STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Excellent goaltending from netminder Olivier Mantha couldn't spare the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves as they fell to nationally-ranked No. 12 Penn State, 3-1, in a non-conference game at Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions (9-1-1) improved their winning streak to seven games when they tallied a strike in both the first and second frames, before the Seawolves (1-9-0) were able to cut the lead in half in the third. UAA then gave up an empty-net goal in the final 30 seconds of the game, while looking for the equalizer.
A junior out of La Tuque, Quebec, Mantha made a career-high 53 saves in goal of the Seawolves, bypassing his personal best of 49 from Feb. 6, 2015 at Minnesota State. The new mark ranks tied for third all-time in the UAA history book with Chad Meyhoff (2/11/89).
Mantha, who faced a combined 101 shots over the weekend, used 25 saves alone in the second period to help the Seawolves as best as he could. His numbers improve to a .907 save percentage and a 3.24 goals-against average.
Picking up his third of the weekend and season was junior forward Tad Kozun. A night after scoring two power-play goals, Kozun became UAA's leading goal scorer and leads all current UAA skaters with 22 career goals. Kozun scored at 5:54 of the final stanza, ending the shutout and cutting the lead in two.
Junior captain Matt Anholt assisted on Kozun's shot, giving him four points (1-3—4) in the last four games and a team-high five points on the season. Additionally, junior defenseman Jarrett Brown collected the second helper, giving him a three-game point streak at 1-2—3 and four points on the year.
Scoring for the Nittany Lions were Brandon Biro on the power play at 5:19 of the first and Nate Sucese at 14:02 of the second. Sucese, who also assisted on Biro's tally, collected the empty-net goal at 19:36 for a three-point game.
PSU's Peyton Jones (8-0-1) made 22 saves for the win. UAA was 0-for-4 on the man advantage, while Penn State went 1-for-5. The Seawolves were tagged for six penalties, while the Nittany Lions served five minors.
UAA returns to Western Collegiate Hockey Association play, Nov. 18-19 at the Sullivan Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. AST both nights.
