Saturday, March 06, 2010

Seawolves 3 - UMD 2

Kevin Clark continued to be a big difference maker for the Seawolves in tonight's 3-2 win over UMD.  Clark potted his 20th and 21st goal of the season in the win while becoming the #2 all time leader in career penalty minutes.  He will not catch Jeff Batters however for #1.  Freshman Tyler Currier's hustling play and energetic shifts were rewarded tonight with his 1st collegiate goal sandwiched between Clark's duo.

The Seawolves got a strong performance from Jon Olthuis combined with somewhat more responsible play on the backend then we've seen of late.  

The Bulldogs looked sharp opening the game with strong periods of possession throughout the first ten minutes.  The Seawolves were often hemmed in by the aggressive forechecking.  Clark's tally to make the game 1-0 came on the Seawolves 1st official shot of the game at 9:21.  

The second half of the 1st period was much more evenly played with UAA having the better of the opportunities for the duration.  But just 44 seconds into their 1st power play of the night, Oleksuk tipped in a Lamb shot to tie the game up.   The Seawolves killed another penalty with just under a two minutes  to go into the period for a 1-1 tie going into the break.

The 2nd period saw no scoring as both teams played things more closely to the vest in their own ends.  The Seawolves had 3 power plays in the period that they were unable to convert and the 1-1 score held going into the 3rd.

With 2:44 past in the 3rd period Tyler Currier banged home a 3rd chance rebound from the slot into a gaping wide net to make the score 2-1.  He was in the perfect place at the perfect time and couldn't have had a simpler finish.  He deserved the goal for the energy he's been providing during his less than regular playing time this season.

The rest of the third period was dictacted by penalty calls.  UAA took 4 and UMD took 3.  With the teams skating 4 a side after Clark and Fulton get sent off for shenanigans, the Seawolves seemed to be playing to protect the win.  They were dumping the puck deep and not aggressively forechecking but Josh Lunden worked the puck to the top of the slot and fired a backhander that beat Hjelle.  The referee immediately waved it off and made the same arm gesture after a really quick review.  I haven't seen a replay but it looked to me like a goal.  Not sure what the problem was.  Fittingly at one point a couple of fans tossed water bottles onto the ice so referees Adam and Walsh could hopefully get refreshed and pull their heads out of their asses.

Clark's game winning goal is still sorta blowing my mind.  Luka Vidmar fired a shot from the right side of the slot about hip level and Kevin tipped it in with his back to the net and a UMD defender draped on his shoulders.  It was a great tip.  

Any game winning goal with 22 seconds left in the game is a good one.  But that one had some cachet, some flair and/or style.  You take your pick.  It was especially sweet.

While Clark was the difference maker the result wouldn't have been attained without solid play throughout the lineup.  Craig Parkinson had a nice game.  Jade Portwood and Nick Haddad were strong on special teams and contributed excellent momentum changing shifts in each period.  

Tonight was an important result.  It maintained UAA's 8th place in league standings as Mankato beat St. Cloud.  Another two points tomorrow night will do the trick.  If I'm not mistaken tomorrow represents the 1st chance for the Seawolves to bag a sweep on home ice this season as this was the first Friday night win at home.

Good luck to the guys on Saturday.  The Bulldogs will definitely come at them harder tomorrow.  I suspect there will be times where their defensive resolve will be challenged.  Thankfully, they're a bunch of guys that does seem to know how to step it up on Saturday nights eh?  Once more fellas ... once more.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

|Good job Seawolves. Nice work on the penalty kill especially. No penalties tonite boys. Clark, Lunden and Gellert sure look good together as does Luka and Kane. They generate a lot of scoring opportunities out there. Keep it up tonite boys!! Glad to see Jonny get the win!!!!

Anonymous said...

Of course the one night I purposely skip out on the Seawolves my favorite player gets two goals, we win late, then the replay of the game doesn't work, we won, oh and we won on Friday night. I wonder what's karma got in store for me tonight. Lets all give the seniors the sendoff the deserve.

Clarky!:
http://www.wcha.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/030610aaa.html

And, again it'll really come down to the last day to find the playoff seedings.

If we win we'll play SCSU in that much haunted National Hockey Center.

If we lose and MSU loses we'll play we'll either play SCSU or MD-depends if SCSU wins or not.

If we lose and MSU ties or wins they'll leap forg us and we'll play Wisconsin-who we shocked a couple of years ago and they allowed us into our first WCHA Final Five.

So in the easiest way percentage:

We play Wisconsin 25%

SCSU 50%

MD 50%

C'mon Seawolves.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, replay's working, GCI #1, Clark's first goal just passed.

Anonymous said...

I know this has been said before but as long as we have control of the puck and game we can really force our game and will upon anybody.

And, this last half of Clarky's UAA career he's really cranked it up. Glad to see he's finally become the player we all wanted and knew he could be. Seems like he's fighting for an enrty level contract to the NHL. But I just hope he doesn't do what other Alaskans in the NHL have done and that is go to a team that I despise. Scott Gomez-Montreal, Brandon Dubinsky-NY Rangers, Bruins fan here. Is that asking tooooooo much?

Anonymous said...

NHL will be a tough task for Kevin, Give him a couple years in the A to see how he does. If he can grow in that league like he has here, than I wouldn't doubt he would get a shot in the Show.

Anonymous said...

Is Hunt injured? Or is there a good reason why Darwitz was playing in Trevor's spot last night?

I say play the seniors!! Hunt is a very smart defenseman, and Drew made quite a few mistakes last night.

UAAalumni09 said...

FREE SELBY!

Suze said...

Just watched Curriers first goal, Parky grabbed the puck for him, way to go Craig! :)

Anonymous said...

I actually thought that our defense made a number of mistakes. We were lucky that the only two actually cost us. Johnny O didn't have to face a barrage of shots or a lot of easy shots. He is at his best when he has help and the chances are mostly from outside.

Tonight I hope we see Selby, Hunt and Wiles.

Suze said...

Anyone watch the replay of the non-goal? I stopped it when the puck was clearly over the line. ???

Wiles is out with a shoulder injury.

Suze said...

Wiles is out with a shoulder injury.

Anonymous said...

all the seniors will play tonite yes clarky has offers, he will still finish hard down the stretch, let's win tonite, go
st. cloud and win, and off to the wcha finals.
Clarky has exceeded expectations, just as crowder and beagle have done, I am sure he appreciates his teamates. Let the boys enjoy senior nite with a win.
Let's hope st. cloud beats minnesota-state tonite assuring us a 8th place spot.

All the best to the players and the seawolve fans.
fan

HockeyFan said...

@A Seawolves Fanatic: You actually forgot a playoff scenario where UAA would play UND. This would happen if St. Cloud loses to Mankato again, UND wins against Tech again, and UAA beats UMD again.

UND would be tied with SCSU if this happened. They own the tiebreaker over SCSU so would be seeded third.

This scenario is asking for all sweeps to happen but it is still possible.

Alaskana said...

HockeyFan: Interesting! Thanks for pointing that out.

Truth be told, I actually hope this scenario happens as I really want to see UND get their butts whupped by UAA. Plus UAA only played UND once this year, and they are by far (in my opinion) they most exciting opponent UAA gets to play. If there is any one game I always go to each year, it is always the UAA UND matchup.

Anonymous said...

HockeyFan, thanks for mentioning that, yeah I didn't even look at that scenario. And, I forgot to mention if we tie and MSU wins, they again jump over us so.....Until our game is done the picture is still gonna be murky.

Mike said...

We did it! Last go round for the Sr class...leave it all on the Sullivan ice tonight boys. Thanks for coming to Anchorage for 4 years, I've enjoyed watching your game and good luck with the rest of your hockey journey.

Anonymous said...

Actually, there was little pressure on Jonny. The puck got moved out really well for most of the game. Good luck tonite boys!
Good luck to the seniors as well.
I'd like to see Hunt and Selby play tonite.

Anonymous said...

As for the goal/non-goal call, it looked to me like the pouck hit the canvas on the bottom frame at the base of the net. It thencame out as if it had hit the goal post which it did not. I could see white after the pcuki crossed the line. It should have been counted as the goal it was.

Anonymous said...

Thanks to Kevin, Josh and all the Seniors for 4-Great Years! We are going to miss you. We are all proud you decided to come to UAA. Hope you fulfill your dreams at the next level.

Wolfman said...

I wish there was a Fox Sports Alaska or a Fox Sports Alaska/Hawaii. UAA/UH games could be broadcasted and we could get the UAA hockey games. Thoughts?

Suze said...

Are you not able to get the games from the GCI feed?

wolfman said...

no, I can...but it would be nice not have to watch it from my computer

Suze said...

Get one of those cables and hook your computer up to your television. That's what we do when we have to catch the B2 network.

Suze said...

Congrats to Clark. He is the first Seawolf to score 23 goals since Derek Donald did it in 1991-92! Way to go Kevin.

Anonymous said...

At least we got the friday monkey off our back. Wisconsin, play one game at a time, win friday and anything is possible. This will be a tough series, need our A game every shift. Hope clarky gets a shot a wcha offensive player of the week, 4 goals this weekend.
If clarky can put 4 past wisconsin, and our players can win the first one friday. The year will be worth the effort. To bad we had so many injuries all year, not a excuse but did play a factor at times.
All the best to the team in Wisconsin.

fan

Anonymous said...

We had our friday game saturday, soooo on friday we have our saturday game and our friday game on saturday and then our saturday game on sunday and we beat Wisconsin. Simple.

Anonymous said...

"Tough years, losses and setbacks will not block the vision of a person that is motivated. A squad made up of these type players will not jump ship on you. They will not be blinded. They will keep driving until they start receiving the rewards of their efforts"
......quote by some NHL coach

OK boys, keep driving and you shall receive. There is no doubt in our minds about a win in Wisconsin.

GO SEAWOLVES!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hopefully the coaches are together right now to watch the UM/UW game!

Scope them out Shyiak.

Anonymous said...

both years curtis glencross played at uaa he had 79 mins in penalties both years.
goal scorers get penalties.
because they play tough and drive the net.
clark plays the same tough and drive the net.

Anonymous said...

The Goofs beat the Badgers 6-1, and boy Wisconsin did not look good. Maybe they are ripe for the picking! Go Wolves!!

Anonymous said...

Nice analysis on Glencross / Clark. We NEED more guys with that kind of attitude. We have enough fourth line wingers. Get some guys with some moxy. And Please, get a goalie!

Anonymous said...

The Seawolves have a core of guys ready to take Wisconsin. They've been playing tough and rushing the puck and moving the puck well.
GO SEAWOLVES!!!! !

Anonymous said...

DD
Where are you?

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