Alaska Anchorage, Minnesota State, St. Cloud State Record Noteworthy Victories to Open Weekend Series
Jon Olthuis backstopped the Seawolves over the Sioux on Nov. 14 |
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Nov. 15, 2008
MADISON, Wis. - Alaska Anchorage, Minnesota State and St. Cloud State all turned in noteworthy performances to open their weekend Western Collegiate Hockey Association series on Friday (Nov. 14), and as a result just two points separate the top six teams and just one victory separates the top seven in today' standings.
The visiting Seawolves (6-3-2, 3-2-2 WCHA) went on the road at tough Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks and won 3-2 over No. 18-ranked North Dakota (3-6-0, 3-4-0 WCHA), the host and No. 11-ranked Mavericks upended defending WCHA/MacNaughton Cup champion and No. 3-ranked Colorado College, 2-1, at Alltel Center and the Huskies (6-4-0, 1-3-0 WCHA) gained their initial conference win of the 2008-09 campaign with a 4-2 triumph over visiting and No. 4-ranked Denver (6-3-1, 4-2-1 WCHA) at the National Hockey Center. In the one other league game contested on Friday evening, visiting Wisconsin (3-6-2, 3-4-2 WCHA) stretched its unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1) after a 3-3 overtime draw against host Minnesota Duluth (4-3-3, 1-3-2 WCHA) at the Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center.
On Saturday (Nov. 15), those four series will conclude while unbeaten, league-leading and No. 2-ranked Minnesota (5-0-3, 4-0-2 WCHA) hosts Michigan Tech (2-6-0, 1-5-0 WCHA) in the first of a Saturday-Sunday afternoon matinee series at Mariucci Arena.
Looking ahead to next weekend, Nov. 21-22 there will again be a full slate of five WCHA series on the docket as Michigan Tech entertains Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth hosts North Dakota, St. Cloud State hosts Wisconsin, Minnesota heads to Denver, and Colorado College travels to Alaska Anchorage.
The 2008-09 Season at a Glance
The race for the 2008-09 WCHA regular season championship and MacNaughton Cup again consists of 28 conference games per team. The 2008-09 regular season will conclude on Saturday, March 7, followed by the first round of the WCHA Playoffs, a best-of-three series format set for Friday, March 13 thru Sunday, March 15. The five top-ranked teams at the end of the regular season will host the bottom five, with No. 1 hosting No. 10, No. 2 hosting No. 9, No. 3 hosting No. 8, No. 4 hosting No. 7, and No. 5 hosting No. 6.
The 2009 Red Baron WCHA Final Five, the league's annual playoff championship tournament, will be held March 19-21 at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn. Denver is the defending Final Five and Broadmoor Trophy champion.
The University of Minnesota will serve as host of the 2009 NCAA West Regional, set for March 27-28 at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. Other NCAA Regionals for 2009 are as follows: March 27-28 NCAA East Regional at Bridgeport Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Ct.; March 28-29 NCAA Midwest Regional at Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Mich.; and March 28-29 NCAA Northeast Regional at Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, N.H.
The 2009 NCAA Men's Frozen Four will then be contested April 9-11 at MCI Center in Washington, D.C.
Friday, Nov. 14 Highlights:
Wisconsin 3 @ Minnesota Duluth 3 ot (WCHA): Trailing by a goal with less than 5:00 to play, Bulldogs' right winger Justin Fontaine (1g,1a) notched the game-tying goal at 15:14 of the third as UMD played to a 3-3 overtime tie against visiting Wisconsin before 4,534 at the DECC. Leading the way for the Badgers, who stretched their unbeaten streak to four (3-0-1) was center Blake Geoffrion, who had two goals in the third to stake his team to a 3-2 advantage. In goal, Alex Stalock (UMD) and Shane Connelly (UW) each had 25 stops.
Denver 2 @ St. Cloud State 4 (WCHA): Center Garrett Roe and defenseman David Carlisle each had a goal and an assist and left winger Jared Festler added two assists as the host Huskies knocked off the No. 4 Pioneers before 5,942 at the National Hockey Center. The Huskies, who never trailed in the game, received the game-winning goal from left winger Michael Olson at 4:40 of the third. For DU, right winger Luke Salazar and defenseman Patrick Wiercioch scored goals. In goal, Jase Weslosky had 23 stops for SCSU and Marc Cheverie had 29 for the Pioneers.
Colorado College 1 @ Minnesota State 2 (WCHA): Right winger Tyler Thompson's first goal of the season, on a power-play at 13:59 of the third period, proved to be the game-winner as the host Mavericks overcame the defending WCHA champion Tigers before 4,309 at Alltel Center. CC opened a quick 1-0 advantage on center Chad Rau's power-play tally at 2:27 of the first period before MSU came back on right winger Mick Berge's tying goal at 7:56 of period two. Between the pipes, Mike Zacharias turned aside 25 shots while Richard Bachman had 35 saves for CC.
Alaska Anchorage 3 @ North Dakota 2 (WCHA): The visiting Seawolves jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two periods, with right winger Sean Wiles netting the eventual game-winner at 13:01 of the second, and then survived a late UND rally to win before a sellout crowd of 11,772 at Ralph Engelstad Arena. UAA was outshot on the night, 21-18, but had a game-opening goal from defenseman Nils Backstrom at 1:07 of the first and a second period tally from defenseman Curtis Leinweber for a 2-0 lead. The Sioux then fought back with two goals in the final 2:04, a power-play goal from left winger Ryan Duncan at 17:56 of the third and then an extra-attacker goal frmo right winger Brett Hextall at 19:17. In goal, Jon Olthuis had a 19-save win while Aaron Walski (9 saves) and Brad Eidsness (6 saves) combined for 15 for UND.
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