FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Anchorage Seawolves scored twice in the final 5:41 of regulation to force overtime with the Penn State Nittany Lions, but were unable to find the game winner, finishing 3-3 in Game 1 of the Brice Alaska Goal Rush at the Carlson Center on Friday.
The Seawolves (2-0-1) trailed for the first time of the season when the Nittany Lions went up 2-0 early in the first period, before junior forward Blake Tatchell cut the deficit in half. PSU returned the lead to two in the second, forcing UAA to scramble in the third for the final two strikes.
The game started when the Nittany Lions furnished back-to-back goals at 4:33 and 8:47 of the opening stanza. Curtis Loik gave PSU the one-goal lead before Dylan Richard extended the lead to two with the first power-play goal against UAA this season.
The Seawolves cut the lead in half with their own man-advantage strike by Tatchell with 3:46 left in the period. Senior forward Scott Allen extended his point streak to three games when he found Tatchell left alone, backdoor, for Tatchell's first strike of the season. Rookie Jarrett Brown also assisted on the play, picking up his first collegiate point.
The second period saw two power-play opportunities for UAA, but it would be PSU that would capitalize with the extra attacker. With a shot through traffic, PSU's Casey Bailey, of Anchorage, returned the lead to two with 2:07 left in the period.
UAA picked up the pace in the third stanza, outshooting PSU, 10-2. The Seawolves extended their unbeaten streak to three games when junior Blake Leask – who entered the lineup for senior captain Brett Cameron, who was serving a one-game suspension from the WCHA – netted a tally with just 22 seconds left in the power play at 14:19. Junior Hayden Trupp and sophomore Chase Van Allen assisted on the play, giving Van Allen a three-game point streak.
With time ticking off the clock in the final minutes of play, bench boss Matt Thomas pulled netminder Michael Matyas for the extra attacked and gamble paid off with junior defenseman Austin Coldwell scoring 15 seconds later at 18:51. Behind the net, sophomore Brad Duwe fought off the PSU defenders and found Coldwell on the left circle for the game-tying goal.
The teams went into extra minutes with each team placing three shots on goal. Both teams had a chance to win the game, including a point-blank shot from PSU's David Goodwin that Matyas (24 saves) turned aside with his pad.
For tournament tie-breaker procedures, the teams partook in a shootout, with UAA winning, 1-0. Scoring the lone goal of the shootout was Trupp.
With a minute and half expired in OT, Penn State's David Thompson was injured during a scramble in front of the PSU net and was removed from the ice on a stretcher. It was later announced that Thompson suffered an abdominal laceration, requiring stitches.
The Seawolves take on the Air Force Falcons in Game 3 of the tournament at 4:07 p.m. ADT tomorrow.
