ANCHORAGE – A two-goal game from sophomore Alex Jackstadt gave Alaska Anchorage its fourth straight win on a Friday evening, defeating the Ferris State Bulldogs, 4-1 in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association game at the Sullivan Arena.
The Seawolves (5-14-2) continue to be successful on Friday's, picking up their fourth league win of the season. After the Bulldogs (7-13-2, 6-8-1 WCHA) tied the game in the second, the Seawolves responded a few minutes later with Jackstadt's goals. UAA (15 points) then added the empty-net dagger in the final two minutes of play, closing the gap on 7th-place's Lake Superior State and Alaska Fairbanks in the league standings.
After facing a 1-1 deadlock, Jackstadt doubled his goal production this season, scoring back-to-back goals 29 seconds apart – his third in as many games. The same UAA lines were on the ice for both tallies as the Anchorage local scored at 10:51 and 11:20, respectively.
Originally, Jackstadt's first tally was waived off by the officials, but after review the call was overturned, returning the lead to the Seawolves. Jackstadt's second strike bounced off a defender before going in. Both goals were assisted by sophomore Nils Rygaard, while sophomore Jeremiah Luedtke picked up his second helper of the night.
Additionally, sophomore Mason Mitchell picked up the empty-net goal at 18:41 with netminder Darren Smith on the bench for the extra attacker.
The evening started when the Seawolves captured a 1-0 lead in the opening period with sophomore forward Nathan Renouf's first collegiate goal, coming on the power play. After Smith made the first two saves, Renouf capitalized on the second rebound at 14:16.
A top-shelf bullet from Bulldog sophomore Ryker Killins tied the match at 8:01 of the second.
Making 26 saves in the win was junior goaltender Olivier Mantha, improving to 5-12-2 on the season, while Smith made 23 saves in the loss. The teams tied on shots, 27-27.
A penalty filled game, especially in the third frame (11 penalties), saw UAA tagged for nine and FSU tagged for six – including a major on Chad McDonald for checking from behind and a game misconduct.
The Seawolves and Bulldogs will face off again tomorrow at 7:07 p.m. AST.
