Menard Arena home of UAA pucks game

JEREMIAH BARTZ/ Frontiersman sports editor

WASILLA - For one night the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves will call the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena their home ice.

The Menard Arena and the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex are hosting UAA's first exhibition hockey match of the season tonight. The Seawolves face the University of Windsor. The puck is set to drop at 7:07 p.m.

The Menard Arena, home of the Wasilla Spirit Junior A hockey squad, and the Valley youth and prep hockey teams, is hosting a UAA game for the first time since the building's doors were opened. Last year, an Alaska Aces intrasquad scrimmage was held at the Wasilla rink.

The Mat-Su Amateur Hockey Association is one of the sponsors of the event. The game will also be a fundraiser for the local youth hockey organization.

Diane Firmani, the MAHA secretary, said Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex officials approached the organization about sponsoring the game, and the club was immediately interested. According to Firmani, a portion of the proceeds from tonight's game will go toward MAHA.

Firmani said that other sponsors, such as, NYE Frontier Ford, Hartley Motors and Cellular One were also instrumental in bringing the game to Wasilla.

Another sponsor, McDonald's, is hosting a free kids hockey clinic on Saturday on the ice of the Menard Arena. The skills clinic, that features the instruction of UAA head coach Dave Shyiak, filled up almost immediately.

The exhibition is the first action for a Seawolf squad that finished 12-19-6 overall, and 9-15-4 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association last year. It will also be the first appearance for Shyiak, who is in his first season with the Seawolves. The longtime University of Northern Michigan assistant came to UAA, after former head coach John Hill resigned to take a job with the University of Minnesota.

Windsor, 7-10-4 last season in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport league, is 0-2-0 in exhibition action this season. The Ontario-based program suffered a 4-1 loss to Miami (Ohio), and dropped a 7-1 decision to Bowling Green State University.

Windsor travels to Fairbanks tomorrow to take on the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks at the Carlson Center.