UAA hockey splits series against the Air Force Academy

UAA hosted a two game series against the Air Force Academy Falcons on Oct. 21 and 22 at the Avis Alaska Sports Complex.

The Seawolves kicked off the series with a win in the first game,  with thirty-three saves by goalie Jared Whale helping carry UAA to victory.

Less than seven minutes into the first period, Whale already made six saves. A few seconds after his sixth save, Aiden Westin connected with the puck to give the Seawolves the lead.

The rest of the first period featured many Seawolf shots, but no goals. UAA entered the second period leading 1-0.

The Falcons started the second period aggressively, taking 15 shots in the first seven minutes. Whale was able to stop each attempt though.

With a little less than 12 minutes left in the second period, UAA’s Gunnar VanDamme headed to the penalty box for boarding.

With the Falcons in the power play, the Seawolves locked down on defense. However – four seconds before the penalty ended – the Air Force Academy scored.

The Seawolves didn’t let this phase them. Four minutes after the Falcons’ goal, Matt Allen scored for UAA.

The rest of the second period was scoreless.

With seven minutes left until the final buzzer, Maximilion Helgeson extended UAA’s lead and concluded the scoring for the night. The Seawolves won 3-1.

"I thought we had a good start," said head coach Matt Shasby in a press release by GoSeawolves.com.

"It was great to see Westin get on the board. Air Force made a good push in the second, but we found a way to have the lead going into the third. We did a good job closing it out. Jared Whale gave us a chance in the end. We will have our work cut out for us tomorrow."

Shasby was right about having their work cut out for them. Though the Seawolves took an early lead, a late comeback by the Falcons led the visitors to victory.

The second game began with Seawolf dominance. Only 38 seconds into the game, Ben Almquist scored the lone goal of the first period, giving UAA an early 1-0 lead.

Almquist connected with the goal once again just under five minutes into the second period, extending UAA’s lead.

Three minutes later, Helgeson found the goal, scoring his fourth goal of the season. The Seawolves led 3-0.

With just under three minutes left in the second period, Ben Anderson was sent to the penalty box for boarding. This gave the Air Force Academy a chance to score.

Forty-five seconds after the visitors started their power play, they found the goal, scoring their first point of the night.

Heading into the third period with a 3-1 lead, a Seawolf win seemed probable. However, the Falcons weren’t ready to accept defeat.

Less than two minutes into the final period, a Falcons player was sent to the penalty box. However, the Air Force Academy was still able to find the goal, scoring their first short-handed goal of the night.

Five minutes later, the Falcons connected with the goal again, tying the game with about 12 minutes to go.

Neither team was able to score before the final buzzer, so the teams headed to overtime.

One minute into the five-minute sudden death period, the Seawolves entered a power play. However, their 4-3 advantage didn’t keep the Falcons from scoring.

The visitors found the net, scoring their second short-handed goal of the night and securing a 4-3 victory over the Seawolves.

"I thought we played our best 38 minutes of the year to start," Shasby told GoSeawolves.com.  

"Then we gave them some life with the late power-play goal in the second. We didn't come out to finish the job in the third, and they took advantage."

The Seawolves head to Pennsylvania this week to take on Penn State University on Oct. 26-27. Head to GoSeawolves.com for live stats.