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In their first home game since mid-October, the University of Alaska Anchorage men’s hockey team won 6-0 over Simon Fraser on Friday night, not only winning three games in a row, but the Seawolves also opened the season. I avenged my defeat in battle. .
The Red Leafs had ruined the Seawolves’ inaugural game since returning from a 30-month hiatus with a 1-0 win on September 23.
“Once that happens early in the year, we’ll mark it on the schedule so we can have a rematch,” said UAA coach Matt Shasby. But tomorrow will be a new battle.”
Shasby said the team has come a long way since that defeat and is starting to come together after being built almost from the ground up to start the 2022-23 season.
“Our freshmen are experienced, and as a whole team, we spend a good deal of time together on the road to becoming a team,” Shasby said. “We are happy with where we are, but we still have a long way to go.”
The Seawolves see themselves as a substantially different team than they played in front of fans at the Seawolf Sports Complex earlier in the season due to their greater distance from the home rink.
“I feel like we spent a lot of time getting engaged and getting better,” said senior forward Ben Almquist. I think.”
It was also the Seawolves’ first game since November 17, before the Thanksgiving break. They won two straight games in Las Vegas where he combined UNLV and Liberty by a margin of 12-2.
“We put a lot of effort into offense in practice and emphasize the fact that we can play,” Almquist said.
“Scoring is one of the confidence boosters,” said Shasby, and now his players are playing and performing at a higher level.
The Seawolves scored a record five-man goal, with Almquist leading the scoring after finding the back of the net twice.
“If I skate on a lot of open ice and my teammates play well around me, that’s good,” he said.
Almquist’s first goal gave the UAA an early 2–0 lead and the only power-play opportunity in which the Seawolves were able to take full advantage of every other goal.
“We are a very strong 5-5 team,” says Almquist. “We’ve been really serious about the power play, but we’re not quite there yet. But we just need to rely on 5-on-5 play and the power play goal will come.”
Starting goaltender Nolan Kent didn’t see much action for much of the game as the Seawolves prowled for most of the night until the Red Leafs attempted a late comeback with ferocious shots in the final minutes. of the third term. The Alumni transfer was lighted out from start to finish and was awarded a shutout victory.
“It’s hard for a goalie to not see a lot of shots, and he got quite a few quality looks at the end of the game,” Almquist said. “He closed the door. That’s why we can rely on him.”
Shasby said the result was exactly what they expected given Kent’s extensive experience.
“We expected him to come in and take over the fort regardless of how many shots he took,” he said. “He’s been great all year. He’s been great at Northern Michigan and has been solid for us, so he got the start.
The UAA and Simon Fraser will return to the Seawolf Sports Complex on Saturday night to wrap up the exhibition series, which will drop the puck at 6:07 PM.
