FAIRBANKS, Alaska – After a four-week hiatus at home, the Alaska Nanooks hockey team returns to the Carlson Center to host a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series against the Ferris State Bulldogs on Friday, Feb. 5 and Saturday, Feb. 6 at 7:07 p.m. AST. This weekend's series will also feature Nanook Hockey's Family 4-Pack deal on Friday night, before hosting an Autism Awareness game on Saturday.
After falling both nights to the Wisconsin Badgers in last weekend's non-conference series in Madison, Wisconsin, the Nanooks (7-15-4 overall, 5-11-4 WCHA) sit in ninth place in the WCHA standings with 14 points. On the other hand, the Ferris State Bulldogs (11-9-6 overall, 9-7-4 WCHA) sit in fourth place in the league with 18 points.
Where to Watch & Listen
Fans have the option to purchase a single game pass for $7.99 on WCHA TV or they 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 pas for $44.99.
Longtime Nanook hockey commentator Bruce Cech will be providing live play-by-play reports from the Carlson Center for 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 (under radio)
Family 4-Pack & Autism Awareness
The Alaska Nanooks are proud to announce the return of the Family 4-Pack promotion and their first-ever Autism Awareness night. Bring the entire family for Family 4-Pack Night (Friday, Feb. 5), where fans can get four tickets, four drinks and four hot dogs for $44 (additional fees may apply if purchased outside of the UAF Patty Center Ticket Office). Additionally, fans are encouraged to join the Alaska Nanooks on Saturday, Feb. 6 to participate in Autism Awareness Night, where fans can help raise money for the Autism Society of Alaska.
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks hockey team returns to the Carlson Center after a two-week WCHA road trip to Alabama Huntsville (Jan. 8-9) before heading north to Northern Michigan (Jan. 15-16), coming back to enjoy a well-deserved bye-week (Jan. 22-23) at home.
Following the weekend off, the Nanooks were off once again taking on the University of Wisconsin Badgers in a hard fought two-game, non-conference series (Jan. 29-30). After facing the Badgers for a second and third time in two seasons (last was Oct. 11, 2014 in the Kendall Classic hosted by Alaska Anchorage), the Nanooks were defeated by the Badgers 4-3 on Friday, before dropping Saturday's contest to Wisconsin 5-2.
All-Time Series
The Alaska Nanooks lead the all-time series against the Ferris Bulldogs 34-32-7, with the first game between the two teams coming as an 8-4 loss for the Nanooks on Jan. 11, 1985. In Fairbanks, the Nooks are 26-11-1 against Ferris State, while the Bulldogs have the edge at their own home barn back in Michigan, 8-21-6.
This will be the second time these teams have faced each other this season, as the Nanooks travelled to Big Rapids, Michigan on Nov. 20-21 for a two-game WCHA series, in which both teams reached a stalemate, tying both nights in overtime (2-2 on Nov.20, 3-3 on Nov. 21).
Welcome Back?
The Alaska Nanooks haven't played a home series since Jan. 2-3, 2016 when they hosted the Bemidji State Beavers, falling in overtime 6-5 on Saturday (Jan. 2), before tying the Beavers 1-1 in overtime on Sunday (Jan. 3). Although happy to be back at the Carlson Center, the Nanooks haven't won a WCHA conference game at home since taking on the Northern Michigan Wildcats on Nov. 6, dropping to a 1-6-1 WCHA record at the Carl.
Conversely, whenever facing the Ferris State Bulldogs at home, the Carlson Center seems to be "good luck*," as the Nanooks have swept the Bulldogs at home in their last two visits to the Golden Heart City (Feb. 28-Mar. 1, 2014 and Jan. 2-3, 2015). *Knock on wood
No Surprise Here…
Senior forward Tyler Morley is tied for second in the WCHA in overall points with 24, playing 25 games this season and collecting 14 goals and 10 assists. T. Morley is only one point behind WCHA leader Alex Petan, who's recorded 25 points this season.
Moreover, the Burnaby, British Columbia native is also tied for first in the WCHA in goals (14), a goal per games played (0.58) and leads all WCHA players in shots on goal per games played (3.92). Even more impressive, T. Morley leads all Nanooks in 13 different scoring categories, including points in games lost (7).
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 UW), Huysmans had a three-game, multi-point streak going on that included one goal and one assist in each game, totaling 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 eight games played in 2016, tying him for second in the WCHA (with fellow senior forward Tyler Morley) in points collected since Jan. 1 with 10 (4G, 6A).
Old Timers
Since being put on a line together on Jan. 8 at UAH, the senior forward line consisting of Alec Hajdukovich, Tyler Morley and Nolan Huysmans has contributed, in some part, to 11 of Alaska's 18 goals (61.1%) since. Huysmans and T. Morley are now tied for second in the WCHA in points scored since Jan. 1, 2016 and are tied for first amongst the Nanooks in power play goals with three each. Hajdukovich has recorded at least one point in five of Alaska's eight contests, including a four-game point streak (Jan. 15-29, 2G, 2A) and has scored two game-winning goals (Jan. 8 at UAH & Jan. 15 at NMU) over a three-game span.
Rookie Contributions
After scoring a goal and an assist against Wisconsin on Jan. 30, freshman forward John Mullally is the third Nanook rookie to record a multi-point game this season. Mullally follows defenseman Jack Weiss, who collected two assists at Bemidji on Nov. 14, and fellow rookie defenseman Nikolas Koberstein's one goal, one assist effort against Bemidji on Jan. 2.
Additionally, freshman forward Chad Staley is the only Nanook rookie to record a power play goal in back to back weekends (Nov. 27 vs. MTU & Dec. 4 vs. LSSU). In total, six of Alaska hockey's eight-person freshman class has recorded at least a point this season, as forwards Ryker Leer (3 points) and Jasen Fernsler (1 point) have contributed to the Nanook offense.
Sophomores on the Come-Up
Sophomore skaters Peter Krieger and Zach Frye each lead the Nanooks in categories of their own, Krieger leading the Nooks in assists with 14, while Frye leads all Alaska defenseman in points with 13.
#VoteTMo
Senior forward Tyler Morley has been nominated for the prestigious Hobey Baker Memorial Award for the second time in his career. T. Morley is the only player from the Nanooks to represent the University of Alaska and is one of eight players nominated from the WCHA. Fan voting for the Hobey Baker has officially been opened and will continue until Mar. 6, 2016.
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.
WCHA Weekly Release Highlights
(The following information has been written and published courtesy of the WCHA)
· Competitive Balance: Seventeen (17) of the first 49 WCHA series this season have resulted in splits, with an additional four ending in a pair of ties. There have been just 16 league sweeps to date, along with 11-three point weekends.
· Don't Leave Your Seats: Fifty-two (52) of the first 100 WCHA games have been either ties (19) or one-goal decisions (33), with 29 overtime contests. Twenty-two (22) league games have featured a tie-breaking, third-period game-winning goal (including eight in the last five minutes of regulation), with an additional 10 victories coming in overtime.
· Down the Stretch They Come: With five regular season weekends remaining, the stage is set for enticing races for the MacNaughton Cup (three teams within four points), for home ice advantage in the WCHA playoffs (just six points currently separate fourth place and eighth) and for the eighth and final postseason spot (three teams separated by only two points, with a fourth trailing by five).
Scouting the Competition – Ferris State
After enjoying a bye-week, the Ferris State Bulldogs earned three points on the road at Bemidji, defeating and tying the Beavers Jan. 22-23. Senior defenseman Simon Denis scored to tie Friday's game with 25 seconds left in the third before sophomore forward Mitch Malone knotted the game-winner 47 seconds into overtime. The Bulldogs offense is paced by forward Gerald Mayhew, who's collected 22 points (7G, 15A) in 26 games this season, while forward Corey Mackin leads Ferris State in goals with eight.
On the back end, Ferris State is backed by freshman goaltender Darren Smith, who was just announced as WCHA Rookie of the Month for January on Monday, Feb. 1. In 2016, Smith has earned a record of 3-0-2 with a goals against average of 1.74 and a save percentage of .933 during five games in Jan. The rookie also ranks 17th nationally with a goals against average of 2.11 and 15th in the NCAA with a save percentage of .928.
Ferguson's Thoughts
"It seems like whenever we play Ferris State, it ends up being a really competitive series. They've got a goaltender who's coming off being named Rookie of the Month, so obviously they're really solid back there. Ferris is really good in transition and are always consistent with their game play, staying dangerous in the offensive zone. They have some guys that can make some really great plays and can put the pucks in the net and also have guys on the back end that can really move the puck, so forechecking is going to be really important for us. Overall, just making sure we're acclimated to being back home and getting mentally prepared to earn some points here down the stretch." – head coach Dallas Ferguson on this weekend's series
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey page on Facebook.
