ANCHORAGE, Alaska ? Alaska Anchorage's Justin Bourne broke a 2-2 tie by scoring at 5:03 of the third period while the Seawolves had a two-man advantage, and Alaska Anchorage went on to beat the third-ranked UND men's hockey team 4-2 Saturday to complete a weekend sweep of the Fighting Sioux.
Bourne's fifth goal of the season came 43 seconds into a 5-on-3 power play and give UAA a 3-2 lead.
Bourne's power play goal brought UND's Kyle Radke (Jr., Bashaw, Alberta) out of the penalty box, and UND then killed off the remaining 1:38 of a penalty on Sioux forward Matt Watkins (So., Aylesbury, Saskatchewan).
But after Sioux goalie Anthony Grieco (Fr., Brampton, Ontario) made a spectacular save on the Seawolves' Nick Anderson less than a minute after Watkins' penalty was over, UAA's Kevin Clark scored at 7:34 to extend the Seawolves' lead to 4-2.
The Sioux had three power play opportunities of their own in the game's final 10 minutes but couldn't capitalize. UND pulled Grieco in the final minute of play and put heavy pressure on the Seawolves in a late flurry. Two UND shots appeared to hit the goalpost, and UAA goalie Nathan Lawson made several outstanding saves to stave off any UND hopes of a rally.
After beating the Sioux 6-2 on Friday, Alaska Anchorage's 4-2 Saturday win gave the Seawolves their first sweep of UND in exactly 11 years (since Nov. 17-18, 1995), when UAA beat the Sioux 4-2 and 7-3 in Anchorage.
In addition, the sweep snapped UND's string of 11 consecutive WCHA road series with at least one win. The last time North Dakota did not win a game in a WCHA road series was January 2005, when Colorado College swept the Sioux in Colorado Springs.
North Dakota is now 6-5-1 overall and 4-3-1 in the WCHA. Alaska Anchorage is now 6-4-2 overall and 4-4-0 in the WCHA. The Seawolves have now equaled both their overall and league win totals from the 2005-06 season.
Saturday's first period was scoreless, with UND outshooting Alaska Anchorage 8-7 despite the Sioux not getting their first shot on goal until there were 13 minutes remaining in the period.
UND's Andrew Kozek (So., Sicamous, B.C.) had the best scoring chance in the first period, hitting the post with 11:19 to play in the period.
The Seawolves finally broke through in what was a scoreless game when senior Nick Lowe fired a wrist shot at 8:06 of the second period that seemed to freeze Grieco and beat him up high.
The UAA was short-lived, however, as UND's Ryan Duncan (So., Calgary, Alberta) scored twice in a 2:33 span gave UND a 2-1 lead.
The first was a power play goal at 11:04 that came after a pretty passing play from Jonathan Toews (So., Winnipeg, Manitoba) to Taylor Chorney (So., Hastings, Minn.) to Duncan, who was all alone in front.
Duncan's second goal of the game and eighth of the season came at 13:37 after a UAA turnover. UND forward Brad Miller (So., Alpharetta, Ga.) grabbed the puck at the top of the left circle and fired a cross-ice pass to Duncan, who buried it from the right circle.
The Seawolves' Chad Anderson tied it two minutes later (at 15:43), and the second period ended with the teams tied, 2-2.
For the game, UAA outshot UND 31-30.
North Dakota will return home to face Colorado College in a Friday-Saturday series over Thanksgiving weekend. The series against CC will begin a six-game homestand for the Sioux.
NOTES: UND senior captain Chris Porter (Thunder Bay, Ontario) had a personal seven-game point-scoring streak snapped.
Contact: Dan Benson
