FAIRBANKS, Alaska – This Friday and Saturday, the Alaska Nanooks hockey team hosts their home opener with the ninth annual Brice Alaska Goal Rush tournament at the Carlson Center. The Nooks take on Canisius College on Friday, Oct. 14 before facing the Omaha Mavericks on Saturday, Oct 15. Both games are tentatively scheduled for 7:07 p.m. AKT.
| Participating Teams |
Alaska Anchorage Seawolves | Canisius Golden Griffins | Omaha Mavericks |
| Brice Schedule |
Friday, Oct. 14
Alaska Anchorage vs. Omaha at 4:07 pm AKT
Alaska vs. Canisius at 7:07 pm AKT
Saturday, Oct. 15
Alaska Anchorage vs. Canisius at 4:07pm AKT
Alaska vs. Omaha at 7:07 pm AKT |
| Promotions |
Ticket Promo: Union Members who show their Union IDs at the door receive one half-off general admission ticket
Face-Off Club Tailgate: Free hot dogs, hamburgers and drinks from 4-6pm outside the Carlson Center on Saturday (Oct. 15)
Alaska Nanooks SAAC Canned Food Drive: Bring canned food to any Alaska Nanooks home games for the entire month of October that will get donated to the Fairbanks Food Bank
Seekins Sock Drive: Bring a new pair of socks to Saturday's game that will get donated to the Fairbanks Rescue Mission for the winter months
Post-Game Cookie Social & Autograph Signing: Directly after Saturday's game, meet the team, get autographs and eat some cookies in the Pioneer Room of the Carlson Center |
| Game Notes |
Nanooks | Seawolves | Mavericks | Golden Griffins |
| Follow Along |
Stream & Stats: WCHA.tv
Radio: ESPN 820 AM Fairbanks or 820sports.com |
| Social Media |
Twitter | Facebook |
Where to Watch & Listen
Nanook fans can watch all four Brice Alaska Goal Rush games live on WCHA.tv on Friday and Saturday. Hockey fans can purchase a single-team season pass for $89.99, which gives live and archived coverage for all Nanook hockey's nonconference home games, all WCHA regular season games (home and away) and all potential 2017 league postseason games (home and away). Other packages include single-team road pass ($44.99), a WCHA monthly pass ($24.99), a single-team monthly pass ($19.99), league-wide nightly pass ($9.99) or a single-team nightly pass ($8.99).
Furthermore, longtime Nanook hockey commentator Bruce Cech will be broadcasting live from the Carlson Center for all four contests on Friday and Saturday's game on ESPN 820 AM Fairbanks or 820sports.com
Last Time Out
Last weekend, the Nanooks travelled 360 miles South to Anchorage for the UAA Hockey Classic. The Nooks opened the 2016-17 season taking on in-state rival Alaska Anchorage, defeating the Seawolves 4-1 on Saturday before falling to the now-No. 9 Minnesota Gophers 6-3 on Sunday.
Brice Alaska Goal Rush
This year marks the ninth annual Brice Alaska Goal Rush, with the Nanooks looking to win their fifth consecutive title. The Nanooks and the UAA Seawolves will not face each other in the tournament, as each team takes on the Canisius Golden Griffins and the Omaha Mavericks, flip-flopping opponents Friday and Saturday. Since it is not a round-robin tournament, the tournament champion is decided by a series of tiebreakers.
Last season, the two Alaska teams were tied for first place, with both the Nanooks and the Seawolves going 2-0 in the tournament but Alaska was decided as the champion due to the goal differential tiebreaker.
The Nanooks are 13-1-2 overall in the nine-year tournament, with Alaska and Alaska Anchorage being the only two teams to win the coveted title. Alaska is a six-time champion, capturing the past four tournament titles consecutively (2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015).
Promotions & Events
Any Union members who show their Union ID cards at the door will receive half-off one general admission ticket. The promotion is good for all four games throughout the two-day tournament.
The Alaska Nanooks Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is hosting a canned food drive throughout the entire month of October. Bring any non-perishable food item to any Alaska Nanook game the month of October to be donated to the Fairbanks Food Bank.
On Saturday, the Face-Off Club is hosting a tailgate party with free food and beverages outside the Carlson Center from 4-6pm. The FOC is also hosting a cookie social and autograph signing directly following Saturday's game in the Pioneer Room of the Carlson Center. Fans can eat cookies, mingle with the team and their parents and get autographs from their favorite players.
Seekins Ford is also encouraging fans to bring new pairs of socks to toss into an F-150 at intermission that will then get donated to the Fairbanks Rescue Mission for the winter months.
All-Time Series – Canisius
The Nanooks are 2-1-0 all-time against the Griffs, with the last meeting between the teams coming as a 3-1 loss for the Nanooks at the Kendall Classic in Anchorage on Oct. 13, 2012. Alaska is 2-0 against the Griffs at home, with the last two home games against Canisius being played Jan. 16-17, 1989.
All-Time Series – Omaha
Alaska is Omaha's most-played opponent to this day, as the two teams played against one another in the now-defunct CCHA until 2012. The Nanooks are 16-23-11 against the Mavericks, with the last meeting between the two teams coming as a 2-1 loss on Jan. 9, 2010. The Nanooks are 12-6-6 against the Mavericks at home.
Brice Record Holders
Four current Alaska Nanooks are featured in the individual Brice Alaska Goal Rush records. Junior forward
Tayler Munson and fellow-junior forward
Austin Vieth, both of whom are former BAGR Tournament MVPs (2014 and 2015, respectively), are tied for first in the single-game goals category with two each. Munson scored two goals in both Brice contests last season, making him the only player in tournament history to do so. Vieth and Munson are also tied for second in single-game points with three each.
Junior defenseman
Zach Frye ranks third in single-game assists with two, putting up two apples in back-to-back nights in the 2015 tournament. Senior goaltender
Davis Jones is tied for tenth in single-game saves with 30.
For entire tournament records, Munson leads the goals category with four, while Vieth ranks second with three. Frye is tied for first in the assist categories with four and is also tied for third in total points with four. Munson leads the entire tournament point category, registering six points in two games during the 2015 tournament.
Chalkin' Up the Points
Six Nooks are tied for the lead with two points each, with four players posting two-point games. Redshirt-junior
Justin Woods and sophomore forward
Ryker Leer each contributed a goal and an assist to defeat the UAA Seawolves on Saturday, before junior defenseman
Zach Frye and senior forward
Brandon Morley each posted two points in the Nooks' 6-3 loss to Minnesota on Sunday.
Special Teams Toss-Up
In last Sunday's 6-3 loss to Minnesota the Alaska Nanooks unfortunately gave up two shorthanded goals, but Alaska also collected one power play goal in both Saturday and Sunday's contest. Alaska's power play goals came from both junior defensemen alternate captains Woods and Frye, with Woods scoring Alaska's first goal of the season on Sunday and Frye tying the game 1-1 against Minnesota on Sunday.
2016-17 Captains
Earlier this month, head coach
Dallas Ferguson announced this year's Alaska Hockey leadership group, with senior forward
Brandon Morley donning the "C" for the 2016-17 season. Morley becomes the only player in program history to inherit the captainship from his brother in consecutive seasons, as former Nanook standout
Tyler Morley was the captain for the 2015-16 season. Fellow-senior
Josh Erickson, redshirt-junior
Justin Woods and junior
Zach Frye were selected as alternate captains for the upcoming season, with Frye being the only repeat captain from the previous year.
WCHA Preseason Polls
Last month, the Alaska Nanooks were ranked to finish tenth in the Mankato Free Press WCHA Preseason Coaches Poll and eighth in the Bemidji Pioneer WCHA Media Poll. The Nanooks were picked to finish eighth in both polls last season, falling two spots in the Coaches Poll this preseason. Freshman forward
Colton Leiter was the lone Alaska representative in the individual preseason awards, receiving one vote for the WCHA Rookie of the Year.
Fresh Faces
The Alaska Nanooks hockey team welcomes 12 newcomers to the 29-man roster for the 2016-17 season, which features seven forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders. This year's freshman class hails from three countries, including Canada (6), the United State (5) and Sweden (1).
Couple Vets
With such a large freshman class, it's easy to overlook all 17 returners from the 2015-16 roster. The remaining classes are made up of four seniors, five juniors and eight sophomores. Positionally, the Nanooks bring back two goaltenders, seven defensemen and 11 forwards.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey team page on Facebook.
