MARQUETTE, Mich. – A hat trick from Northern Michigan's Dominik Shine helped the Wildcats to a 6-1 victory over the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association game on Friday night at the Berry Events Center.
With the win, the Wildcats (6-17-4, 4-12-3 WCHA) ended the Seawolves' (5-15-5, 4-10-5 WCHA) four-game unbeaten streak. UAA allowed three goals in the first period before ending the shutout in the second. The Wildcats didn't let up, collecting a tally in the second and two in the third. The Wildcats collected three points with the win and now only trail the Seawolves by three.
The WCHA contest started when the Wildcats made quick work of UAA goaltender Olivier Mantha, scoring three goals in the first period and eventually chasing him from net. NMU, which outshot the Seawolves, 17-4 in the opening 20 minutes of play, received goals from Robbie Payne (2:49), Philip Beaulieu (7:53) and Shine (16:25).
Following the first intermission, head coach Matt Thomas went with senior Rasmus Reijola between the pipes and the momentum appeared to be swinging in the Seawolves' direction. UAA ended the shutout within five minutes of the second, when senior forward Dylan Hubbs dropped a pass to sophomore Jeremiah Luedtke at 4:11. Junior Tanner Johnson also assisted on the play.
UAA continued to control the play before a penalty on freshman David Trinkberger cost the Seawolves a goal. Trinkberger was tagged for a five-minute major for checking from behind and received a 10-minute game misconduct at 17:47. The Wildcats quickly capitalized on the power play, scoring at 18:45 with Shine's second of the night. The Seawolves ended the period with a 13-11 advantage on shots.
NMU finished off the evening with Connor Frantti's first of the season at 10:56 of the third, before Shine netted his hat trick with 1:26 left in the game.
Reijola, who picked up two ties last weekend at Michigan Tech, made 14 saves in the game, while Mantha also turned aside 14 in the loss. Both allowed three goals. In the crease for the Wildcats was Atte Tolvanen, who stopped 25 shots.
UAA was without its leading scorer in sophomore forward Mason Mitchell, who was forced to sit out after receiving a game disqualification following the Jan. 14 game vs. the Huskies.
The teams rematch tomorrow at 3:07 p.m. AST.
