University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

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FAIRBANKS – The rivalry has virtually become a season-long best-of-seven series as four regular-season games were not enough for both Alaska and Alaska Anchorage.
 
The third-seeded Nanooks (17-13-4) and sixth-seeded Seawolves (16-14-4) will hit the ice against one another in the first round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs, with the winner of the best-of-three quarterfinals earning the right to compete for the conference title at the Final Five in Grand Rapids, Mich.
 
The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. AST on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (if necessary) from the Carlson Center (4,595). Both games can be seen online at WCHA TV and listened to on ESPN Radio 820 AM KCBF or online at 820sports.com.
 
Tickets went on sale today at noon and can be purchased at the Patty Center box office, the Carlson Center, Fred Meyer or at ticketmaster.com. The Nanooks announced they will be having a "White Out" once again this weekend and will have more rally towels while supplies last.
 
This will be the teams' second-ever meeting during postseason as UAA defeated Alaska 4-3 in overtime in the 1992 Division I Independents postseason tournament in Fairbanks.
 
This year, Alaska and UAA split the season series 2-2 with each team earning one win on the opponent's ice. Back in December, UAA won game one 3-2 while Alaska rallied for a 5-4 victory the following night.
 
Last weekend, Cody Kunyk produced more than a hat trick to lead the Nanooks to a 7-2 win Friday and the Seawolves came back to take the final meeting 3-1. Due to season split, the Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup was decided in a shootout with Alaska winning it 2-1 to claim its fifth straight Cup title.
 
Kunyk tallied a career-best four goals Friday and was named WCHA Co-Offensive Player of the Week as he finished the regular season as the WCHA scoring champion, leading the league in overall goals and points (22 & 42) and conference-only goals and points (17 & 34).
 
Tyler Morley also scored twice in the first period Saturday for the third multi-goal game of his sophomore season and Trevor Campbell recorded one goal and two assists in the triumph. The following night, Garrick Perry found the net as he has scored against UAA in each of the past two seasons.
 
Sean Cahill earned the weekend split to take his season record to 9-4-1, all of which came during conference play. He made 20 saves in Friday's five-goal win but took the loss after stopping 28 shots in the 3-1 defeat.
 
The Nanooks enter the postseason having won nine of 11 games to move from ninth to third while the Seawolves ended a three-game skid in the season finale to clinch the six spot. UAA owns an 84-56-11 advantage all-time including a 35-34-6 edge in games played in Fairbanks.
 
The Nanooks lead the WCHA with 3.47 goals per game after lighting the lamp 118 times in the 34-game regular season. They rank tied for fifth in scoring defense, allowing 2.76 per outing and are third on the power play, having scored 28 times on the man advantage (18.7%). Alaska is also fifth on the penalty kill with an 84.5 percent success rate.
 
Seven Nanooks have been nominated for WCHA postseason awards, which will be announced Thursday afternoon, prior to game one of Alaska's best-of-three series against Anchorage.
 
Scouting UAA:
The Seawolves enter this weekend's series with a 16-14-4 overall record and finished sixth in the WCHA standings at 12-12-4. It was UAA's best league finish ever as a member of the WCHA. UAA is 6-39 all-time in WCHA first-round matchups.
 
Matt Bailey led the Seawolves this season with 35 points (18-17—35) while both Scott Allen (16-12—28) and Jordan Kwas (12-16—28) finished with 28 points. Blake Tatchell also led the program with 19 assists. Anchorage is led on the blue line by Austin Coldwell and Chase Van Allen, who combined for 24 points during the year.
 
Rob Gunderson, who picked up the win in net last Saturday, is fourth in the WCHA with a 2.41 goals against average to go with his .906 save percentage and 8-6-2 record. Chris Kamal finished with a 2.75 GAA to go with an .894 save percentage and 6-6-1 mark.
 
UAA is fifth in the league with 2.71 goals per game while tying Alaska for fifth with 2.76 goals allowed per game. It is also sixth on the power play (17.4%) and seventh on the penalty kill (81.0%)

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)