HOUGHTON, Mich. -- Chris Conner's game-tying goal with :23 left in regulation allowed the Michigan Tech (6-17-3, 5-10-3 WCHA) hockey team to force overtime and then secure a 2-2 tie with Alaska Anchorage (6-17-3, 4-13-3 WCHA) in the final game of a two-game series at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena Saturday night. Freshman Michael-Lee Teslak made 41 saves in net for the Huskies and improved to 6-8-2 on the season.

Justin Johnson scored his second goal of the weekend, a power-play tally, to kick off the evening's scoring for the Seawolves at the 12:43 mark of the opening frame. Brent McMann and Shane Lovdahl each picked up assists on the goal.

Tech quickly answered, however, as Nick Anderson netted his second point in as many days, with a power-play marker of his own at 14:02 of the first period. The senior winger blasted a picture-perfect one-timer from the left circle past UAA goalie Nathan Lawson high on the short side. The goal was Anderson's sixth of the season and fifth with a man advantage. Brandon Schwartz, who provided the feed for the one-timer to Anderson, recorded his 10th assist of the season on the play. Lars Helminen earned the second assist, one of two helpers the blueliner tallied in the contest.

The score remained 1-1 until the 7:48 mark of the final stanza, when the visitors converted on a 5-on-3 power play. Justin Bourne put his squad ahead behind assists from Chris Tarkir and Eric Walsky.

MTU outshot the Seawolves 19-9 in the third period, but Lawson closed the door on an array of point-blank shots by the Huskies. Tech's last hope for forcing overtime -- pulling Teslak with :49 left in the game for an extra skater -- paid off. Conner pounced on a loose pack that caromed around the net and off the boards right onto his stick. Helminen picked up his team-best 14th assist of the 2005-06 campaign after his hard shot from the point found its way to Conner. Tyler Shelast earned the second assist on the goal, which moved his season total to five.

The Huskies mounted a 7-3 shot advantage in the extra frame, but Lawson was once again strong in net for the Seawolves. Jake Wilkens' quick shot right in front of the net in traffic with :55 left to go almost slid past Lawson, but the hot goalkeeper held on for yet another key save.

The final shot tally revealed a 53-43 edge for Michigan Tech.

Lawson finished with 51 saves and saw his record move to 4-10-3 on the year.

MTU went 1-for-5 on the power play, compared to a 2-for-4 clip for UAA.

Michigan Tech is idle next week and will travel to Mankato, Minn., for a pivotal Western Collegiate Hockey Association series Feb. 3-4 at the Midwest Wireless Civic Center.

Notes:

• Conner's goal pushed his career total to 67 and launched him into a tie with Chris Cichocki (1982-85) for 19th place on Tech's all-time goal-scoring list.
• Conner is on a two-game goal streak (2-0--2) and he leads the team in points (15-10--25)
• Schwartz extended his point streak (3-3--6) to five games, which ties a season high set by Conner when he tallied 4-3--7 during a five-game stretch from Oct. 28 through Nov. 11.
• MTU is in the midst of a four-game unbeaten streak, its longest such streak since the 1997-98 campaign. From Feb. 20, 1998, through Feb. 28, 1998, the Huskies went 3-0-1. During that stretch, Tech swept Wisconsin, 4-2, 4-2, and took three points from Minnesota State, Mankato, with a 4-2 win and 4-4 tie. Each of those four games were played at home.
• Helminen's two point effort (0-2--2) was his third of the year and 16th of his career. His helper on Anderson's goal was his team-leading 11th power-play point of the season.
• The power-play marker by Anderson, his fifth of the year, tied the winger for the team lead in that category with Tyler Shelast.
• The Huskies are now 20-20-7 all-time vs. the Seawolves.
• Head coach Jamie Russell holds a 3-2-3 record against Alaska Anchorage.
• The 53 shots registered by Michigan Tech was its highest total since Feb. 25, 2005, when the Huskies put up 52 shots in a 2-2 tie at this weekend's opponent -- UAA.
• MTU is now 1-2-3 in overtime games in 2005-06.