Alaska Anchorage coach: We are complete opposites

UAA coach Dave Shyiak didn't want to talk just about Chris Kamal on Thursday, he wanted to discuss both his freshman goalies.

"As freshmen, both Chris and Rob Gunderson have come in and done very well," he said. "It's a tough transition at that position. Both have done a good job for us.

"We rotated early, then Gunderson was getting the majority of the games. And, in the second half, Chris has had the opportunity. We've kept him in and he has strung some wins together. We're going with the guy who is doing well for us."

Kamal has played in seven of the last 11 games for UAA. His record in that stretch is 6-1-0 with a 1.57 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. His hot streak began with a 1-0, 30-save victory over the Gophers on Jan. 29.

"For sure" it helped his confidence, Shyiak said, "to go on the road and get a shutout."

It was UAA's first road win in two months, since beating Colorado College 4-3 in overtime on Nov. 26.

Shyiak said he has nto decided who will start Friday, but here is a good guess: Kamal.

Gunderson, who lost 5-1 to the Gophers on Jan. 28, is 7-13-2 with a 2.77 gaa and a .897 save pct.

UAA HAS WON THREE IN ROW

The Seawolves come to Mariucci Arena with a three-game winning streak.

On Feb. 25, they played at Alaska Fairbanks, their archrival, and did not play well, losing 5-1. "Saturday [Feb. 26] we were back at home and regrouped and responded," Shyiak said.

Last weekend, the Seawolves swept Minnesota State 4-0 and 4-1 in Mankato with Kamal in the nets.

Since joining the WCHA in 1993-94, the Seawolves have qualified for the Final Five only once in 17 years. That was in 2004 when they upset Wisconsin 3-2, 0-4, 4-1.

They are 4-35 in the first round of the WCHA playoffs and went 1-2 in the 2004 Finals Five,

Their most common playoffs opponent is Minnesota. This will be the sixth meeting between the Gophers and the Seawolves. Minnesota is 10-1 in the playoffs against UAA. The one loss was 2-1 in overtime on March 10, 2007, four years ago.

"This is a different team, you can't look to the past," Shyiak said. "We have one of our best records ever. You are happy when you make progress. Ultimately, if you ask our guys and coaches, we want to make the Final Five and have a chance to play for a championship.

"We have had some big wins, and that shows progress, but we have to have a solid weekend."

What will decided this series? "Every coach will tell you it is special teams and goaltending," Shyiak said. "And we can't turn pucks over. We can't get in a transition game with them and we need to control their speed in the neutral zone.

"For us, the strength of our team is we do ecverything by committee. We do not rely on high-end defensemen.

"We are exact opposites," Shyiak said. "They are highly skilled, a very good team, have a good transtion game, a good power play," he said. "We are very strong defensively. Have smart puck management. We have to get after them on the forecheck, and need puck control on the cycle game. We don't want to make it into a track meet."

Last time the Seawolves played the Gophers, they stayed in Minneapolis all week. After a series in Denver, they flew here, not back home.

This time the Seawolves did not stick around in Minnesota after a series at Minnesota State.

"That's the big reason we went home. We got three sleeps in our own beds, and we came back on Wednesday."

LAST WORD