GAME CENTRAL
Date: Fri., Feb. 22/Sat., Feb. 23 | Time: 7:05 p.m. AKT/ 7:05 p.m. AKT
Venue: Carlson Center | Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Live Stats: AlaskaNanooks.com | Live Audio: KCBF 820 Sports
Live Video ($): AmericaOneSports.com | Radio: 820 AM Fairbanks
TV: Friday: GCI 1 Live at 7 p.m. (Anchorage only); Tape Delay on Fri., Feb. 22 at 10:30 p.m. AKT (Statewide but Anchorage)
Saturday: GCI 1 Live at 7 p.m. (Anchorage only); Tape Delay on Sat., Feb. 23 at 10:30 p.m. AKT (Statewide but Anchorage)
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - The Alaska Nanooks host the Michigan State Spartans this weekend (Feb. 22-23) at the Carlson Center, where they will play their final Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season home games. Both games faceoff at 7:05 p.m.
Here are the need to know notes about the Michigan State series and Alaska Hockey:
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Alaska hosts Michigan State this weekend to close out their final CCHA season. It marks the teams' first meeting this year and the third consecutive season the Nanooks will play the Spartans in their regular season CCHA finale.
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MSU leads the all-time series 41-15-3 and 16-9-2 in the Fairbanks meetings. Alaska is looking for revenge after getting swept in the team's only meetings last year, a 3-2 overtime loss and a 3-0 shutout at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing on Feb. 17-18, 2012.
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Under head coach Dallas Ferguson, the Nanooks are 5-5-2-1 against MSU, which includes a 4-1-1 mark in Fairbanks. Five of the teams' last 10 meetings have required an extra session and the teams are even at 4-4-2 in those encounters, each having won twice in overtime and winning one of the two necessitated CCHA shootouts.
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Last weekend, the Nanooks were swept in Sault Saint Marie for the second time in as many visits and have now dropped all four straight road games after being swept in Oxford two weeks ago. Alaska was undefeated in January, but has gone 1-5 since the start of February.
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With nine consecutive penalty kills on the weekend, Alaska improved its penalty killing efficiency to 89.2 percent (124-of-139) good for 6th in NCAA Division I and second for CCHA teams. They rank first in CCHA games with 107-of-121 successful kills or 88.4 percent.
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Senior right wing Andy Taranto ranks fifth in league scoring with 10-12--22 in 26 games. He has more than doubled his first-half of the season efforts, notching 4-8--12 since the start of 2013. He rides a five-game scoring streak (3-3--6) into the weekend and has earned a point in all but two games since the start of 2013.
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Freshman forward Nolan Huysmans scored his fourth goal of the season unassisted in Saturday's loss. It was his first since Nov. 30, 2012.
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First-year center Tyler Morley notched his second short-handed goal of the season in last Friday's loss. He leads Alaska's rookies offensively with 10-8--18, good for third on the team, and is one of three Nanooks with 10 goals on the season.
