University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

FAIRBANKS – For the first time in four weeks, Alaska is finally back home as it will take on Michigan Tech, Nov. 29-30, in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association weekend series at the Carlson Center.
 
The Nanooks (5-5-2, 2-4-0 WCHA) will face their first opponent that was a previous member of the old WCHA in the Huskies (4-8-2, 2-3-1 WCHA) as they've battled their former Central Collegiate Hockey Association foes in the opening three series.
 
The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. (AST) both nights and you can watch the action live on WCHA TV or listen live on ESPN Radio 820 AM KCBF or online at 820sports.com.
 
Last weekend, the Nanooks fell in both games at then-No. 10/13 Ferris State, dropping 5-3 and 4-3 decisions to the Bulldogs from the sold out Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapid, Mich. Despite the defeats, the Nanooks saw one of their seniors reach a career milestone.
 
Senior center Cody Kunyk (Sherwood Park, Alberta/Business Administration) became the 30th player in program history to score 100 career points with his goal in the third period of Friday's game. On Saturday he scored twice more and added an assists, all in the second period, to up his career total to 103 points (47-56—103), which is one shy of former Nanook and current head coach Dallas Ferguson (17-87—104).
 
Alaska found itself in holes in both games but managed to put together surges. After falling behind 4-0 early in the third Friday, the Nanooks scored thrice to make it a 4-3 game midway through the third before ultimately giving up an empty-net goal late to make it 5-3.
 
The following night, FSU went up 3-0 after one but a goal on the first shift of the second by sophomore defenseman Colton Parayko (St. Albert, Alberta/Business Administration), sparked a 3-0 run as Kunyk added two goals, one shorthanded, to tie the game at the halfway mark of regulation.
 
Among the league leaders, Parayko is tied for first with nine assists, while Kunyk is second with nine goals. Kunyk is tied for fifth in points (9-4—13) and tied for sixth in power-play scores (3). Sophomore center Tyler Morley (Burnaby, British Columbia/Business Administration) is also tied for 11th in points (5-6—11). Rookie right wing Marcus Basara (Port Moody, British Columbia/Business Administration ranks tied for fourth among rookies in scoring (5-2—7) and Parayko is tied for fourth in scoring among defenseman (1-9—10).
 
About Michigan Tech:
The Huskies have had a chance to get comfortable in the state as it has spent more than a week in Alaska after taking on Alaska Anchorage last weekend on the road. They enter with a 4-8-2 overall record and 3-4-1 mark in WCHA play following a 0-1-1 week at UAA.
 
Alex Petan leads MTU in scoring with 10 points (6-4—10) this year through 14 games. Tanner Kero is right behind Petan with nine points (4-5—9). North Pole, Alaska, native Pheonix Copley is the leader between the pipes with a 2.07 goals against average, ranking fourth in the WCHA. He is also fourth with a .926 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 (WCHA TV)