Bryant Marks and Dimitry Kebreau played key roles in the Seawolves being able to give their seniors a proper sendoff and end the season on a high note.
The 2024-25 season was filled with tough losses and hard lessons for the University of Alaska Anchorage hockey team, which endured multiple losing streaks of five or more games. After narrowly dropping Friday night’s penultimate matchup with visiting Lindenwood, the Seawolves were fiercely determined to send off their seniors on a high note to end the season.
A rowdy crowd at the Avis Alaska Sports Complex was treated to a Saturday night thriller that saw the home team prevail 1-0 and notch their sixth and final victory of season. “It’s been a long year,” UAA head coach Matt Shasby said. “It’s not easy to show up for the last game of the year, but that group of guys in there is a close group and they play for the right reasons, and they played for their seniors tonight.” It marked UAA’s first outright win in regulation in over a month, and their first triumph at home since coming out on top in a shootout against in-state rival University of Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 18. “I’m very happy for our seniors,” Shasby said. “They showed up tonight, competed really hard. They wanted to go out on a high note.” While Saturday night was about celebrating the graduating class, two first-year players — one of whom was seeing his most extensive action of the season — provided the catalyst for the Seawolves’ success against the Lions. Freshman goalie Bryant Marks was lights out in front of the net for UAA, making 22 saves to earn his first career shutout in his first career start.“Playing in his first college game, he stepped up to the challenge and gave us a chance to win the game tonight,” Shasby said. “Having a freshman goalie step in like that in a moment where you haven’t played a game the whole year and to put on a performance like that is pretty special.” Shasby has coached him since Marks was 8 years old and knew he was going to be a “gamer for me from day one.” “When we brought him here, I knew he had that inside of him, and he showed up tonight with some big saves in key moments to hold that lead, and I’m really proud of him,” Shasby said. Growing up in Wasilla, Marks always dreamed of donning the Green and Gold in an official capacity as a Seawolf for the UAA hockey team. His childhood dream came true when Shasby, who was his youth hockey coach, recruited him to join the program. To be able to play a key role in the team’s victory for the first time was something he viewed as a “once in a lifetime” opportunity, and he didn’t want it to go to waste. “I took advantage of that and I’m just really grateful to get in there and get an opportunity to play,” Marks said. “The guys played great in front of me. I’ve got to credit them for a lot of it but it feels amazing to get a win in a Seawolf uniform.” Prior to the finale, the only game action on the ice that he’d seen during his freshman season was 30 minutes of relief duty against Niagara in a 6-2 loss in January. “It was a lot of watching hockey this year, but I was staying ready for an opportunity, and it feels great to be able to get a chance and also to showcase what I can do,” Marks said. “I couldn’t have ever imagined it’d be like this.” The lone goal of the game came courtesy of freshman forward Dimitry Kebreau, who capitalized on the Seawolves' first power play opportunity at the 11:45 mark in the first period. “We got a lot of contributions from our freshmen the entire year,” Shasby said. “Dimitry put another one in the back of the net. He’s been incredible for us this year.” While that would be the only time his team took full advantage of having the greater numbers on the ice in the game, Shasby was proud of how well they defended when shorthanded, which played a key role in preserving the shutout. “Special teams is a big part of college hockey and you need to win that battle,” Shasby said. “We got a power play goal there in the first and then the penalty kill was absolutely incredible tonight. They sold out, they blocked shots, they had good clears both net front and just out of the zone.” The young and returning players wanted to dedicate Saturday night’s game to the graduating seniors and saw it as a “must win.” “We had to go out on a good win and it felt really good to get that and end the season on a good note,” Marks said. He took special pride in being able to send off fellow Wasilla product Porter Schachle, a senior forward, the right way even though they weren’t able to share the ice together one last time. “It was awesome and he was so excited,” Marks said. “He’s fought hard all year, had a few injuries so it’s tough having him out. He’s a big piece of our team so it sucks missing him, but he’s a great guy in the locker room, a good leader, and it was good to have him on this team.” The Seawolves finished 6-23-5 and played a tough schedule that featured multiple nationally ranked opponents, including reigning national champion University of Denver. Several of the team’s younger players gained invaluable experience throughout the season, and Marks believes they “will take even bigger steps next year” as they continue to grow together with the hopes of being even better in 2025-26. “We’ve had a lot of close games this year and wanted to put together a 60-minute performance, and they did it tonight, so we can have some positivity going into the offseason,” Shasby said. “Seawolves hockey has a bright future.”Josh Reed is a sports reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. He's a graduate of West High School and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.Weight-loss drugs aren’t just slimming waists. They’re shifting the economy.
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