The Chargers rode a three-goal second period and three power play goals to cruise to a 6-2 win over Alaska Anchorage at the Von Braun Center on Friday.
UAH (5-19-1, 5-11-1-1 WCHA) scored six goals for the first time in nearly three years. The Chargers will go for their first sweep of the season in the rematch Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
“It’s preparation throughout the week,” said UAH senior captain Kurt Gosselin, who had a goal and two assists. “As a team we always got together after and before practice to make sure who we were focused on who we were playing and what their game plan was.
“They have a pretty simple forecheck, and we were able to counter it and get up the ice. All of our offense was from our forwards working hard and getting low. In the last couple of games, shooting the puck is where we’re getting our success.”
Alaska Anchorage fell to 2-20-1 overall and 1-15-1-0 in WCHA play.
The Chargers wanted to perform better in the first period on Fridays, trying to score the first goal and guard against defensive breakdowns.
UAH outshot Anchorage 13-8, generating a few scoring chances inside and out. And the Chargers did get that first goal, as Connor Wood put UAH up 1-0 at the 9:32 mark. Cam Knight and Adam Wilcox had the assists.
However, they allowed Nicolas Erb-Ekholm to tie it up with 2:11 left in the period.
“We started out the first 10 minutes, then they took the next five to seven, then we had the last good two to three,” UAH head coach Mike Corbett said. “I thought it was going to be a little tighter of a game”
The Chargers really took control in the second period with three goals.
The first was by freshman Jack Jeffers, who took the team lead in goals with his sixth after a nifty move leading to a wrister to roof the puck over Carlson for a 2-1 UAH lead at 4:40. Kurt Gosselin and Madison Dunn with the assists.
UAH made it 3-1 just over a minute later, when Andrew Dodson scored his first collegiate goal. He knocked in a centering pass by Connor James, with Brandon Salerno getting the second helper.
Then some tic-tac-toe action, Bauer Neudecker to Austin Beaulieu to Hans Gorowsky, to make it 4-1 with 1:08 remaining. It was Gorowsky’s fourth goal of the season.
“Bauer Neudecker had some great patience on the half-wall, and he saw an opening to get it down to Austin Beaulieu on the goal line,” Gorowsky said. “Austin waited for his player to come to me, and I had a wide open shot. Once again, they did all the work and I got the reward.”
Gosselin added a power play goal two minutes into the third, burying a second chance effort for a 5-1 advantage. Gorowsky and Knight with the apples.
“We were able to do some things in the second period that we wanted to practice all week and it’s nice to see the guys execute,” Corbett said.
Another UAH power play goal extended its lead to 6-1, when Gorowsky put in the rebound of Gosselin’s shot from the slot for his second goal of the game. Neudecker also got the assist.
In all, 13 Chargers got points, driving home that this team uses scoring by committee.
“It’s awesome, because it makes it easier for every line,” Gorowsky said. “We expect it on this team. We don’t have any guys that are going to score 25 goals this season. We need it from all four lines.”
UAH, ranked 60th in Division I on the power play this season, finished 3-for-5 with the advantage.
“We need that (power play) to be able to get us some offense,” Corbett said. “They’re moving the puck and they’re shooting. There’s no great formula: Get the puck to the net and get some bodies to the net and we made some plays.”
“Our special teams have been getting together besides practice, going over game film, drawing it out on the board, and making sure we’re all on the same page,” Gosselin said. “Just trying to keep it simple. Our success was us sticking to our structure and getting pucks on net.”
Anchorage cut UAH’s lead to 6-2 with 4:09 to go on a goal by Carmine Buono.
With a Friday success under their belt, the Chargers need to guard against a Saturday letdown.
“This team has to learn how to finish,” Corbett said. “We’ve got to guard against tomorrow. We have the opportunity to get six points and we’ve got to take advantage of that.
“This team hasn’t been in this situation very often. I know we have a hungry group, and we’re going to make sure that they’re ready.”
“The guys should get some rest and have the same tenacity for tomorrow,” Gosselin said. “We’ve got to come out hot like we did.”
The Chargers outshot the Seawolves 32-23.
Mark Sinclair made 21 saves for the victory for UAH. Carlson made 26 saves for UAA.
Three Stars:
1. Hans Gorowsky, UAH (2 goals, 1 assist)
2. Kurt Gosselin, UAH (1 goal, 2 assists)
3. Bauer Neudecker, UAH (2 assists)