ANCHORAGE - Goals by seniors Jordan Kwas and Alex Gellert
gave the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves a 2-2 tie against the No. 2-ranked Minnesota
Golden Gophers in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association game at the Sullivan
Arena on Saturday evening.
Both the Seawolves (2-3-3, 0-2-2 WCHA) and the Gophers
(6-2-1, 3-2-1 WCHA) furnished power-play goals in the first period, before each
team netted their first even-strength tallies of the weekend in the third
period of play. Minnesota sits tied at No. 4 in the WCHA standings with seven
points, while UAA advanced to a three-way tie at No. 9 with two points.
The Golden Gophers struck early with their fifth power-play
tally of the weekend at 2:11 of the opening frame. Seth Helgeson was credited
with his first of the season, while Travis Boyd and Mike Reilly earned the
assists.
Kwas knotted the game 1-1 at 12:21 of the first with UAA's second
man advantage strike of the season. Rookie Blake Tatchell found Kwas centered
outside the net, and the Cochrane, Alberta, native sent it five-hole. Freshman
Blake Leask was credited with the second helper.
Following a scoreless second, Gellert gave the Seawolves
their first lead of the weekend in the third period. Derek Docken fed Gellert
the puck from the point for his fourth of the season and team-leading sixth
point at 5:38.
The Gophers retailed when Erik Haula broke free from the
Seawolf defense and went five-hold on Rob Gunderson for the equalizer at 13:31.
The game remained deadlocked in the final minutes of the
third and was sent into extra minutes, giving UAA its second tie in three
games.
Overall, Minnesota registered a 33-23 edge on Alaska
Anchorage in shots, with UAA taking a 10-8 upper hand in the second frame. The
Gophers managed to find the net five times in OT, while UAA was unable to crack
the defense.
With the tie, Gunderson (31 saves) remains undefeated on the
season with a 1-0-3 record, while Minnesota's Adam Wilcox (21 saves) sits at 5-1-1.
The Seawolves will be idle next weekend before returning to
the road for a WCHA series against the Bemidji State Beavers, Nov. 23-24.
