Homecoming weekend for Anchorage’s Bret Link morphed into Colorado College teammate Kaidan Mbereko’s days of dominance.
A junior goaltender from Aspen, Colo., Mbereko spun an 18-save shutout Saturday night to lead No. 9 CC to a 2-0 win over UAA at the Avis Alaska Sports Complex. Mbereko stopped 28 Seawolves shots in Friday’s 2-1 as the unbeaten Tigers departed Alaska with a two-game series sweep.
Despite its commendable effort versus a ranked opponent for six periods, UAA dropped to 1-7-0. Coach Matt Shasby and his squad now have ample time to figure out their next move. The Seawolves are off until a Nov. 15 home matchup against rival UAF in the first game of the annual Alaska Airlines Governor’s Cup series. The Nanooks didn’t play over the weekend.
Link is a 6-foot-3, 195-pound sophomore forward for CC and the son of former Dimond High and Anchorage Aces skater Tony Link. He previously played for the USHL’s Fargo Force and NAHL’s Fairbanks Ice Dogs. Bret Link recorded one shot in Friday’s win. Saturday, he opened the scoring at 7 minutes, 13 seconds of the first period. He collected Gleb Veremyev’s pass and surged down the right wing before snapping a shot past UAA goalie Greg Orosz (21 saves).
The goal was Link’s second of the season. Latvian sophomore Klavs Veinbergs notched CC’s other goal in the third period. The Tigers improved to 4-0-0.
UAA sophomore defenseman Joey Potter (Cranberry Township, Pa.) led the Seawolves with four shots on goal Saturday. He also assisted on the weekend’s lone goal, a late strike from Anchorage’s own Tanner Edwards on Friday. The score was Edwards’ first as a Seawolf and second collegiate score.
FIRST COLLEGIATE GOAL FINDS SWANSON
After owning the USHL last season as a member of the Fargo (N.D.) Force, Anchorage’s Mac Swanson moved north to Grand Forks for his freshman season with the North Dakota hockey team. Friday night, he scored his first collegiate goal in the No. 7 Fighting Hawks’ 7-2 home win over No. 3 Boston University.
Swanson scored his team’s second goal at 6:22 of the first period on the power play. He also grabbed his first collegiate assist later in the game. The Terriers won Saturday’s series closer, 4-3.
The son of former NHLer and Alaska Aces’ Kelly Cup champ Brian Swanson, Mac last season was named USA Hockey’s Junior Player of the Year and the USHL’s Player of the Year. He was selected in the seventh round of this year’s NHL draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
North Dakota will take a 3-2-0 record into its next game Friday at Cornell.