FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- The Alaska Nanooks hockey team looks for its first pair of Western Collegiate Hockey Association wins this weekend, as they'll host Northern Michigan in the its WCHA home-opening series. The Nanooks and Wildcats will face-off twice this weekend, as they'll take to the ice at the Carlson Center on Friday and Saturday. Both games are slated for a 7:07 p.m. start time.
The Nanooks (2-4-0, 0-2-0 WCHA) enter this weekend in search of their first conference win of the 2015-16 season, as they suffered a WCHA season-opening sweep at defending conference champion, Minnesota State.
Where to Watch/Listen
Fans can watch this weekend's contest exclusively on WCHA.tv. Fans can purchase a single game for $7.99, a day pass to see every WCHA game that day for $9.99 or buy a season pass, which includes every single Alaska Nanooks contest both home and away for $89.99. Fans who are wanting to watch every WCHA game this season can purchase the WCHA season pass for $129.99
This weekend's games will also be broadcasted live on ESPN 820am in the Fairbanks area and worldwide on the IHeart Media App with Bruce Cech providing live play-by-play from the Carlson Center.
Last Time Out
The Nanooks concluded its season-opening road trip with a 2-1 loss at Minnesota State last Saturday. Freshman John Mullally collected his first goal of the year in the first period, but the Mavericks would find the equalizer in the second frame before taking the lead in the third period to send Alaska back to the Last Frontier with an 0-2-0 start to the WCHA season.
All-Time Series
These two teams are very familiar with one another, as both teams entered the WCHA in 2013 after spending numerous season together in the now defunct Central Collegiate Hockey Association. The Wildcats hold a 31-8-12 lead in the all-time series and NMU won the last contest between the two with a 4-1 decision back on Nov. 29, 2014.
100-Point Club
Senior Tyler Morley is just two points away from becoming the most recent member of the Nanooks 100-point club. The senior enters this weekend with 98 points after handing out a pair of assists in last Friday's contest against Minnesota State. Morley has collected 45 goals and 53 assists in his 105 game career with the Nanooks.
First Collegiate Point
On Saturday, freshman John Mullally collected the first point of his collegiate career with a goal in the first period at Minnesota State. Though it is his first official point, it is the second time the Whitecourt, Nova Scotia native has score a goal in a Nanook uniform, as he found the back of the net in the season-opening Blue-Gold exhibition game.
Career-Best Outing
Despite not picking up the win, junior goalkeeper Davis Jones picked up a career-best 40 saves in last Friday's contest against Minnesota State. The 40 deflections marks the first time in Jones' career that he has picked up 40-or-more saves. His previous-best performance also came against MSU, as he saved 38 shots on Dec. 5, 2014.
Scouting the Opposition – Northern Michigan
The Wildcats enter this weekend in a three-way tie for third in the WCHA, as they post a 2-1-1 mark four games into the season. Northern Michigan is coming off a 3-1 home win against Bemidji State, as they collected three points against the Beavers last weekend. Overall, NMU is 3-2-3.
Sophomore Robbie Payne leads the team in goals with four. Payne is one of three NMU players to have more than one goal this season, as senior Darren Novick and junior John Siemer each have three goals, with two coming in WCHA play. As a team, Northern Michigan has collected 19 goals through eight games.
Freshman goalkeeper Atte Tolvanen has been a force in between the pipes of late, as he held Bemidji to just one goal the entire weekend to earn the WCHA's first-ever Rookie of the Month honor. Tolvanen complied a 1.99 goals against average, a .942 save percentage and a 2-2-3 record in his first month of collegiate hockey to win the award.
Coaches Corner
"We're excited to be back home and playing conference games in front of our home fans. Northern Michigan is a team that plays a real steady game. They're a real consistent team and over the year we've had some really competitive series with them. They are never really out of it, so if you have a chance to get a lead on them early you have to take it because they are a team that's well-coached and have some players that can make some plays." – Head Coach Dallas Ferguson on Northern Michigan
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