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The summer has gone by at a snail’s pace for Chad Anderson, for so many reasons.

1) Hockey season is coming

2) Hockey season is coming

3) He’s not a college freshman anymore, and hockey season is coming.

Anticipation can be a powerful thing. So is confidence, and that’s exactly what the Chisago City native has heading into his sophomore year with the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves, a Division One hockey team out of the WCHA Anderson is the only male athlete from Chisago Lakes to ever play Division One hockey.

Last year as a freshman, Anderson was thrown into the deep end the pool and was expected to swim. To put it bluntly, the Seawolves didn’t have a whole lot, forcing Anderson to play, and play a lot right away. Although the transition to D-I wasn’t always the smoothest for Anderson, he’ll admit it was an invaluable experience. It was an experience that he hopes will pay off in 2004-05.

“This year is much more exciting. You know what’s going on, you can have a little more fun,” stated Anderson. “Plus, you kind of know the league more and you know how to play.”

Experience, something he got a lot of last year. Overall, the Seawolves played 40 games and Anderson was suited up in 38 of them. In addition, the defenseman led the team in plus/minus rating with +3, while scoring two goals and adding six assists.

As for the team, the 2003-04 season was one of the best seasons in UAA history. Not only did they advance to the WCHA Final Five for the first time in the history of the program, the Seawolves won 13 more games last year than they did in 2002-03. And through it all, Anderson was along for the ride. It’s a ride he hopes will carry over into this season as well.

“Last year, we had a great year. We didn’t really lose any guys so you have to be confident about this year,” replied Anderson. “I think we only lost five guys. But at the same time, I also know it’s going to be harder because teams aren’t going to take us lightly anymore. They know they can’t afford to do that anymore.”

The same can be said about Anderson’s game as well. Towards the end of the season, he was one of the Seawolves’ best, scoring four of his eight points over the last month of the year. He knows that, based on how he finished the season, a target will be on his back as well, both from his opponents and his own teammates. Both will be expecting more in 2004.

“At that level, you have to have a lot of skill, you have to be in control of the puck. Everybody is bigger, strong, and more skilled, and you have to keep up with the skill part of the game the most,” remarked Anderson. “I know that I have to get better, so I’ve just been working on my speed and my stick handling. Plus, confidence is huge. Once you have that, you can do so much more. I’m confident about my abilities and I think it’s all about confidence.”

He’ll soon find out. The drop of the puck starting the season is a little more than a month away. Unlike last year, this season, the Seawolves have a log jam of bodies at the blueline. A total of 10 defensemen are on the roster, nine of which saw playing time last year. Anderson is one of four sophomore defenseman.

“I don’t really feel like a sophomore. Actually, last year, they were so bad the year before, I didn’t even feel like a freshman because they relied so much on us. You got the opportunity to play right away so we all got a little more experience at the college level than what we would have gotten at another program,” said Anderson. “But, later in the year, I started to figure some things out. I’m going to be jumping up into the play a lot more this year, try to be more active. I’m going to try and do a little more with the puck and hopefully help my team a little more.”

Anderson and the Seawolves will make three trips to Minnesota this season. November 12-13, Alaska-Anchorage will travel to Mankato to face Minnesota State-Mankato. That will be followed by trips to Duluth on January 7-8, then Minneapolis on February 11-12. The Seawolves will also make stops in Grand Forks, North Dakota and Madison, Wisconsin.

2004-05 Alaska-Anchorage Schedule

Games of note-

11-12/13 @ MSU-Mankato

12-3/4 @ U. North Dakota

(Grand Forks, ND)

1-7/8 @ UMD

(Minnesota-Duluth)

1/14-15 @ Wisconsin

(Madison)

2-11/12 @ Minnesota

3/11-13 @ WCHA Final Five

(Xcel Energy Center)

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