GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota Fighting Sioux picked
up the Western Collegiate Hockey Association sweep at the Ralph Engelstad Arena
with a 3-1 win over the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves on Friday night.
The Fighting Sioux (21-8-2, 16-6-0 WCHA) posted a goal in
each period before the Seawolves (10-15-3, 9-13-2 WCHA) got on the board in the
final three minutes for the 3-1 win. With the victory, UND takes over the top
position in the conference standings with 32 points.
For the second straight night, the lone Seawolf goal came
from freshman forward Matt Bailey, giving UAA a two-goal deficit to overcome in
the final minutes. Bailey, from Winnipeg, Manitoba, netted his team-high-tying
10th goal of the season at 16:59 of the third frame.
With UAA netminder Rob Gunderson on the bench and UND's Brad
Malone in the box for high sticking, the Seawolves had an extra attacker on the
power play for the final 1:29 of the game, but just couldn't catch a break.
Scoring for UND in the first period was Brett Hextal with .8
seconds remaining in the frame, before Evan Trupp recorded his second goal of
the series, just 52 seconds into the second. Jason Gregorie registered UND's
final tally of the game at 5:45 of the third.
The Seawolves didn't allowed a shot on goal in the last
seven minutes of play, but UND won the battle overall, 43-18. Gunderson, who
hasn't had ice time since Jan. 28, picked up 40 saves in the loss for a 6-11-2
mark on the season.
Bailey's 10 goals on the season are the most for a UAA
freshman since Paul Crowder and Josh Lunden scored 11 in 2006-07. With the
goal, Bailey is second on the team with 19 points and currently has a five-game
point streak with 3-2—5 totals in that span.
The Seawolves will return home for their last WCHA home
series against league newcomer Nebraska Omaha on Feb. 18-19. The games are
scheduled to start at 7:07 p.m. on both nights.
