2014-15 Schedule FAIRBANKS – Head coach
Dallas Ferguson is happy to announce Alaska Hockey's schedule for the 2014-15 season, which features a pair of non-conference tournaments, a road series at a former league foe and the 28-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association slate.
The Nanooks, who went 18-15-4 this past season and finished third in the WCHA standings, will play 16 regular-season home games and one exhibition at the Carlson Center as well as an intrasquad scrimmage at Patty Ice Arena. They will also compete twice on neutral ice down in Anchorage and hit the road for 16 road games.
"It's going to be exciting," Ferguson said of his team's upcoming schedule. "Every season brings new challenges and we're certainly looking forward to our schedule and the teams we're competing against."
Alaska will split the roster in half for the annual Blue vs. Gold game on Sept. 27 on campus and will play for the first time on the big sheet at the Carlson Center on Oct. 3 against Western Ontario prior to the start of the season.
Games begin to count Oct. 10-11 at the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage when the Nanooks will face Wisconsin out of the Big Ten Conference and Maine from the Hockey East Conference.
"The names [of our opponents] speak for themselves," Ferguson said. "We go down to the Kendall and will play Wisconsin and Maine, which are both strong programs with strong history and will certainly be a tough field down there."
Alaska returns home the next week for the Brice Alaska Goal Rush, which will feature games against Air Force out of Atlantic Hockey and the Big Ten's Penn State, led by former Alaska bench boss, Guy Gadowsky.
"We've played Air Force a few times in recent years and it is a competitive program and has done well in its league," Ferguson said. "With Penn State, getting through its first year in the Big Ten, there was a lot of respect earned for its program. Also, having Gads coming back to Fairbanks is a cool thing for the fans because of what he's done for Alaska Hockey."
The non-conference portion of the schedule wraps up Oct. 24-25 in Kalamazoo, Mich., when the 'Nooks battle NCHC foe and former CCHA rival Western Michigan in a two-game series.
"It's a tough start with our non-conference schedule but we have to find ways to be successful," Ferguson said. "We have a series in Anchorage, a series at home and a series on the road, so this will get us well prepared for the WCHA."
The Nanooks learned quickly how tough the WCHA was last season as seeds three through nine were separated by just six points. The first year in the new conference, Alaska went 14-12-2 and wrapped up the No. 3 seed in arguably the tightest league in college hockey.
"When you go any weekend without getting any points, you can fall down in the standings but on the other side of it, if you get points on both nights, you see how you can work your way up there," Ferguson said. "It's a very competitive league from start to finish and we're certainly looking forward to be able to compete in the league again."
Alaska will open WCHA play Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at Bemidji State – a team which Alaska beat and tied last year on the road. It returns home Nov. 7-8 against Bowling Green in the first home conference outings of the year before taking a bye for the first time in seven weekends.
The rest of the fall semester includes series at Lake Superior State (Nov. 21-22), versus Northern Michigan (Nov. 28-29), at WCHA Final Five champion Minnesota State (Dec. 5-6) and against Alabama Huntsville (Dec. 12-13) at home.
The Nanooks kick off 2015 with a home series against defending WCHA champion Ferris State on Jan. 2-3 in the team's only series of the season.
After completing the season set at Bowling Green on Jan. 9-10, Alaska returns home for games one and two of the Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup, Jan. 16-17, against in-state rival Alaska Anchorage.
Following a bye, Alaska heads out to the upper peninsula of Michigan for the final time of the year at Michigan Tech, Jan. 23-24, and comes back home for the final two home series on the schedule against LSSU on Feb. 6-7 and Minnesota State on Feb. 13-14.
A bye week prepares the 'Nooks for their final two road trips as they visit Alabama for the first time as members of the WCHA to take on UAH on Feb. 27-28. The regular season comes to a close March 6-7 as the Nanooks fly back to the state of Alaska but trek down to Anchorage to vie for a sixth straight Governor's Cup crown against the Seawolves.
"The starts are really important," Ferguson said of getting wins early in conference season. "Anytime you're going to have success in the standings, you don't want to rely on it like we did this year. You want your body of work to count. In the first half, we thought we deserved a little better fate but you get what you earn in each game and it's about putting it together for all 28 games. If you do that, you'll be in a good position going into the postseason."
The first round of the WCHA Playoffs are set for March 12-14 at the top four seeds in a best-of-three series with the winners advancing to the Final Five March 20-21 at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn.
"Next year is a new year," Ferguson said. "We've never been to Alabama, we've never been to Mankato and we head to the UP twice to play Tech and Lake Superior, which are tough teams. We have to find ways to continue to have success on the road. When we get back home to the Carlson Center, we have to take care of business but being competitive and prepared to play every night, every weekend is no secret."
For more information, contact Hockey SID Chris Brooks at cpbrooks@alaska.edu.
