OMAHA, Neb. – Great goaltending by sophomore Chris Kamal wasn't enough as the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves were swept by the Nebraska Omaha Mavericks with a 3-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association loss on Saturday evening at the CenturyLink Center.
UAA (3-2-0, 0-2-0 WCHA) remained pointless in the WCHA after allowing UNO (3-3-0, 2-0-0 WCHA) to come back from a one-goal deficit with a goal in each of the periods. The Seawolves are tied for eighth in the league, while the Mavericks are tied at No. 1 with four points.
The Seawolves were first to strike with an even-strength tally by junior forward Mitch Bruijsten (1-4—5) – his first on the season and 12th of career. Following a UAA power play, the Seawolves caught the Mavericks off balanced and sophomore forward Matt Bailey found Bruijsten for a goal at 3:21 of the first.
The momentum quickly swung in favor of UNO when Matt White knotted the game 1-1 at 5:54 of the frame. The Mavericks entered the Seawolf zone with a 2-on-1 situation and converted, getting through Kamal.
The Mavericks would take their first lead of the game at 12:33 of the second stanza with a goal by Andrej Sustr. Sustr fired from just inside the blueline, and a screened Kamal had no chance of stopping it. The Seawolves were able to kill multiple UNO power plays, but weren't able to generate any offense.
UNO would take a two-goal lead at 9:02 with a back-door goal by Jayson Megna.
Kamal, from Alpharetta, Ga., posted a career-high 37 saves in the loss to drop his record to 2-1-0, while UNO's netminder John Faulkner claimed the win with 20 saves.
Much like last night, the Seawolves struggled to find the net, posting just 21 shots on goal. UAA allowed a season-high 40 shots on net by the Mavericks, after keeping their opponents under 30 shots per game in the first five games.
Both teams were scoreless on the man advantage, with UAA going 0-for-3 and UNO going 0-for-5. The Seawolves were sent to the box on six occasions, while the Mavericks were tagged for four penalties.
UAA's leading point scorer from last season, sophomore forward Jordan Kwas, missed just his second game of his career with a shoulder injury that he suffered on Friday night. The Seawolves were also without senior defenseman Curtis Leinweber, who pulled his groin in the Brice Alaska Goal Rush on Oct. 14-15.
The Seawolves will return to the Sullivan Arena for a WCHA series against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Oct. 28-29. The games are scheduled to commence at 7:07 p.m. ADT.
