAA blueliners with 10 points, skated in on the right side and sent a wrist shot to the back of the net, for another two goal lead.
Following a Husky goal, senior Nils Backstrom was whistled for boarding at 19:38. The Huskies then pulled their junior goaltender Dan Dunn (15 saves) for a six-on-four advantage with the extra attacker. UAA was able to block one shot before freshman Ben Hanowski fired the game-tying goal by senior goalie Jon Olthuis.
Olthuis (7-9-2) produced a solid effort between the pipes, registering 25 saves.
UAA was 1-for-6 on the man advantage, while SCSU struck twice in seven attempts. The Seawolves were tagged for 16 minutes of penalties compared to the Huskies 14 minutes in the box.
The Seawolves advance in the WCHA standings to a two-way tie with the Minnesota Gophers - that are idle this weekend - at No. 7 with 18 points. The Fighting Sioux of North Dakota (19) hold a one-point lead over UAA and UM at No. 6.
UAA was without junior forward Tommy Grant (sprained knee), junior forward Nick Haddad (hip) and sophomore-transfer F/D Brad Gorham (knee) due to injuries.
The Seawolves recorded an identical 4-4 score with the Huskies the last time the two teams met at the NHC - Nov. 3, 2007.
Alaska Anchorage will look for its first win in St. Cloud since 1987 with the rematch on Saturday. The puck is scheduled to drop at 2:07 p.m. AST.
