ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks hockey team kicks off the 2016-17 season this weekend, by taking on in-state rival Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, Oct. 8, before facing off against NCAA powerhouse No. 11/13 Minnesota on Sunday, Oct. 9. Saturday's bout against UAA will begin at 7:07 p.m. AKT, while Sunday's matchup is scheduled for 4:07 p.m. AKT, both games will be held at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.
Where to Watch & Listen
Fans can watch both Saturday and Sunday's games live on WCHA.tv, as well as every home game and WCHA away contests for the remainder of the season. Hockey fans can purchase a single-team season pass for $89.99, which gives live and archived coverage for the all Nanook hockey's non-conference home games, all WCHA regular season league games (home and away) and all potential 2017 league postseason games (home and away). Other packages include single-team road pass ($44.99), WCHA monthly pass ($24.99), single-team monthly pass ($19.99), league-wide nightly pass ($9.99) or a single-team nightly pass ($8.99).
Furthermore, Alaska's game vs. in-state rival Alaska Anchorage and NCAA powerhouse Minnesota will both be aired live on GCI Channel 1 & 907 (HD). Longtime Nanook hockey commentator Bruce Cech will be broadcasting live from the Sullivan Arena in both Saturday and Sunday's game, on ESPN 820 AM Fairbanks or 820sports.com.
Last Time Out
Last Sunday, the Alaska Nanooks hosted the Simon Fraser Clan in a non-conference exhibition game to unofficially start the 2016-17 season. Despite an early push from SFU, the Nanooks were able to keep things scoreless in the first period thanks to senior goaltender Davis Jones. Thanks to two second-period goals from freshman forward Kylar Hope and sophomore forward Chad Staley, the Nooks were able to defeat the Clan 2-0.
All-Time Series – Alaska Anchorage
The Alaska Nanooks trail the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves 61-89-12 all-time, going 22-50-7 when playing in Anchorage. The Nanooks are on a two-game winning streak against the Seawolves, sweeping UAA at home last Mar. 4-5 to claim the Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup and also steal the eighth and final WCHA playoff spot. This will be the 163rd meeting between Alaska and Alaska Anchorage, with the Nanooks going 5-4-1 in the past ten meetings. Saturday's non-conference meeting between the Nooks and the Seawolves will be one of five meetings between the two teams this upcoming season, it should also be noted that Saturday's match-up will not count toward the Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup.
All-Time Series – Minnesota
The Nanooks are 1-2-1 against the Gophers, going 0-1-0 on neutral ice. The first game between the two clubs came as a 4-0 loss to the Nanooks on Dec. 20, 1986. Cut to 2005, where the Nanooks beat the Gophers 4-3 on Oct. 14, 2005 before drawing to a 3-3 overtime tie on Oct. 15.
2016-17 Captains
Last Wednesday, 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.
Hey, You Luc(ia) Familiar
Longtime Nanook fans will see a familiar face on Sunday's opponent's bench, as former Alaska head coach Don Lucia enters his 18th season as bench boss of the Minnesota Gophers. Upon graduating from Notre Dame, Lucia was the assistant coach for the Nanooks from 1981-85, before moving to Alaska Anchorage to be their assistant from 1985-87. Lucia then moved back to the Golden Heart City and was named the head coach for the Nanooks from 1987-93. As the head man, Lucia helped Alaska to four winning seasons, with an overall record of 113-87-10. The Nanooks claimed the now-defunct Great West Hockey Conference championship title in his first season as head coach (1987-88), being named the league's Coach of the Year.
On an even more personal level, Lucia was the one to recruit current Alaska Hockey head coach Dallas Ferguson to the program and coached Ferguson through his freshman campaign in 1992-93.
Hope-ing for More
Saturday's exhibition featured a goal from rookie forward Kylar Hope, who has been making a name for himself in his unofficial collegiate debuts. Hope posted goals in the Blue vs. Gold scrimmage on Sept. 24, before notching a goal off of a wraparound on Sunday's exhibition.
(20) Minute Men
Three of the four Nanook goaltenders dressed in the exhibition on Sunday, with senior Davis Jones, sophomore Jesse Jenks and freshman Niko DellaMaggiore all taking a period in net. Jones led the three goaltenders, making 11 saves in the first period, with Jenks recorded seven and DellaMaggiore posting two.
Jenks was given the secondary assist on sophomore forward Chad Staley's goal on Sunday, which would have marked the goaltenders first point of his career. Unfortunately, the assist won't stand, as exhibition games don't count toward regular season statistics.
Scouting the Opponent – Alaska Anchorage
The Seawolves are unbeaten in the last 15 season openers at 12-0-3, with the last season-opening loss coming against Michigan State in 2001. Alaska Anchorage returns the majority of last season's roster, which includes 18 letter winners, while also bringing in eight newcomers.
Individually, the Seawolves picked up a pair of brothers who transferred from Quinnipiac in sophomore-redshirts Jonah and Nathan Renouf, with both combining for five points in UAA's 6-1 exhibition win against Simon Fraser last Friday. Alaska Anchorage also returns solid goaltending in junior Olivier Mantha, while also picking up fifth-year senior Rasmus Reijola from St. Cloud State.
Scouting the Opponent – No. 11 Minnesota
The three-time defending Big Ten regular-season champion Gophers are slated to play Alaska Anchorage on Friday (Oct. 7) before taking on the Nanooks on Sunday (Oct. 9). This season, the Gophers were selected to finish first in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches poll, leading the Big Ten Preseason Watch List with four players, which included Justin Kloos, Leon Bristedt, Jake Bischott and Eric Sheirhorn, an Anchorage Alaska native.
Kloos will be the one player to watch for the Nanooks, as the senior forward returns as the active-leading scorer in the Big Ten and the second leading scorer in the NCAA with 107 points (45 goals, 62 assists) in 117 games. Last season, Kloos led the Gophers with a career-high 43 points (16 goals, 27 assists) in 2015-16.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey team page on Facebook.
