Anchorage’s Jeremy Swayman picked up his 10th and 11th wins of the season between the pipes for the Boston Bruins this last week, taking just 16 games — his fewest so far — to reach the double-digit mark. In a 3-1 win over the New York Islanders on Wednesday, the former South standout made a whopping 44 saves on 45 shots. Three days later, he followed it up with a 3-2 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, making 24 saves on 26 shots.
“I just want to do my job,” Swayman said after his 44-save night. “The motivation is right in front of me seeing how these guys battle, compete, block shots. I’m not going to leave them hanging behind them.”
Staying in the rink, fresh off splitting a two-game series with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs on the road, the Anchorage Wolverines returned home to face off with their other in-state rivals on the day before Thanksgiving. Thanks to another multi-goal game by leading scorer Luc Bydal, who led the team with a pair, they were able to skate into the holiday break with a convincing 6-3 win over the Kenai River Browns Bears.
“Wednesday’s game against Kenai was a gritty team win,” head coach Mike Aikens said. “We are battling injuries, physical and mental fatigue, and sickness, so I was very proud of our guys to find a way to get two points. We have some time off this week, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The last game before some scheduled time off is always a dangerous one, so it was nice to head to break with a win and great momentum as we head on the road until after Christmas.”
At the high school level, reigning Division I state champion West Anchorage headed into the holiday weekend on a heater after closing it out with a 4-1 win over Eagle River on Tuesday.
“It was a great win for us,” head coach Rob Larkey said. “We came in off a hard game the other night, and these guys have really improved and they’re improving throughout the year.”
Special teams were the key to deciding this game as three of the Eagles’ four goals came on power plays where they had the numbers advantage in the ice. Meanwhile, their penalty kill was on point for the most part, allowing the Wolves’ lone goal of the game while shorthanded in the opening period, but they didn’t let them take advantage of other opportunities.
“We just had a couple of breaks and capitalized on it, and it kind of deflated (Eagle River) a little bit but I think they stuck with us the whole game,” Larkey said.
Anchorage’s Daishen Nix recorded a pair of 26-point games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in a pair of losses in the NBA G-League last week. Against the Austin Spurs in a 118-100 loss last Monday, he flirted with a double-double with a team-leading 26 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists. In a 134-125 loss to the Osceola Magic on Saturday, he nearly had a triple-double by tying for the team lead with 26 points, leading with 11 rebounds and 7 assists.
Anchorage’s Sayvia Sellers helped the University of Washington women’s basketball team continue its undefeated start to the season on Saturday. The former Anchorage Christian star tied for the team lead in scoring with 17 points in a 67-50 win over UC San Diego, which included knocking down a trio of 3-pointers and recording five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.
Anchorage’s Mikayla Johnson led the University of Pittsburgh women’s basketball team to a 67-53 bounce-back win over Chicago State in the second game of the Florida Gulf Classic on Saturday. The former Bartlett standout recorded her first double-double of the season by leading the Panthers with 17 points and finishing second in rebounds with 10.
Palmer’s Patrick MacMahon had a career day for the Montana State men’s basketball team in a narrow 84-81 loss to Utah State on Saturday night. The former Colony star led the Bobcats with a career-high 26 points and a season-high eight rebounds to go along with three assists and a steal.
[UAA men’s basketball winning streak snapped in Tundra Tip-Off finale]
Anchorage’s Alani Makihele and Thomas Whitte faced off for the final time at the collegiate level in the 51st Battle for the Fremont Cannon between University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Reno on Saturday. Makihele and the UNLV Rebels racked up nearly 500 yards of total offense against Whitte and the Wolves in a 42-17 win. The two former West High standouts starred for the Eagles before becoming rivals at the next level, and even though his team got blown out in this matchup, Whitte had a solid game with a solo tackle for a loss of 2 yards.