FAIRBANKS, Alaska – After taking a week off from competition, courtesy of a Western Collegiate Hockey Association bye-week, the Alaska Nanooks hockey team hosts the Bowling Green Falcons in a two-game WCHA series at the Carlson Center Friday, Feb. 19 and Saturday, Feb. 20 at 7:07 p.m. AST. After suffering a conference sweep at home, the Alaska Nanooks (7-17-4 overall, 5-13-4 WCHA) will be seeking a WCHA playoff berth, as the Nooks currently sit in ninth place in the WCHA standings with 14 points. Conversely, the Bowling Green Falcons (16-10-6 overall, 12-5-5 WCHA) are tied for second place in the league standings with the Michigan Tech Huskies, each with 29 points.
This weekend's WCHA series will also feature two different ticket promotions and a Skate with the Nanooks event following Saturday's game. More on this weekend's promotions below.
Where to Watch & Listen
Fans have the option to purchase a single game pass for $7.99 on WCHA TV or have the option to watch all WCHA games on a certain day for $9.99. The WCHA recently announced the other option to purchase a league-wide half-season pass for $64.99 or a single-team half-season pass for $44.99.
Longtime Nanook hockey commentator Bruce Cech will be providing live play-by-play from the Carlson Center for both games in this weekend's series. The program will be broadcasted live on ESPN 820 AM Fairbanks and will also be broadcasted over the internet in the link posted above (next to radio).
Weekend Ticket Promotions/Skate with the Nooks
The Alaska Nanooks are proud to announce the "Date Night with the Nooks" promotion for the weekend series against Bowling Green Feb. 19-20. Bring that special someone with you to the Carlson Center to watch the Nanooks push towards a WCHA playoff berth as fans can purchase a buy-one, get-one adult tickets for either general admission balcony or reserve seating for both nights of the series. In order to cash in on this exclusive promotion, tickets must be purchased from the Patty Center Ticket Office. The Patty Center Ticket Office is open Wednesday-Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Adult reserve tickets at the Carlson Center are $19, while general admission tickets are $13.
If you're looking to bring the kids out on your "Date Night with the Nooks," the Alaska Nanooks Ticket Office has you covered. All kids eighth grade or under, will receive a FREE general admission ticket to both games against BGSU if they come to the Carlson Center wearing a hockey jersey each night (must be a hockey jersey).
Make sure to bring your skates on Saturday, Feb. 20, as the Face-Off Club, in coordination with the Give All Your Heart program, will be hosting a Skate with the Nanooks following the game at the Carlson Center. Fans can take photos or get autographs from their favorite Alaska Hockey players and can take home a free poster.
Last Time Out
After suffering a hard-fought weekend sweep at home to the Ferris State Bulldogs Feb. 5-6, the Alaska Nanooks took a week off from competition with a WCHA bye-week Feb. 12-13. The Nanooks lost to the Bulldogs 4-0 on Friday, Feb. 5 before falling 2-1 in overtime on Saturday, Feb. 6. The home series versus the Bulldogs marked the third and fourth time the Nanooks have played the Bulldogs during the 2015-16 campaign, with the first WCHA meeting of the season coming as two overtime ties Nov. 20 (2-2) and 21 (3-3). Following the weekend, the Nanooks went 0-2-2 against the Bulldogs this season.
All-Time Series
The Nooks lead the all-time series between Alaska and Bowling Green 26-25-8 overall, with the first game between the two teams coming as a 6-4 loss for the Nanooks on a neutral ice surface on Dec. 27, 1987. In Fairbanks, the Nanooks are 17-12-3 against the Falcons, while BGSU leads the Nanooks 9-13-5 in their own barn. This will be the first time these two teams have met this season, with the last game between them coming as a 4-4 overtime tie on Jan. 10, 2015 in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Curse of the Carl
This weekend marks the first time the Alaska Nanooks have played back-to-back home weekends since Nov. 27-28 vs. Michigan Tech and Dec. 4-5 vs. Lake Superior State. Although happy to be home, the Nanooks haven't won a WCHA conference game at home since Nov. 6 when they defeated the Northern Michigan Wildcats 5-2, dropping to a 1-8-1 WCHA record at the Carlson Center.
Centennials
Senior forward Alec Hajdukovich was the newest member of the Centennial club, playing in over 100 college hockey games for the Alaska Nanooks hockey program over the span of his four-year career in Fairbanks. Hajdukovich (101) joins fellow seniors Tyler Morley (125), Nolan Huysmans (133) and Josh Atkinson (136) in the Centennial club, with junior forwards Marcus Basara (99) and Brandon Morley (97) on the brink of joining the club as well.
#VoteTMo
Senior forward Tyler Morley has been nominated for the prestigious Hobey Baker Memorial Award for the second time in two seasons. T. Morley is the only player to represent the University of Alaska and is one of eight players nominated from the WCHA. Fan voting for the Hobey Baker has officially opened and will remain continue until Mar. 6.
Fans can #VoteTMo up to once a day by voting through Facebook by following the link (http://www.facebook.com/TheHobey/) and clicking the poll section. Following the fan voting portion, the Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists will be announced Mar. 31, before announcing the award-winner on April 8 at the NCAA Frozen Four.
T. Morley is currently sixth in the WCHA in overall points with 24, playing 25 games this season and collecting 14 goals and 10 assists. T. Morley is only four points behind WCHA scoring leader Teddy Blueger (28) from Minnesota State. In the top-20 WCHA scoring leaders, T. Morley has played the lease amount of games, making his sixth place stance even more impressive. T. Morley leads the league in goals per games played (0.56), shots on goal per games played (3.92) and is tied for first in the league in goals with 14. Additionally, T. Morley leads the Nanooks in 12 different scoring categories.
New Boots
Senior forward Nolan Huysmans has had an excellent start to 2016, posting four multi-point games since Jan. 1. From Jan. 15 (at NMU) to Jan. 29 (at Wisconsin), Huysmans had a three-game, multi-point streak that included one goal and one assist in each game, totally six points (3G, 3A). Prior to that, Huysmans had a three-game, point streak (1G, 3A) starting Jan. 2 (vs. BSU) and ending Jan. 8 (at UAH), posting four points. In total, Huysmans has recorded at least one point in six of Alaska's ten games played in 2016, collecting 10 points overall (4G, 6A).
Mullally Stepping Up
Freshman forward John Mullally has been making a name for himself on the scoresheet as of late, as Mullally was the only Nanook to score against Ferris State, burying in Saturday's (Feb. 6) 2-1 overtime loss. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native currently leads all Nanook rookies in points with eight (4G, 4A) in 22 games played. Additionally, Mullally posted his first multi-point game on Jan. 23 at the University of Wisconsin (1G, 1A), collecting three points in three consecutive games (Jan. 23-Feb. 6) for the freshman.
Scouting the Competition – Bowling Green
After falling 4-1 in a non-conference game to the University of Miami-Ohio Friday night (Feb. 12), the Bowling Green Falcons come to Fairbanks in the hope of spoiling first-place in the WCHA for the Minnesota State-Mavericks, who are only four points ahead of the Falcons. The Nooks will need to keep an eye out for Sean Walker, who has posted a goal and four assists in his last seven games, which puts him fourth among WCHA defensemen with 14 points. BGSU's freshmen class remains a threat as well, as the Falcon rookies has seven goals and 26 points in 12 games since Jan. 1.
On the defensive side, the Falcons rank ninth nationally and second in the WCHA with 2.13 goals allowed per game. The Falcons are backed by sophomore Chris Nell, who leads the league in goals against average (1.79) and save percentage (.933). Nell is also second in shutouts (three) and fourth in the WCHA in winning percentage (.600).
Ferguson's Thoughts
"Coming off of a bye-week, I'm hopeful that we'll have a lot of energy to start the weekend off. We're getting down to the crunch-time of the season, where everyone's jockeying for those final playoff positions, so we've got to get some wins down the stretch. With our group, it's going to be really important to play within the structure of our game, be disciplined and make sure we execute when we get the opportunity. We haven't been scoring a ton lately and I think we've been hit or miss on nights where that opportunity arises, so we just need to do a better job at being consistent," – head coach Dallas Ferguson on this weekend's match-up.
