Minnesota broke out of its offensive slump in a big way Friday night, scoring five times to roll past Alaska Anchorage 5-1 at Mariucci Arena for its first win of the season.

Tony Lucia scored two shorthanded goals as the Gophers got goals from four different players in the victory. The scoring included two career first-time scorers in Kevin Wehrs and Zach Budish, who scored less than two minutes apart in the second period. The Gophers had been held to just three goals over their first four games and were shutout three times.

Minnesota also got a solid performance from its defense and goaltender Alex Kangas, who made 22 saves as the Gophers outshot the Seawolves 34-23 for the game. Alaska Anchorage had 11 of its 23 shots in the third period.

Lucia became the first Gopher player to score two shorthanded goals in a game since Nov. 25, 2006 when Mike Carman scored twice against Michigan. That game also marked Lucia's only previous shorthanded goal prior to his two on Friday. His second score came at 3:54 of the third period and was set up by Jay Barriball, who became the 78th player in school history to score 100 career points.

The Gophers improved to 1-3-1 overall with the win in their fifth straight conference game to open the season. Alaska Anchorage is now 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Seawolves have split their previous three weekends and were coming off a 2-1 win over North Dakota last Saturday.

Alaska Anchorage struck first in the opening period, but the Gophers shut down the Seawolves the rest of the period from that point, holding a 13-3 advantage in shots. Nick Haddad scored a power play goal, tipping a long shot in front of the goal at 8:09 of the first period, but it would be Alaska Anchorage's last shot attempt of the period. Trevor Hunt and Curtis Leinweber had assists on the play for the Seawolves.

Minnesota, which had been shutout in both of its games last weekend against Denver, finally broke its scoreless streak with a goal from defenseman Aaron Ness at 13:25 of the first period. It was just the third career goal for the sophomore, who broke the Gophers' scoreless string at 146 minutes, 33 seconds. It also nearly broke Minnesota's power play drought, but came one second after the Seawolves' player left the penalty box. Jordan Schroeder took the original shot from the slot and the rebound bounced free to Ness to the left of goaltender Bryce Christianson and he buried the shot. Cade Fairchild also assisted the goal.

Alaska Anchorage had plenty of opportunities to take command early in the second period, getting three overlapping Gopher penalties early in the period that resulted in two five-on-three power plays of one minute, 31 seconds and one second. However, Minnesota and Kangas kept the Seawolves off the board and then tallied a shorthanded goal of its own on the final penalty. Kangas

Lucia scored his first goal and the Gophers' second shorthanded goal of the season on a breakaway at 4:47 of the second period on an outlet pass from Taylor Matson. It was Lucia's second career shorthanded goal and first since his Nov. 25, 2006 in his freshman year against Michigan.

Wehrs and Budish each scored their milestone goals late in the period to push Minnesota's margin to 4-1. Wehrs tallied his goal from above the left faceoff dot on a low shot that slid under the outstretched glove of Christianson. Lucia started the play with a cross-ice pass and Wehrs connected for his first goal in 79 career games played. Budish scored his a short time later with a rebound goal on a delayed penalty against the Seawolves. Schroeder passed in front of the net to Patrick White, who tried a backhanded shot that bounced free to Budish on the far side for the tip-in.

Minnesota added to its lead with Lucia's second shorthanded goal. He and Barriball came into the zone on a two-on-one and Barriball passed to Lucia directly in front of the net. Lucia patiently waited for Christianson to commit and then he calmly lifted a shot into the upper corner.

The Gophers appeared to add another a short time later when Mike Hoeffel whistled a shot through Christianson's legs. However, the officials ruled that Barriball slid through the crease and knocked the net off before the puck crossed the line.

Minnesota was unable to score on five power plays, including three in the first period and a five-on-three during the final two minutes of the game. The Gophers are now 0-for-25 on the power play for the season, but have scored three shorthanded goals. Alaska Anchorage was one-for-eight on the man advantage. Christianson made 29 saves in net for the Seawolves.

The final two minutes were marred by penalties with 36 minutes of penalties called during the final stretch. For the game, Minnesota had 19 penalties for 38 minutes, while Alaska Anchorage had 16 penalties for 40 minutes. The Gophers also played most of the night without freshman Nick Leddy, who was injured after taking a hit on a shot attempt in the first period.

The two teams will meet again Sunday at 4 p.m. at Mariucci Arena. They are taking Saturday night off due to the Gopher football game against Michigan State at TCF Bank Stadium.