MANKATO, Minn. – Even with junior Scott Allen's multi-goal night, the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves fell to the Minnesota State Mavericks, 7-3 in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association matchup Saturday evening at the Verizon Center.
The Seawolves (6-6-2, 3-5-2 WCHA) continue to be winless on the road after allowing a season-high five power-play goals. With the WCHA sweep, the Mavericks (7-7-0, 5-3-0 WCHA) leap frogged UAA in the WCHA standings to sit tied at No. 3, while UAA is currently ranked seventh with eight points.
For the second straight night, the Mavericks were first to score, collecting a power-play goal at 3:44 by Jean-Paul Lafontaine – his fifth goal in as many games – before Blake Tatchell knotted the game at 6:42 after receiving a cross-ice pass from freshman Hudson Friesen.
From there it was all Mavericks. MSU furnished three unanswered goals – chasing goaltender Rob Gunderson to the bench following the second Maverick goal. Head coach Matt Thomas went with senior Chris Kamal between the pipes for his first minutes of the season.
Scoring for MSU to end the period were Bryce Gervais following a UAA turnover at 13:57, Zach Palmquist at 15:54 and Johnny McInnis on the man advantage with four seconds to go.
Following the first intermission, the Seawolves received a backhander from Allen off a rebound to bring the game within two, but the Mavericks responded with a wrap-around, power-play tally at 3:23 to end the second with MSU on top, 5-2.
Allen registered his second of the night and team-high ninth of the season at 5:36 of the third to bring the Seawolves within two, but once again the Mavericks didn't let up, this time with two more man-advantage goals at 6:09 and 8:18, respectively.
Kamal (0-1-0) was handed the loss with 14 saves, while Gunderson (4-3-1) made 10 stops. Stephon Williams, from Fairbanks, got the win with 23 saves. The Mavericks outshot the Seawolves, 31-26.
The five power-play goals are the most allowed by UAA since Minnesota scored four on November 9, 2012 in Anchorage. UAA was scoreless on five power-play attempts.
The four MSU goals in the first was a season-high allowed by the Seawolves.
The Seawolves return home to face in-state rival Alaska Fairbanks in the first of two Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup series, Dec. 6-7. The games are scheduled to commence at 7:07 p.m. AST both evenings at the Sullivan Arena.
