HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Alaska Nanooks have hit the road this week, traveling to Michigan Tech University for a best-of-three game in the opening round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoff series against the Huskies at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena on Friday, Mar. 11 and Saturday, Mar. 12, with Sunday, Mar. 13 acting as the deciding game day if needed. Puck-drop is slated for 3:07 p.m. AST all three days.
After sweeping in-state rival Alaska-Anchorage last weekend to earn the final playoff spot, the Nanooks (10-20-4 overall, 8-16-4 WCHA) – who are seeded eighth – will head to Houghton in hopes of spoiling Tech's (21-8-5 overall, 18-7-3 WCHA) five game winning streak.
Where to Watch & ListenHockey 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. Recently, the WCHA announced the "Playoffs Package," which includes every postseason game – including the Final Five semifinals and championship game – for $29.99.
Longtime Nanook hockey radio personality Bruce Cech will be providing live play-by-play commentary from the MacInnes Student Ice Arena for Friday and Saturday's games, and also Sunday if needed. The program will be broadcasted live on ESPN 820 AM Fairbanks and over the internet at 820sports.com.
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks concluded their regular season at home, sweeping in-state rival Alaska-Anchorage to earn the Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup for the fourth straight season and most importantly, the final WCHA playoff spot. In Friday's 3-2 victory, sophomore forward Peter Krieger scored a power play goal in the third period to make the Nanooks 2-0-1 over the Seawolves this season, sealing the Governor's Cup. Nonetheless, going into the weekend UAA was two WCHA points ahead of the Nanooks, with Saturday being a do-or-die for Anchorage, while the Nanooks only needed one point to clinch the playoffs. On Saturday, senior forward Tyler Morley scored twice and assisted on sophomore defenseman Justin Woods' game-winning third period goal to make it 3-2 Nanooks, sending Alaska to the postseason.
All-Time Series
Michigan Tech leads the all-time series between the Huskies and the Nanooks 10-3-0, with the first game between the two schools coming as a 6-2 loss for the Nanooks on Nov. 9, 1990. Michigan Tech holds the edge over the Nanooks with a six-game winning streak, as Alaska's last win over the Huskies was Feb. 15, 2014 in a 7-2 WCHA contest. The Nanooks are 0-4-0 against the Huskies this season, facing them at home Nov. 27-28, then only two weeks ago (Feb. 26-27) in Houghton, Michigan. In Feb. 26's 6-5 loss, the Nanooks overcame a four-goal deficit against MTU to tie it up 5-5 in the third period, before falling in the last 38 seconds of regulation. In Saturday's (Feb. 27) contest, the Nanooks held a 2-1 lead mid-way through the second period before the Huskies were able to tie it up and send things into overtime, when MTU's Alex Petan scored two and a half minutes into OT to seal the weekend sweep for Michigan Tech.
The New Guy
Since joining the WCHA in the 2013-14 season, this is only Alaska's second appearance in the postseason. Along with the Nanooks, Alabama-Huntsville, Bowling Green, Ferris State and Lake Superior State were the other Division I programs to join the WCHA in the same season. Alaska finished fourth in the regular season league standings following the 2014-15 season and were expected to host the first round of the WCHA playoffs, but were unable to participate due to an NCAA post-season ban for several NCAA infractions that had occurred during the 2009-12 seasons.
This weekend's WCHA playoff series at Michigan Tech will be the first WCHA postseason appearance for the Nanooks since their inaugural season in the WCHA (2013-14), where the Nanooks hosted Alaska-Anchorage for the quarterfinal series Mar. 13-15, 2014. Alaska defeated UAA 3-2 in overtime on night one (Mar. 13), but fell to the Seawolves 2-1 on Mar. 14. The deciding game-three on Mar. 15 went to the Seawolves, who went to the Final Five after defeating the Nooks 5-4.
Prior to joining the WCHA, the Alaska Nanooks were part of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) from the 1994-95 season to 2012-13. This year's senior class (T. Morley, Hajdukovich, Atkinson, Huysmans, Peterson and Keeney), are the last Alaska Nanooks to have participated in the now-dissolved league.
T. Morley Named All-WCHA First Team
on Thursday, senior forward Tyler Morley was one of six players named to the All-WCHA First Team. Voted on by each head coach from the WCHA, T. Morley was one of three forwards to be honored, being the only Nanook to represent Alaska. T. Morley continues to lead the WCHA in goals per games played (0.59), points per games played (1.04) and shots on goal per games played (3.85). T. Morley ranks second in the WCHA in goals with 16, only one goal behind league leader Alex Petan (MTU).In addition, T. Morley ranks sixth in the WCHA with 26 points (16G, 12A in 27 games) but has played nine games less than the league leader in points, who has 33.
Furthermore, T. Morley leads the Nanooks in 12 different scoring categories, including: goals (16), points (26), G/GP (0.59), P/GP (1.04), PPG (4), PPP (10), plus/minus (+7), SOG (104), SOG/GP (3.85), G/SOG (.154) and face-offs won (314).
T. Morley Named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week
Senior forward Tyler Morley was named the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week on Monday (Mar. 7), after leading the Nanooks to their second WCHA postseason appearance with a four-point weekend. T. Morley returned to the ice after missing six games due to injury to dish an assist in Friday's 3-2 win over Alaska-Anchorage, before scoring two goals and assisting on the game-winger in Saturday's 3-2 win over UAA.
Woods Cashing In
Sophomore forward Justin Woods scored his first game-winning goal of the season on Saturday night, as the blueliner scored late in the third period to give the Nanooks the go-ahead victory. Woods' goal is his fourth goal in four games and his fifth of the season (eight points in 32 games). After scoring two goals on Feb. 26 at MTU, Woods scored one goal in each of the Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup games in front of his hometown of Fairbanks, putting him on a two-game goal streak entering this weekend at Michigan Tech. Woods' offensive efforts landed him a nomination for WCHA Defensive Player of the Week on Monday (Mar. 7).
Chalk It Up
Alongside Woods and T. Morley, two other Alaska Nanooks had multi-point weekends, including senior defenseman Josh Atkinson (3A) and junior forward Marcus Basara (1G, 1A). Atkinson's assist on Friday and two assists on Saturday puts the senior on a four-game point streak (Feb. 26-Mar. 5).
Daver Doin' It Big
Junior goaltender Davis Jones backstopped the Nanooks for the past four games (Feb. 26-Mar. 5), posting a 2-2-0 record in those WCHA contests. After a career-high 48 saves on Feb. 27 vs. MTU, Jones only allowed four goals out of a combined 51 shots on goal against the Seawolves Mar. 4-5.
Petri-Dish
After dishing two assists on Feb. 27's 6-5 loss at MTU, sophomore forward Peter Krieger continues to lead the team in assists (16), assists per games played (0.47) and is second on the team in power play assists with five.
Game-Winning Guys
The Nanooks are led by senior forward Alec Hajdukovich in game-winning goals (3), including two GWG in a three-game span. Sophomore defenseman Zach Frye leads the Nanooks in game-winning points with four, while senior forward Nolan Huysmans has collected two-game winning assists in a matter of three games.
Postseason Pointers
When Alaska participated in the 2013-14 postseason against UAA Mar. 13-15, 2014, 12 different players from that season's roster contributed at least one point in three games against the Seawolves. Five of the 12 are still with the Nanooks, led by redshirt sophomore defenseman Justin Woods, who had one goal and two assists in the three-game series for three points. Others include: senior forward Alec Hajdukovich (2G), junior forward Marcus Basara (1G, 1A), senior defenseman Josh Atkinson (1A) and junior forward Brandon Morley (1A).
Rookie Leaders
Freshman forward John Mullally leads all Nanook freshmen in points with eight, including four goals and four assists in 23 games this season. Freshman forward Ryker Leer leads the Nanook freshman class in games played (29), while freshman defenseman Jack Weiss leads rookie defenseman in points with five points.
Scouting the Competition – Michigan Tech
Led by 2015-16 WCHA Player of the Year Alex Petan, the Michigan Tech Huskies are 5-0-0 in their last five contests. Petan was named WCHA POTY on Thursday, while simultaneously being one of three forwards to be named to the All-WCHA First Team alongside senior forward Tyler Morley. Petan has registered 30 points in 33 games this season, including 17 goals, 13 assists and four game-winning goals. Behind Petan, Malcolm Gould leads the Huskies in assists (16) while Tyler Heinonen leads MTU in PPG (7).
On the back end, defenseman Matt Roy dominates the league in plus/minus with +19. Backstopping the Huskies is senior goaltender Jamie Phillips, who's played in 33 games this season, holding a 21-7-5 overall record. Phillips averages 2.00 goals against, has a save percentage of .921 and has already tallied three shutouts this year.
Ferguson's Thoughts
"There are three parts to your season: preseason, regular season and postseason. We are excited for the opportunity to compete in the postseason and for a chance at the Broadmoor Trophy. We feel like the last three weeks of the season, the team has been competing very hard and this past weekend, we had the execution we needed to get four points. We plan to carry the momentum into the first round of the playoff series. Michigan Tech has had a great season. We played them a couple of weeks ago and were able to see the type of game they play. They are the number one seed and we are the eighth seed, so there isn't a ton of pressure on us, other than to go out there and compete at the level we're capable of. We'll take it one period at a time and shift by shift. We love our team in competitive situations and that's what the playoffs are about, so we're excited for to drop the puck already." – head coach Dallas Ferguson on this weekend's playoff series.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey page on Facebook.
