MINNEAPOLIS — Whether it was some luck from the bleach blonde hair or a fortunate call from the referees, the University of Minnesota hockey team finally solved Alaska-Anchorage in the playoffs at Mariucci Arena.
Sophomore forward Erik Haula scored two goals for the top-seeded Gophers in a 2-1 win against the Seawolves on Friday in the best-of-three first round of the WCHA tournament. Sophomore defenseman Nate Schmidt added two assists and senior goaltender Kent Patterson made 16 saves as Minnesota survived on a Friday to win the critical first game of the series and snap Alaska-Anchorage's three-game winning streak on the Gophers' home ice.
"It's about winning," Minnesota coach Don Lucia said. "It's not surviving."
The Seawolves came to Mariucci Arena in the first round last season and swept the Gophers out of the playoffs in a matchup of the fifth and eighth seeds. The loss stung Minnesota, who had been waiting for this opportunity for the past year.
This time around, the Gophers are the top seed after winning the regular season title, but it still wasn't easy. Minnesota had to get past the Friday game -- it was 7-7 on Fridays in conference play -- and had a big goal review go its way.
Haula scored his second of the game and 17th of the season midway through the second period, sliding the puck in the net off of a rebound after Schmidt's point shot rung off the crossbar. But Alaska-Anchorage goaltender Chris Kamal appeared to be interfered with by Gophers' senior Jake Hansen. The two collided and Kamal fell to the ground, unable to get back across the crease to stop Haula's shot.
After a long review, the referees determined the goal would stand.
"They said that they agreed that he did get knocked down, but he wouldn't have been able to get across anyways to make the save," Seawolves coach Dave Shyiak said. "The guy was flat on his back. I said, 'So you're guessing how quick he is when he's knocked down on his butt.'
"I didn't like the call. Nothing we can do about it. They saw the overhead. They're paid to make that judgment. Again, it was the wrong call, they caught a break and it's just kind of the nature of the game."
Lucia didn't feel it was cause to overturn the initial goal call.
"When I saw the replay, I felt pretty comfortable that he got pushed and the goaltender was outside the crease when the initial contact was made," Lucia said.
Haula, a seventh-round NHL draft pick by the Minnesota Wild in 2009, has 12 points in his past 12 games, including seven goals. While leading scorer Nick Bjugstad's pace has slowed, Haula has been there on the second line to pick up the production. He also had a big short-handed goal last week to help Minnesota to a Saturday win against Wisconsin.
He opened the scoring just 1 minute, 42 seconds into the second period after the team's played an even first. Haula took an outlet past from Schmidt and whistled a shot high past Kamal's glove side.
"With them always having three guys back, you're not going to get many opportunities to get odd-man rushes and that was one of the few we had all night long," Lucia said. "I think (Haula) went through a frustrating part when you're not scoring for an extended period of time, at least goals. Erik's got a good shot and now he seems to be finding his rhythm again at the end."
The Gophers outshot Alaska-Anchorage 16-4 in the second period and the Seawolves went almost the first 10 minutes without a shot. But they weren't going away. Brad Gorham scored a power-play goal for Alaska-Anchorage with just two seconds left in the second.
"The guys have belief," Shyiak said. "Everybody toed the line tonight. They all bought in and played the game plan. I thought they started to wear down a little bit and we kept going. There was belief there that we're going to make a push and tie this thing up."
Minnesota held on though and is one game closer to reaching the Final Five of the WCHA tournament for the first time since 2009.
All of the Gophers' players bleached their hair before the game in a sign of unity. Haula, who hails from Finland, didn't mind the look. If he's scoring, he'll take it.
"I think it's awesome," Haula said. "A great look."
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