University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

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Game Notes (Nov. 1)
Game Notes (Nov. 2)

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Alaska wrapped up its non-conference portion of the 2013-14 season schedule last weekend and the program's new era in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association begins this weekend, Nov. 1-2, when it hosts Northern Michigan at the Carlson Center.

More than 50 family members of active Alaska hockey players will be in town for Family Weekend and each will be recognized on ice following the first period of Friday night's game.

The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. both nights. Northern leads the all-time series 28-8-12, which dates back to the 1989-90 season. NMU is also 9-6-5 in games played in Fairbanks. Last season, Alaska went 0-1-1 in Marquette before sweeping the series at home.
 
The Nanooks (3-1-2) are coming off their second consecutive 1-0-1 week with a 5-4 win and a 3-3 tie against Mercyhurst, in a series played on campus at Patty Ice Arena.
 
The 'Nooks trailed 4-1 Friday before reeling off four in a row, including three in the third period to win the game and overcame a 2-0 deficit Saturday, scoring three straight, before settling for a 3-3 overtime stalemate.
 
Senior captain Colton Beck (Langley, British Columbia/Business Administration) led the team with a 5-point weekend with two goals and three assists. He scored both of his goals and dished out two of three helpers in Friday's come-from-behind victory against the Lakers.
 
Trailing 4-2 and on the penalty kill, Beck scored a shorthanded goal off a turnover 34 seconds into the third and tied the game with a power-play tally with 9:39 to go. The Nanooks completed the comeback with 1:39 remaining when Beck fed senior assistant captain Cody Kunyk (Sherwood Park, Alberta/Business Administration) buried it in the back of the net with a one-timer.
 
Other notable performances for the Nanooks were sophomore Nolan Huysmans (Ponoka, Alberta/Business Administration), Kunyk and sophomore Tyler Morley (Burnaby, British Columbia/Business Administration).
 
Huysmans scored twice and assisted on another as he has already matched his goal total from his rookie season (5). In addition to Kunyk's game-winner Friday, he also had assists on both of Beck's goals in the third period. Morley added one goal and one assists for a two-point weekend.
 
Kunyk is also approaching a career milestone as he is now at 98 points for his career. In 117 games played, he has scored 43 goals and tallied 55 assists.
 
In the national scene, Kunyk is tied for 13th in points with eight (5-3—8) while Huysmans is tied for 25th with 7 points (5-2—7). Both are near the top in goals scored, ranking tied for sixth. Sophomore assistant captain Colton Parayko (St. Albert, Alberta/Business Administration) is also tied for 18th in the assists department, with five.
 
As a team, Alaska tied for 13th in scoring with 3.5 goals per game and ranks tied for 26th with 2.83 goals allowed per game.
 
About Northern Michigan:
The Wildcats bring in a 2-4-0 overall record with a 1-1-0 mark in WCHA play after splitting with Michigan Tech last weekend. NMU blanked MTU 2-0 Friday at home before falling 4-1 the following night in Houghton.
 
The 'Cats are led by Stephan Vigier, who has six points (5-1—6) this season. CJ Ludwig has points (2-3—5) and Mathias Dahlstrom has made four starts with a 2.77 goals against average and a .912 save percentage. Michael Doan made starts in a pair of non-conference games with a 2.53 goals against average and a .902 save percentage.
 
Important Links for this weekend's series:
Live Stats: alaskananooks.com
Live Audio: ESPN Radio 820 AM KCBF
Live Video: America One Sports (WCHATV)