"Not In Our Barn" Week

Welcome to the 1st unofficial UAA Seawolves and the official UAA Hockey Fan Blog "Not In Our Barn" week.  The second half of the season and the convenient six-game homestand haven't exactly gone the way the team and fans would have liked.  So I think it's an excellent short-term goal to not let Mankato think for a minute that they can come into the Sully and take any points.

Every subsequent league series becomes more important than the one preceding.  Mankato comes up here with 4 more points than UAA in the same number of games.  Sweeping them will put the Seawolves on even footing with them fighting down the stretch for the best possible positioning for the playoffs.

So it's time to stand up, take ownership, be committed, play hard and have fun by not letting the opponent do anything they want to do.  If they want to make a pass they should find the lane blocked.  If they shoot it should get blocked.  Faceoffs?  Um ... they don't win any! If they want to go wide they shouldn't be allowed.  If their goalie wants to make a save he's denied satisfaction.  Not in our barn is the only welcome worth uttering to the purple cows.  Don't be good hosts.  Be impolite even.

There's enough experience on this squad to know exactly what level of play is required to win games down the stretch.  I count 16 guys that played down the stretch last season.  That's 16 guys who did everything necessary to take the team to the Final Five.  There's lots of leadership and experience amongst them.  It's a good time to put it to use.  

Powell River Kings defensemen Chris Williams (6ft 2in, 210lbs) has committed to UAA for next season.  Here's the text from their press release:

The Kings are proud to announce that Captain Chris Williams has committed to University of Alaska Anchorage. Chris will be wearing the green and gold Seawolf jersey in September of 2012.

Williams joined the green and gold at the beginning of the 2010-2011 season. Wearing number 20, Chris Williams has a strong presence on the ice and has proven to thrive under pressure as he emerged as a true leader after last year’s playoff run. Chris plays a physical game and his strong skating skills contribute to his success as he is 6thin team points with 6 goals and 22 assists in 47 games this season.

Kings’ head coach and general manager Kent Lewis is proud of Williams saying,” Chris has been here two years and has brought a lot of leadership to the team. He has developed extremely well and has contributed to our defense success in the past 2 years. He is an excellent, fast skater who is extremely aggressive. He will fit in well at the next NCAA level and with the staff team at Anchorage Alaksa.”

Williams chose the Alaska Anchorage Seawolf program for a number of reasons. “Anchorage was the logical choice for my next step in hockey as I immediately had a strong rapport with the coaching staff. Andrew Pettit, a former King, is currently playing there and absolutely loves it there. The University of Alaska Anchorage also offers the degree I want to pursue, a BBA in Marketing, and so it seemed like a natural fit.”

I still owe you regulars a recruit update etc so that'll be here sometime.  Sorry I can't say when.