Disappointing, humbling, embarrassing – the Seawolves' opening weekend of hockey buried them beneath an avalanche of adjectives.
An opportunity for rink redemption, though, stands before UAA at UAF's Brice Alaska Goal Rush tournament in Fairbanks, where it plays Nebraska-Omaha on Friday and Canisius on Saturday.
The Seawolves, who lost 6-0 to Minnesota in their opener on home ice a week ago and lost 4-1 to rival UAF at home one night later, aim to improve from those indignities, and learn from them too.
"For us to get punched in the face the way we got punched in the face isn't a bad thing,'' said coach Matt Thomas. "It isn't terrible. We weren't planning on going 34-0 in the regular season.
"We knew there were going to be bumps in the road, and this is a bump in the road.''
The Seawolves were outscored 10-1 and outshot 66-34 on the opening weekend, and didn't convert on 11 power plays. Junior captain Matt Anholt said his team must make life more difficult on opposing goaltenders. If successful, that would also relieve pressure in UAA's zone.
"We're working all week on getting shots on net and getting guys to the net,'' Anholt said.
UAA could get some new blood in the lineup in Fairbanks. Thomas said freshman defenseman Tomi Hiekkavirta, who underwent offseason wrist surgery, will likely play this weekend. Meanwhile, senior winger Brad Duwe (arthroscopic knee surgery) remains questionable and winger Cam Amantea (shoulder) remains out.
Nebraska-Omaha's game against UAA marks the Mavericks' season debut – they went 18-17-1 last season. The Mavericks include freshman goalie Kris Oldham of Anchorage, a Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick.
Canisius, like UAA, endured a difficult opening weekend, albeit at defending national champion North Dakota, which dropped 6-0 and 4-1 anvils on the Golden Griffins and outshot them 80-28.
UAF's Brice Alaska Goal Rush
Carlson Center, Fairbanks
Friday
Nebraska-Omaha vs. UAA, 4:07 p.m.
Canisius vs. UAF, 7:07 p.m.
Saturday
Canisius vs. UAA, 4:07 p.m.
Nebraska-Omaha vs. UAF, 7:07 p.m.