January 3, 2023 print
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Team of the Week: Alaska-Anchorage

Seawolves' Top Line, Goaltending Guides Them to Sweep of Lowell

by Brevin Monroe/CHN Reporter

Heading into last weekend’s matchup with Massachusetts-Lowell, Alaska-Anchorage held a record of 2-12-0 and were riding an eight-game losing streak, including four straight to in-state rival Alaska to lose out on this season's Governor’s Cup.

Alternatively, Lowell was sitting at 10-6-1, No. 13 in the Pairwise and firmly in control of its own postseason hopes, preparing for a tune-up series before jumping back into the gauntlet that is Hockey East conference play this season.

However, whether it be a case of the River Hawks looking ahead, or the Seawolves coming out ready to play, the weekend results were shocking. Anchorage managed not one, but two wins to sweep the weekend inside the Tsongas Center.

“When you look at the schedule you definitely didn’t plan for this weekend to be the weekend of a road sweep, especially against a quality team like Lowell," UAA coach Matt Shasby said. "I think it just shows the growth of our team. Obviously we're going to have a few tough nights the first half of the year and I’ve told the guys it’s about learning the first half of the year and then trying to make some noise the second half.”

The River Hawks fell 14 spots in the Pairwise, down all the way to No. 27, and will need a strong conference record to regain the ground lost this past weekend.

In game one on Dec. 30, Anchorage only found iself down 2-1 at the second intermission despite being heavily outshot, 43-8. Shasby’s message in the locker room seemed to resonate with his players and his top line got the job done in the third, setting up three goals on four third period shots to win 4-2.

“We were in the perfect spot for a potential upset and we got a couple lucky rushes and were opportunistic. Just one of those periods where everything went our way and we were able to carry over that confidence from Friday into Saturday for sure,” Shasby said.

Sophomore forward and Anchorage native Maximilion Helgeson is on that top line and he tallied three points on Friday, including the primary assists on the game-tying and winning goals. He also scored an empty netter to put the game away.

His linemates, forwards Connor Marritt and Ben Almquist, make up the top line for the Seawolves and they did what was expected of a top line this series, tallying nine points on the weekend.

“We just got put [it all] together this weekend. I’ve played with Maresy [Marritt] for the whole year now and he’s my roommate so we have some chemistry, but I think we played pretty well together for the first time and hopefully we can keep building and put some more pucks in the back of the net,” Helgeson said.

Despite being outshot 54-12 in the first game of the series, Seawolves freshman goaltender Jared Whale was fantastic, earning every bit of his first collegiate win.

“Whales had himself a night, he stood on his head and made some great saves to keep us in the game," Helgeson said. "Knowing you have a goalie who is going to shut things down, allows you to play more comfortable, and allows you to focus more on scoring.”

On Dec. 31, the teams traded early goals before the best period of the weekend by the Seawolves pushed them ahead for good. In the second period of Saturday’s game, Anchorage outshot Lowell 11-6 and managed to get two past former Alaska Nanooks goaltender Gustavs Davis Grigals, and the River Hawks were unable to respond.

“We adjusted well to the pace and were a lot more confident with the puck on our stick," Shasby said. "We were a lot better at managing the puck and we slowed the game down and got some more timely goals. Being massively opportunistic is what’s going to help us win games.”

Three of Alaska-Anchorage’s four wins this year have come against ranked opponents, the other being the season-opening victory against a very talented Western Michigan team that boasts arguably the best line in college hockey.

“These wins give us an ability to go out and recruit more," Shasby said. "We are not that far off, even this past weekend some conversations with recruits have picked up just off these games. These wins are feathers in our cap and hopefully convince kids you are playing quality hockey and can beat some quality hockey teams.”

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