Friday's Game Notes
Saturday's Game Notes
Video Preview
FAIRBANKS – Alaska closes its four-game home stand this weekend as it renews an old rivalry by welcoming in Alabama Huntsville to town for a pivotal Western Collegiate Hockey Association series, Jan. 31 – Feb. 1.
The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. AST on Friday and Saturday from the Carlson Center (4,595). Both games can be seen on WCHA TV and listened to on ESPN Radio 820 AM KCBF or online at 820sports.com. A part of Hockey Week in Fairbanks, fans can also see a display in the Pioneer Room from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
The Nanooks (10-12-4, 7-11-2 WCHA) are coming off a home split against Bemidji State (Jan. 24-25) and remained in a three-way tie in the league standings with Lake Superior State and Michigan Tech at 16 points while the Chargers sit in the cellar with only three points in 16 conference games.
Should Alaska earn its first WCHA sweep of the year, it could mathematically move up as high as tied for fifth with Bemidji State, depending on the outcomes of the two other series going on as Michigan Tech is at Bowling Green and Minnesota State heads to Northern Michigan. The top-eight teams will advance to the WCHA playoffs, which begin March 14 at the top-four seeds.
This weekend marks the first meeting between the Nanooks and Chargers in over two decades as the last game took place Dec. 11, 1992 – a 6-1 Alaska win in Fairbanks. Alaska leads the all-time series which dates back to 1987 by a 12-6-1 margin and is 7-3-0 on home ice. It has won five straight against UAH with the last Huntsville win coming back on Jan. 19, 1992 (6-1 in Huntsville).
Last weekend, Alaska split the home set with Bemidji State, which produced a pair of shutouts. On Friday, Alaska downed BSU 3-0 behind the first career clean sheet by junior goaltender
Sean Cahill (Calgary, Alberta/Business Administration), as he registered 27 saves between the pipes.
Junior left wing
Jared Larson (Apple Valley, Minn./Business Administration) had one goal and one assist while senior center
Cody Kunyk (Sherwood Park, Alberta/Business Administration) had a shorthanded tally and freshman right wing
Marcus Basara (Port Moody, British Columbia) provided the insurance with an empty-net score.
The following night was all Bemidji as the Beavers blanked the Nanooks 4-0 after
Andrew Walsh made 25 saves to preserve the shutout win and give the Beavers their first win over Alaska since March 11, 1984.
Cory Ward scored twice in that game and BSU went 2-for-3 on the power play while not allowing a Nanook goal on any of their six man-advantages.
Kunyk's goal Friday moved him to 116 career points on 51 goals and 65 assists, which ranks 19th all-time on the program's career scoring list. He currently ranks third in WCHA scoring with 26 points (13-13—26) and is tied for second with 13 goals.
Despite missing last weekend's series due to an undisclosed injury, sophomore center
Tyler Morley (Burnaby, British Columbia/Business Administration) is tied for ninth with 23 points and is one goal back of Kunyk with 12.
A pair of defensemen rank in the top-10 among WCHA scoring by defenders as sophomore
Colton Parayko (St. Albert, Alberta/Business Administration) is sixth with 16 points while senior
Michael Quinn (Surrey, British Columbia/Geography) is tied for seventh with 15 points. Basara is one the league's top freshman with 17 points, including a tie for the lead with 10 scores by rookies.
Scouting Alabama Huntsville:
The Chargers enter this weekend's series with a 1-24-1 overall record and are dead last in the WCHA standings with a 1-14-1 mark in league play.
Huntsville is coming off a bye and last took on Anchorage at home, tying 1-1 before losing 4-1 in the series finale. UAH is winless in its last 10 games, having last won on Dec. 7, 2013, at Bowling Green - a 4-3 overtime victory.
The Chargers are 1-12-0 away from home this season and have yet to take a lead into the third period this year. They are last in scoring in the WCHA with 0.96 goals per game and allow the most goals of any team in the conference at 4.35 goals per outing.
Matt Salhany leads the team with four goals and six assists this year while
Chad Brears is also tied for the team high in goals with four.
Carmine Guerriero has a 3.70 goals against average with 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 (WCHA TV)
