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Tolvanen Shutout Lifts Wildcats Over Seawolves 4-0
This story was written by NMU Sports Information
MARQUETTE---Atte Tolvanen made 34 saves to lead the Northern Michigan hockey team to a 4-0 blanking of Alaska-Anchorage Saturday night at the Berry Events Center.
Four different skaters found the back of the net to propel the Wildcats past the Seawolves and to their first sweep of the 2016-17 campaign.
Northern Michigan jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 8:34 of the first period.
After Ryan Black corralled an Alaska-Anchorage outlet pass in the neutral zone, he sent a cross-ice pass to Shine on the left wing. On the rush, Shine fired a shot on net that Olivier Mantha gloved, but he dropped the puck, allowing a trailing Gerard Hanson to chip it into the net.
At 18:36, Shane Sooth netted a power-play goal to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead. After taking a feed from Hanson, he skated in a stride and then fired a shot through a heavily screened Mantha's five hole.
In the middle of the second period, the Seawolves were awarded back-to-back power plays when Demico Hannoun was sent off for interference and Sooth was whistled for cross-checking. Tolvanen came up big during that stretch of time, making eight saves. At one point, he denied Mason Mitchell and Tad Kozun from point-blank range.
Shortly after the Sooth minor expired, Robbie Payne extended Northern Michigan's advantage to 3-0. In transition, Payne dished the puck to Brock Maschmeyer, who immediately gave it back to him. Payne darted into the crease, drawing Mantha with him and then slipped the puck into the empty net at 13:23.
Troy Loggins capped the game's scoring at 3:20 of the third period. Mantha blocked Hannoun's initial shot, but Sami Salminen beat a Seawolf to the loose puck behind the net. He then sent it to Loggins in the slot, who sent a shot past Mantha low glove side.
Northern Michigan did not allow a shot on goal in the final four minutes of regulation to help Tolvanen secure his second career shutout.
The Wildcats, who are off next weekend, return to the ice on Feb. 3-4 when they take on Bowling Green in Bowling Green, Ohio.
The following is a recap of Friday night's NMU-Anchorage Game:
Dominik Shine's second hat trick of the season propelled the Northern Michigan hockey team to a 6-1 victory over Alaska-Anchorage Friday night at the Berry Events Center.
Robbie Payne, Philip Beaulieu and Connor Frantti also chipped in goals to lift the Wildcats past the Seawolves in their most commanding win of the 2016-17 campaign.
Northern Michigan dominated the first period, netting three unanswered goals and outshooting Alaska-Anchorage by a 17-4 margin.
Just 2:49 into the game, Payne opened the scoring. After a Jordan Klimek point shot kicked out to Darien Craighead in the slot, Craighead alertly shuffled the puck over to Payne at the right edge of the crease for the tap-in goal.
Two seconds after the Wildcats' first power play expired, at the 7:53 mark, Beaulieu's low point shot made it through traffic and found the back of the net.
Shine and Gerard Hanson teamed to make it a three-goal game at 16:25. Shine forced a turnover in the neutral zone and sent the puck ahead to Hanson, who skated in on net.
While sandwiched between two Seawolves, Hanson dropped a pass back to Shine, who beat Olivier Mantha high blocker side.
The second period was marked by end-to-end action, with both teams trading quality chances. At 4:11, Jeremiah Luedtke took a drop pass from Dylan Hubbs on a 2-on-2 rush and popped the bottle to narrow the gap to two goals.
Atte Tolvanen, who finished the game with 25 saves, made two of his biggest with around eight minutes left in the frame. First, he denied Tad Kozun from point-blank range with his right pad; then, he snared an Alex Jackstadt bid in the resulting goalmouth scramble.
Seconds after Tolvanen stuffed Jackstadt on a shorthanded breakaway, Shine regained Northern Michigan's three-goal advantage, early into its five-minute man advantage.
Shine threaded a shot past Rasmus Reijola, who relieved Mantha at the start of the second period, and into the upper right corner of the net at 18:45.
In the third period, the teams combined to take 14 penalties and skated 4-on-4 three times. Frantti netted his first career goal at the 10:56 mark, carrying the puck from the Wildcats' blueline into the Seawolves' end. After carving his way through the Alaska-Anchorage defense, he sent a shot on net that trickled through Reijola's five hole and into the back of the net.
Shine capped the game's scoring, and completed his hat trick, at 18:34, taking a feed from Beaulieu and beating a heavily screened Reijola with a wrist shot.
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