FAIRBANKS, Alaska – After a three week break from the Carlson Center, the Alaska Nanooks return to their home arena to host the No. 18th-ranked Bemidji State Beavers on Friday, Nov. 4 and Saturday, Nov. 5 for two Western Collegiate Hockey Association contests. With six WCHA points up for grabs, the Nanooks (3-5-0 overall, 2-2-0 WCHA) will look to spoil the Beavers' undefeated conference record (6-2-0 overall, 6-0-0 WCHA). Puck-drop for both nights is set for 7:07pm AKT.
Hometown Heroes Weekend
Starting on Friday, the Alaska Nanooks are hosting their "Hometown Heroes Week" presented by North Haven Communities. By showing a valid military ID at the door, all active or retired military and their dependents will receive free general admission to all Alaska Nanooks home events the week of Nov. 4-12 (which includes: men's basketball, volleyball, swimming and women's basketball).
Where to Watch & Listen
Nanook fans can watch all Alaska hockey games (home and away) live on WCHA.tv on Friday and Saturday. Hockey fans can purchase a single-team season-long pass for $89.99, which gives live and archived coverage for all Nanook hockey's non-conference home games, all WCHA regular season games (home and away) and all potential 2017 league postseason games (home and away). Other packages include a single-team road pass ($44.99), a single-team monthly pass ($19.99), a league-wide nightly pass ($9.99) or a single-team nightly pass ($8.99).
Furthermore, longtime Alaska Nanooks hockey commentator Bruce Cech will be broadcasting live from the Carlson Center for both Friday and Saturday's contest on ESPN 820 AM Fairbanks or on 820sports.com.
Last Time Out
The Nanooks were on the road last weekend, taking on the Lake Superior State University Lakers in a two-game WCHA series at the Taffy Abel Arena. Despite a two-goal lead in the first period, the Nooks fell 3-2 in Friday night's game, with goals from freshman defenseman Tristan Thompson and sophomore forward Chad Staley. Alaska refused to leave the Soo without any conference points and bounced back Saturday night to give the Lakers their first loss of the season in a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory. Senior forward Marcus Basara scored two goals on Saturday, including the game-winning overtime geno.
All-Time Series
The Bemidji Beavers currently lead the all-time series against the Nanooks 8-3-2 overall, with the first meeting coming as a 0-12 loss for the Nanooks on Jan. 3, 1982. The Beavers are 2-1-1 at the Carlson Center and currently hold a three-game winning streak over the Nooks. The last time these two teams met was Jan. 2-3, 2016, in which Alaska lost 6-5 in overtime on Friday before tying 1-1 in overtime on Saturday.
WCHA Standings
The Nanooks sit in sixth place in the early WCHA standings with a 2-2-0 conference record and six WCHA points. The Beavers rank first in the conference at the moment, with a 6-0-0 conference record and 18 points.
Sharing the Wealth
Sophomore forward Chad Staley (3G, 4A) and senior forward Brandon Morley (7A) currently lead the Nanooks in points, each with seven. The duo are also tied for first in points per games played, averaging 0.88. Staley leads the team power play assists (4), power play points (5) and goals per shots on goal (.333), while Morley leads in assists (7) and assists per games played (0.88).
Streaking
Morley, Staley and senior forward Marcus Basara are all on a multi-game point streak after this weekend's series at LSSU. Staley and Basara are riding three-game point streaks, while Morley is continuing a four-game point streak entering this weekend's games against Bemidji.
Double-Dipping
This past weekend's series at Lake Superior saw five Nanooks with multi-point weekends, which was led by Basara (2G, 1A) and Staley (1G, 2A), who had three-point weekends. Freshman forward Ross Heidt (1G, 1A), Morley (2A) and freshman forward Troy Van Tetering (2) also posted more than one point against the then-undefeated LSSU Lakers.
Rookies Chipping In
Six of the nine Nanook freshmen who have dressed in at least one game this season have recoded at least one point this season, led by defenseman Danny Kiraly (4A), Heidt (2G, 2A), and Van Tetering (2G, 2A), who have each collected four points thus far. Defenseman Tristan Thompson (2G) and forwards Colton Leiter (1G, 1A) and Tyler Cline (2A) have also made an appearance on the scoresheet.
Special Teams
Currently, the Nanooks rank third in the conference (23rd in NCAA) in power play percentage, averaging .188 from nine PPG on 49 power play attempts. Conversely, the Alaska's penalty kill ranks second in the WCHA (13th in NCAA) with a penalty kill percentage of .878 from 43 kills on 49 attempts.
Spoiler Alert
So far this season, the Nanooks have handed two of the three undefeated teams they have faced their first loss of the season (Mankato and Lake Superior State, Omaha went 2-0 at the Brice Alaska Goal Rush). Also of note: of the six different teams Alaska has played this season, two of which were ranked and four of which were receiving votes. After facing the #18 Beavers this weekend, Alaska will have faced three ranked opponents this season.
Saturdays are for the Boys
Despite a 0-3 record in Friday games this season, the Nooks are 3-1 on Saturdays. The only Saturday loss Alaska has received was a 4-3 overtime defeat against the Omaha Mavericks on Oct. 15 in the Brice Alaska Goal Rush. Also of note: the Nanooks are 0-1 on Sundays.
Scouting the Opponent – No. 18 Bemidji State Beavers (6-2-0 overall, 6-0-0 WCHA)
The Beavers improved to a perfect 6-0-0 conference record last weekend after defeating the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves 2-1 in overtime last Friday before skating to a 4-0 win on Saturday. As a team, the Beavers rank fifth in the country in penalty kills (.946), having yet to give up a power play goal in conference games this season.
Goaltender Michael Bitzer has backstopped the Beavers to all six wins this season, posting the best save percentage (.975), goals against average (0.50) and win percentage (1.00) in conference-only play. Gerry Fitzgerald currently leads the Beavers in points with seven points, logging at least one point in the Beavers' last four games (1G, 4A). Junior forward Brett Beauvais ranks second on the team in scoring with six points (2G, 4A) in eight games.
Coaches Corner
"Coming off the road, I think we had a good split at Lake Superior State, we definitely saw some growth from our players who fought through some adversity but now we need to get acclimated to be being back home. Bemidji is obviously off to a great start, they are leading the league and have a lot of things to content with, their goaltender's playing well, some good speed up front and their special teams is doing well. For us, we need to get used to being back at the Carlson Center and focusing on our priorities and what we need to do to be successful." – Head Coach Dallas Ferguson on this weekend's matchup.
