ANCHORAGE – Remarkable nights from Tommy Grant and Rob Gunderson helped the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves open the second half of the season on fire, upsetting No. 17 Colorado College, 4-1 in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association game at the Sullivan Arena on Friday night.

The Seawolves (6-10-3, 5-8-2 WCHA) were perfect on the power play, scoring on all three chances, while registering a shorthanded tally as well. UAA was first to strike in the opening stanza with two goals and added a third in the second for a 3-0 lead at the second intermission. CC (12-10-1, 8-7-0 WCHA) ended the shutout in the third before UAA added its final tally.

Grant, a senior from North Vancouver, B.C., registered his second two-goal game of the season with a power-play strike and the shortie in the first. At the halfway mark of the period, sophomore Daniel Naslund won the puck against the boards and found Grant streaking to the net.

Three minutes and 38 seconds later, with UAA on the penalty kill, Grant pushed by a CC defender in the UAA zone, skated the puck straight down to the goal line and fired a centering pass. The puck glanced off the Tigers' Stephen Schultz, who was positioned in front of the net, and went in for the 2-0 Seawolf lead.

CC had an opportunity to score with under two minutes left in the first when Archie Skalbeck skated away from the UAA defense for a breakaway. But Gunderson made a diving glove save at point-blank range to keep the Tigers off the board.

Senior Craig Parkinson, who assisted on Grant's first tally, picked UAA's third goal at 6:10 of the second when he fired between traffic and hit the right pipe for the recoil into the net. Freshman Jordan Kwas and Grant were credited with the helpers.

Ending the shutout for the Tigers was Tyler Johnson at 7:05 of the third on the man advantage, but the momentum never changed and, with encouragement from the UAA fans, sophomore Mitch Bruijsten added his fifth goal and first power-play strike of the season at 14:58.

Gunderson posted multiple big saves, assisting UAA to its sixth win of the season. A local of Lethbridge, Alberta, Gunderson blocked 21 of 22 shots, helping himself to a .900 save percentage on the season.  

The Seawolves were outshot in the first two frames, 9-7 and 9-6, but came back huge in the third with a 12-4 advantage. Overall UAA peppered CC's Josh Thorimbert with 25 shots, compared to CC's 22.

With the win, the Seawolves advance in the WCHA standings to No. 8 with 12 points, leapfrogging Minnesota State and St. Cloud State, which sit at No. 9 with 11 points. CC is tied for No. 5 with Minnesota with 16 points.

With his first three-point night of the season, Grant holds a season-high-tying five-game goal streak and leads UAA with 18 points. Grant's shortie was the Seawolves' fifth on the season and his third of career. His three-point night was also the first for the Seawolves since Kevin Clark did it last February.

The Seawolves will rematch with the Tigers on Saturday evening in their last home game until Feb. 4. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. AST.