DENVER, Colo. – The No. 4-ranked Denver Pioneers earned the Western Collegiate Hockey Association sweep over the visiting Alaska Anchorage Seawolves with a 5-1 victory Saturday at Magness Arena.
The Seawolves (7-12-3, 6-10-2 WCHA) were first to strike in the opening stanza, but the Pioneers (16-5-5, 12-3-3) responded in the last four minutes of the first with three of their own and then added a goal in the second and third to extend their unbeaten streak to eight games.
The Seawolves opened up the scoring with sophomore forward Chris Crowell's first-collegiate goal at 3:06 of the first frame. Senior Craig Parkinson won the battle of the boards behind DU's net and found Crowell stationed just outside the crease for the one timer through the five hole.
The Seawolves maintained the momentum and the lead for the next 13 minutes of play until DU responded with three unanswered goals. Jarrod Mermis put the Pioneers on the board at 16:43 – on just DU's fourth shot of the night – to knot the game at 1-1. Denver then added a shorthanded strike at 18:58 by Anthony Maiani, followed by a 4-on-4 goal by Beau Bennett at 19:19.
With just a 1:36 expired on the clock in the second, Kyle Ostrow gave DU a three-goal lead that held throughout the period and into the third. At 4:29, Jason Zucker extended the lead to four for the 5-1 final.
The Seawolves found themselves with multiple scoring chances but just fell short.
Besides the score the Seawolves held their own throughout the night, winning faceoffs, 35-33, and just trailing DU in shots (32-29). UAA's 29 shots are the most since Dec. 3 against Wisconsin. Both teams were unable to score with the man advantage, marking the third consecutive game that UAA has held an opponent scoreless on the power play.
UAA freshman goaltender Rob Gunderson's (27 saves) record dropped to 6-9-2 with the loss, while Sam Brittain earned the win with 28 saves.
With a win by St. Cloud State over Bemidji State tonight, the Seawolves drop one position to No. 9 in the WCHA standings with 14 points, while Denver remains the league leader with 27 points.
The Seawolves will remain on the road and head to Minnesota to face the Gophers in a WCHA series on Jan. 28-29 at Mariucci Arena. The games are scheduled to commence at 4:07 p.m. AST on both nights.
