FAIRBANKS – The Alaska hockey team hosts Alabama Huntsville this weekend, as it looks to continue its run of good form from earning a pair of victories over ranked opponents in its last two Western Collegiate Hockey Association series.
Also competing this weekend is the Alaska men's basketball team, as it travels to Anchorage to partake in the Seawolf Jamboree hosted by the University of Alaska Anchorage. There, the Nanooks will face Humboldt State and BYU-Hawaii.
HOCKEY
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• The Alaska Nanooks (8-8-0) split a weekend series against #2 Minnesota State in Mankatio this past weekend. Alaska won 5-4 in overtime in the series opener, Friday, before losing 5-2 the following night.
• For the weekend, Tyler Morley netted three goals for the Nanooks, including two in Friday's win and a power play tally on Saturday.
• Freshmen Austin Vieth and Tayler Morley each had big weekends for Alaska, as Vieth scored two goals, including the game winner in Friday's victory. Morley had two assists, including one in Vieth's overtime goal, and added a goal himself.
• The Mavericks, ranked #2 in the latest USCHO.com poll, represented the third ranked team the Nanooks have beaten this season. Alaska split with #19 Northern Michigan last season and defeated then ranked #10 Wisconson, 1-0 to open the regular season.
• Not backing down from a challenge, the Nanooks have earned 13 victories over ranked opponents in the past five seasons including a sweep of #4 Ferris State last year.
• Last season, the Chargers and Nanooks met for a single series in Fairbanks, where Alaska earned a pair of 6-1 victories.
• The 2013-14 meetings between the two teams was the first since the 1992-93 season, there the Nanooks also earned a 6-1 victory, in addition to an 11-1 win.
• Historically, the Nanooks hold a 13-4-1 record over the Chargers, and an impressive 7-2-0 record in Fairbanks.
• Huntsville's last win over Alaska came in 6-1 win in January of 1992, and its last win in Fairbanks came on Dec. 18 1990 (6-3).
• Tyler Morley is now tied for third in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with 16 points. He averages 1.14 points per game, a mark which is second in the conference.
• Marcus Basara now ranks tied for fifth in the WCHA in goals with seven. The sophomore averages a goal every two games and leads the Nanooks in that department. Austin Vieth is right behind Basara with six goals, a mark which puts him tied for eighth in the WCHA.
BASKETBALL
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The Nanooks (2-5) enter the Seawolf Jamboree having lost their last three games. Last weekend Alaska opened up Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a pair of loses to Western Oregon and Saint Martin's.
Alaska will play the first game on both Friday and Saturday, as it tips-off at 6:00 p.m. Friday against No. 16 nationally ranked BYU-Hawaii and 5:00 p.m. on Saturday against Humboldt-State.
Ashton Edwards has been Alaska's most prolific scorer in the early part of the season, as the junior guard has tallied 14.7 points per game, a mark that is 10th in the GNAC. Edwards also has an impressive .438 pct. from the three-point line, as he has gone 21-48 from beyond the arc.
Ruben Silvas and Adam Griffin have been Alaska's next highest scorers, at 10.4 and 9.0 points per game, respectively. Silvas also leads the team with 5.6 rebounds per game, while Almir Hadzisehovic is second with 4.4.
As a team, the Nanooks are third in the GNAC in terms of scoring defense, as they have allowed just 67.9 points per game.
BYU-Hawaii – ranked No. 16 in the NABC (coaches) and No. 12 in the D2SIDA (sports information directors) top-25 polls – is coming off Pac West Conference opening wins over rivals Hawaii Pacific (75-61) and Chaminade (104-87) last week ... the Seasiders, who are leaving Oahu for the first time this year, are led by 6-3 Sr. G Pablo Coro (18.5 ppg, 3.8 apg, .438 3FG, .900 FT) and 6-5 Jr. G Scott Friel (13.2 ppg, 9.0 rpg, .554 FG). The last meeting between the two schools was in 2011-12 when BYU-Hawaii won, 66-65.
Humboldt State – Has dropped its only four games against D-II competition thus far, including road losses to San Francisco State (67-58) and UAA common opponent Sonoma State (80-70) last week ... the Lumberjacks, from Arcata, Calif., feature 11 players who average between 15.5 and 25.7 minutes per game, led by Allan Guei (12.4 ppg, 2.8 apg, .600 FG, .875 FT) and Austin Bryan (11.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, .405 3FG) ... the only unbeaten team remaining in the NCAA Div. II West Region. The last meeting between the two programs was in the 2005-06, which the Lumberjacks won.
