Seawolf hockey splits series against Penn State in a tight battle

There were many small victories for the Seawolves this weekend: Ben Almquist and Max Helgeson extended their point streaks to six games, Greg Orosz made 39 saves in his first career start and Adam Tisdale scored back-to-back goals.

The major victory, though, was defeating the No. 15 nationally ranked Penn State Nittany Lions.

The Seawolves headed to University Park, Pennsylvania to face off against the Nittany Lions Oct. 26 and 27. After losing 2-1 the first night, UAA rallied behind Tisdale’s back-to-back goals to secure a 6-5 victory.

The Nittany Lions kicked off the two-game series with a power-play goal one minute into the game. Neither team scored for the rest of the first period.

Penn State extended their lead to 2-0 with another quick goal. The Seawolves responded nine minutes later with a goal by Almquist. The goal was assisted by Carson Kosobud and Helgeson.

The third period was scoreless and the Nittany Lions won the first game of the series 2-1.

The Seawolves returned to the ice the next night to deliver a close performance.

Similar to the night before, Penn State took an early lead only one minute into the game.

It looked like the Nittany Lions might score again as UAA’s Davis Goukler headed to the penalty box for hooking. Tight defense by the Seawolves prevented a goal though.

Less than a minute after Goukler returned to the ice, Helgeson found the net to tie the game 1-1. The goal was assisted by Porter Schachle and Almquist.

Helgeson’s goal and Almquist’s assist extended the player’s point streak to six games.

Penn State responded with a goal four minutes later to regain the lead, but Tisdale proved to be unstoppable with back-to-back goals. This allowed UAA to gain a 4-2 lead.

Early in the second period, the Nittany Lions tied the game 4-4 with their own back-to-back goals.

Connor Marritt helped the Seawolves take back the lead with his first goal of the night 10 minutes later.

The third period featured one goal by UAA and one goal by Penn State. Aiden Westin concluded scoring for the Seawolves with a goal one minute into the final period.

Down two points with just over three minutes left in the game, Penn State pulled the goalie out of the game to have another attacker on the ice.

Their strategy paid off as they scored with 12 seconds left, but it wasn’t enough to defeat the Seawolves. UAA won the game 6-5.

The Seawolves head to Fairbanks next week to take on the University of Alaska Nanooks on Nov. 3 and 4 in the first Governor’s Cup games of the season.

Head to GoSeawolves.com to check out who else UAA will be facing off against this year.