Sister Kissing At It's Finest: UAA 1 - UMD 1

I can only imagine that both coaches feel like their team could have won Saturday night's game between UMD and UAA. Because either team could have won. Both Christianson and Stalock were rock solid. Both teams had multiple good scoring chances. The Bulldogs cleared their zone better tonight I thought. Seawolf forwards had a harder time establishing themselves deep because UMD was moving the puck forward more consistently. It was a close checking hockey game but didn't seem overly physical. Better Bulldog forechecking also helped make tonight's game much closer. They deserve credit for more energetic play overall. That was probably the difference tonight. Not a lot of recapping needed I think ...

I was pleased to see UAA outchance them in the OT. I think credit on the UAA side starts from the pipes out. Bryce was appropriately announced the #1 star. The #2 star for UAA in my mind was the backchecking UAA forwards. There are enough missed scoring chances to go around so I won't bother lamenting any of them ... ok I'll mention the one in OT. We had the perfect angle from our seats and I had an eyeball full of open net with a puck floating in front as Josh Lunden's stick headed to meet it. Then alas .... nooooooooooooooo omg noooo oh crap. No blame on Josh for not connecting. That was a helluva tough chance ... but finishing a chance like that in OT for a win would have been ultrasweet. He'll get the next one.

Summary: It was an evenly played game which was mostly up and down, highlighted with good defensive plays which countered good offensive efforts and included excellent goaltending. In other words, the sort of regular season hockey game you usually get in WCHA where it's playoff hockey every night.