MANKATO, Minn. – Despite goals from both of Alaska Anchorage's captains, the Seawolves' road woes continued as the Minnesota State Mavericks collected a 3-2 win Friday at the Verizon Center in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association game.
The Seawolves (6-5-2, 3-4-2 WCHA) fought back to forge a 2-2 tie early in the second, before the Mavericks (6-7-0, 4-3-0 WCHA) netted the game-winning tally at 3:10 of the final stanza to keep UAA winless in hostile rinks at 0-4-1.
MSU took a two-goal lead in the first period with tallies at 7:03 and 15:31. Capitalizing on a rebound that went behind the net, Jean-Paul Lafontaine fed Zach Lehrke the puck for the one-timer, before Lafrontaine received the same favor from Teddy Blueger on the man advantage.
Lehrke – who was absent from the MSU lineup for 2013-14 season until last weekend – also assisted on the Maverick's second tally, while Blueger was the second assist on the first goal.
At 18:51, senior captain Matt Bailey furnished his team-leading eighth of the season after collecting sophomore forward Blake Tatchell's rebound to cut the lead in half before heading into the first intermission. Tatchell, who has registered three helpers in two games, is second on the team with seven assists.
Receiving his first minutes since Nov. 9 was junior captain Brett Cameron. Cameron missed the past two series with an upper-body injury, before his fourth goal of the season ricocheted off the left post and in, unassisted.
The teams – meeting for the 72nd time ever – headed to the locker rooms tied 2-2 before Sean Flanagan found the game-winning goal early in the third. The Seawolves pulled netminder Rob Gunderson in the final minute, but were unable to find the equalizer.
The Mavericks were 1-for-4 on the power play, while UAA was held scoreless on three man advantage opportunities – the Seawolves continue to hold down the No. 1 spot in the overall WCHA stats with 23.2 percent efficiency.
UAA was outshot 31-23. Gunderson (4-3-1) made 28 stops, while Cole Huggins (4-3-0) turned aside 21 shots.
The Seawolves and Mavericks will rematch tomorrow at 4:07 p.m. AST.
