2008 Woodie Awards
Power outage begins wild weekend for Seawolf hockey
Will Merrill
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Jan. 27's late start was only the beginning of an odd Western Collegiate Hockey Association series between the University of Alaska Anchorage (6-19-3, 4-15-3 WCHA) and the visiting, 2-time defending national champion University of Denver (16-10-2, 13-5-2 WCHA).
The green and gold faithful arrived at Sullivan Arena Friday night to a dim scene. Due to a power outage, caused by a nearby automobile accident, Seawolf hockey fans waited in their vehicles for almost 90 minutes before the lights were back on. But little did they know they were in for a surprise in net as well.
The Seawolves jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when defenseman Chad Anderson blasted a slap shot from the right face off circle that snuck through Pioneer goalie Glenn Fisher's five-hole. The goal was Anderson's third on the season, but wouldn't hold up long.
UAA's top goalie, Nathan Lawson suffered a knee injury midway through the first period when Paul Stastny of the Pioneers fell into him, knocking him into the net and onto his back, as his knee bent oddly beneath him.
"I fell backwards and my legs bend(ed) underneath me," Lawson said. "It was like they were stuck under me and I couldn't move because I had guys on top of me."
When freshman goalie Mike Rosett skated onto the ice to replace Lawson in net, people may have been wondering €" who is he and where is John DeCaro?
DeCaro, UAA's normal backup goalie was in street clothes and sat in the crowd. He had gotten minimal sleep the night before due to his daughter's birth Jan. 26.
Rosett hadn't logged a single second of division I, collegiate level hockey in his life, and his last official start came in February of 2004 when he played for the Junior B Princeton (British Columbia) Posse of the Kootenai International Junior Hockey League.
"I didn't really know what to think," Rosett said. "Coach said I might have to go in, so I started stretching. I was getting nervous and almost threw up before I left the bench."
After a shaky first period, Rosett calmed down and played well considering the circumstances. He faced 24 shots on goal and only let in three, including a power play goal by Stastny. But even with Rosett's solid effort in net and magnificent glove save late in the second period, the No.13 ranked Pioneers took the game 3-2.
"During the first period I felt like I was standing on springs," Rosett said. "I was shaking all over."
Defensive breakdowns contributed to Denver's first two goals and an all out spectacular effort by Pioneer left wing Ryan Dingle led to their game-winning third goal. Midway through the third period, Dingle flew over the blue line creating a 2-on-1. Ryan Helgason of Denver shot first and Rosett kicked it back at him, but Dingle was there to knock home the rebound.
"We had some breakdowns that led to goals for Denver," coach Dave Shyiak said. "We lost to a better team. When you give a team like them chances to score, they have guys that can beat you."
As if the pre-game power failure and Rosett's surprise entrance into the game weren't enough, there seemed to be some confusion among WCHA officials as to whether or not DeCaro could play. After debate over the issue, referee Derek Shepherd told Shyiak that DeCaro could suit up for the third period. Like a scene out of a hockey comedy, DeCaro did just that, but Shyiak stuck with Rosett.
"Rosett was awesome in net tonight," Lawson said. "He did a really good job and I'm proud of him."
Rosett agreed that he felt on top of Friday's game.
"I thought I played alright tonight, but as a goalie I always think I can stop everything," Rosett said. "Everyone's saying I played great, so that's nice."
Denver swept the 2-game series from UAA the following night with a 5-3 victory. Every time the Seawolves found themselves back in the game, the Pioneers fired right back at them to take a decisive edge again.
Inability to generate shots on goal made for a difficult challenge in taking on Pioneer defensive star Matt Carle and a host of snipers at his side. The National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks drafted Carle, who grew up in Anchorage, in 2003. UAA held Carle to only four assists and no goals in the two games.
"Everyone's told to get pucks on net, but if we don't shoot it and stop trying to make the extra move, we're not going to generate the shots on goal that we need to," UAA captain Ales Parez said.
Besides Anderson's goal Friday night, Parez, along with Seawolves' Chris Tarkir, and Shane Lovdahl, all found the back of the net, scoring the their sixth, fifth and third goals of the season. DeCaro stopped 21-of-26 shots on goal that he faced Jan. 28. The Seawolves head to Minnesota to play St. Cloud State Feb. 3-4.