Anchorage, AK - The RMU men's hockey team falls to Alaska Anchorage, 2-3. The Colonials are now 2-4-2 overall on the year and the Seawolves now own a 5-6-0 record.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Returning to Anchorage, AK to face the opposing program for the first time since 2009, the Seawolves immediately set the tone for a physical match.
Seven minutes into Friday night's non-conference duel, Gunnar VanDamme was issued a five-minute major and game misconduct for 'contact to the head.'
Sending out the power play unit early, across the backend of the two minutes, the Colonials picked up momentum recording four shots.
Later in the first period, Alaska Anchorage skated out for their first man-up opportunity of the night. Although the Seawolves peppered six shots at RMU, goaltender
Francis Boisvert pulled through the penalty kill, making six saves to keep the score blank.
Before the opening frame was complete, the home side put away the first goal of the night. After winning a faceoff, they snuck the puck in with about two minutes left.
Heading into the second period, the Seawolves extended their lead. Boisvert stopped the first shot but after a scramble in front of the net, Alaska Anchorage bashed in the rebound, taking a 2-0 lead.
Continuing through the middle section of the game, forward
Gavin Gulash was sent to the box for a penalty.
Nearing the end of his two minutes, RMU gained possession in their own end. Starting the counterattack quickly, Boisvert found
Luke Johnson to his left with open space. Looking ahead, Johnson made the perfect heads up play, finding Gulash on the breakaway. Closing in on goal, the alternate captain deeked left and then brought it back to his backhand, hammering in the Colonials first point.
Displaying resiliency all season, head coach
Derek Schooley and his team climbed back from a two-goal deficit once again.
Joining the rush with speed,
Dallas Tulik dished the puck across the ice to his linemate
McKay Hayes. The freshman winded up a shot creating a rebound, as
Tanner Klimpke skated in urgently to score and tie the game.
Posting eight more shot attempts from both sides, it looked like 60 minutes would not be enough between these two teams. Just before the possibility of overtime, the Seawolves found a way to win the game with four seconds left. Brett Bamber scored the game-winning tally on home ice to give Alaska Anchorage a 3-2 win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Capitalizing the most on their faceoffs was graduate forward
Logan Ganie reaching a team-high 10 draw wins. He also paced for the most shots for RMU, collecting seven. Defensively,
Cade Townend blocked a team-high two shots on the night. After producing a multi-assist effort at Bowling Green (10/8),
Gavin Gulash set his name back on the box score, netting his first goal of the 2023-24 campaign. The freshmen duo of
Tanner Klimpke and
McKay Hayes continued their consistent production as Klimpke registered his team-leading third goal of the season and Hayes collaborated on his teammates' score, recording a team-high fourth assist of the year. Both wingers out of Canada, each possess six points through eight games.
BOISVERT BATTLES
After playing all 60 minutes last weekend in the exhibition match against Simon Fraser,
Francis Boisvert suited up once again for the Colonials, earning his first official start for RMU. From Blainville, Quebec, Boisvert recorded 37 saves and a .925 save percentage against the Seawolves. He also chipped in offensively, passing out his first career assist. On the Gulash goal, Boisvert started the breakout by feeding
Luke Johnson.
UP NEXT
The Colonials get back to action quickly as they return to the Avis Alaska Sports Complex on Saturday, November 11 at 8:00 p.m. ET, for game two of the series.
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