FAIRBANKS, AK - University of Alaska Fairbanks hockey head coach
Tavis MacMillan and the 2005-06 Nanook hockey team will kick-off the new season of UAF hockey on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the
5th Annual UAF Hockey Kick-Off Banquet to be held at the Carlson Center. The keynote speaker for the evening is ESPN hockey anchor and analyst,
Barry Melrose.
The evening will begin at 6:00 p.m. with a no host social where fans will have a chance to meet the players and coaches. The dinner and program portion of the night will begin at 7:00 p.m.
Melrose, who joined ESPN after coaching the Los Angeles Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, has been a stand-out hockey analyst and commentator on ESPN and ABC since 1995.
Born in Kelvington, Saskatchewan, Melrose made his NHL debut with the Winnipeg Jets for the 1979-80 season. A defenseman, he played for the Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings before retiring after the 1986 season.
Following his playing career, Melrose entered the coaching realm. His first coaching position was with the Medicine Hat Tigers and then the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League. In 1989, Melrose was hired to coach his former team, the Adirondack Red Wings in the American Hockey League. He led the minor league franchise to a Calder Cup victory over the St. John's Maple Leafs in the 1991-92 season.
- UAF HOCKEY -
