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Seawolves trounce #6 Tigers, 6-3

Men's Ice Hockey UAA Media Relations

Seawolves trounce #6 Tigers, 6-3

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Special teams and a hat trick by junior Mitch Bruijsten lifted the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves over the No.6-ranked Colorado College Tigers, 6-3 in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association game at the Colorado Springs World Arena on Friday evening.

In front of 6,587 spectators, the Seawolves (6-9-2, 3-9-1 WCHA) climbed out of a two-way tie for 11th in the WCHA to sole ownership of the slot with six points, while handing the Tigers (8-5-0, 6-5-0 WCHA) their first loss at home. CC sits tied for No. 6 with North Dakota with 12 points apiece.

The Tigers took a two-goal lead on strikes by Anchorage native William Rapuzzi and Alex Krushelnyski at 6:42 and 8:23, respectively, in the opening frame before Bruijsten collected his first of three at 17:37, shorthanded.

With classmate Chris Crowell serving two minutes for checking from behind, Bruijsten (Nijmegen, Netherlands) broke away from the CC power-play unit and posted his first collegiate shorthanded tally, beating netminder Joe Howe to cut the lead to 2-1 before the first intermission.

Following the break, Bruijsten furnished his first multi-goal game of his career three minutes into the second on the man advantage to knot the game before the Tigers recaptured the lead just 16 second later on an even-strength tally by CC captain Nick Dineen.

Capitalizing on his fifth goal in as many games was senior Curtis Leinweber at 5:14 to tie the game at 3-3. Rookie Kory Roy registered his first collegiate point with an assist on Leinweber's tally before classmate Austin Coldwell garnered his first career goal and the eventual game-winner at 11:17 to give the Seawolves their first lead of the night.

The Seawolves started the third period on a five-minute power play following a Charlie Taft game misconduct for checking from behind and continued to be successful on special teams with a goal by senior defenseman Brad Gorham at 1:09 – his first of the season –  and with Bruijsten's final tally at 3:55.

After being outshot, 12-7 in the first stanza, the Seawolves came back to lead the second, 15-9 and tie the third, 8-8. Overall UAA led, 30-29. Sophomore goalie Rob Gunderson (3-4-2) was credited with 26 saves in the win, while Howe posted 20 stops in the loss and Courtney Lockwood had four.

The Seawolves were 4-for-10 on the man advantage, while keeping the Tigers scoreless on one power-play opportunity. The Tigers were tagged for 44 minutes of infractions to the Seawolves' six.

The Seawolves retuned junior center Daniel Naslund to the lineup, after missing four games with a concussion.  Bruijsten's shorty was the Seawolves' second of the season, as Naslund netted the first on Oct. 15 against Mercyhurst at the Brice Alaska Goal Rush.

Leinweber has posted 5-3—8 totals in the last five games, while sophomore forward Jordan Kwas, who assisted on Coldwell's strike, has registered 2-3—5 totals for a career-high-tying five-game point streak.

The last time UAA scored six or more goals in Colorado Springs was on Nov. 30, 1996 with a 7-4 win.

The Seawolves will wrap up the first half of the season when they face the Tigers in the series finale at 5:07 p.m. AST tomorrow.
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Players Mentioned

Brad Gorham

#RS Brad Gorham

F/D
6' 1"
Freshman
R
Curtis Leinweber

#11 Curtis Leinweber

D
5' 8"
Freshman
L
Mitch Bruijsten

#12 Mitch Bruijsten

F
6' 4"
Freshman
L
Chris Crowell

#17 Chris Crowell

F
6' 2"
Freshman
R
Daniel Naslund

#40 Daniel Naslund

F
6' 3"
Freshman
L
Rob Gunderson

#33 Rob Gunderson

G
6' 1"
Freshman
L
Jordan Kwas

#17 Jordan Kwas

F
5' 10"
Freshman
R
Austin Coldwell

#5 Austin Coldwell

D
6' 0"
Freshman
L
Kory Roy

#23 Kory Roy

F
5' 10"
Freshman
L

Players Mentioned

Brad Gorham

#RS Brad Gorham

6' 1"
Freshman
R
F/D
Curtis Leinweber

#11 Curtis Leinweber

5' 8"
Freshman
L
D
Mitch Bruijsten

#12 Mitch Bruijsten

6' 4"
Freshman
L
F
Chris Crowell

#17 Chris Crowell

6' 2"
Freshman
R
F
Daniel Naslund

#40 Daniel Naslund

6' 3"
Freshman
L
F
Rob Gunderson

#33 Rob Gunderson

6' 1"
Freshman
L
G
Jordan Kwas

#17 Jordan Kwas

5' 10"
Freshman
R
F
Austin Coldwell

#5 Austin Coldwell

6' 0"
Freshman
L
D
Kory Roy

#23 Kory Roy

5' 10"
Freshman
L
F