Men's Ice Hockey | 3/1/2017 4:55:00 PM
MANKATO, Minn. – The Alaska Nanooks hockey team rolls into the 2017 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Tournament this weekend, with a best-of-three quarterfinal series against the Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks this Friday, Mar. 3 and Saturday, Mar. 4 (and Sunday, Mar. 5 if necessary) at the Verizon Wireless Center in downtown Mankato. Puck-drop is slated for 4:07pm AKST each night.
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks concluded the 2016-17 regular season on a high note last weekend, sweeping in-state rival Alaska Anchorage on the road 4-3 on Friday (Feb. 24) and 2-1 in overtime on Saturday (Feb. 25) to capture the coveted Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup for the fourth-straight year. The two-game WCHA series improved Alaska's overall record to 12-18-4 and 11-13-4 in conference play.
All-Time Series
The Nanooks lead the all-time series against the Mavericks 14-6-2 with the first-ever meeting between the two teams coming as an 8-2 win for the Nanooks in Fairbanks on Nov. 14, 1983. Alaska faced Minnesota State Mankato on four occasions during the 2016-17 season, going 1-2-1-1 against the Mavs. Alaska split with MSU in a home series at the Patty Ice Arena on Oct. 21-22 (7-1 and 4-2) before falling and tying on the road Dec. 2-3 (7-3 and 5-5). In Dec. 3's tie, Alaska earned the extra conference point thanks to freshman forward Ross Heidt scoring in the sudden-death shootout.
WCHA Playoffs
Prior to Friday's game at Alaska Anchorage, the Alaska Nanooks learned they had clinched a playoff spot in the 2017 WCHA Tournament based off of other results throughout the league. Before Saturday's contest, based on how other WCHA contests shook out, the Nanooks officially snagged the sixth place spot in the conference standings, whatever the outcome of Alaska's game vs. UAA.
Since joining the league at the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Alaska has made two trips to the post-season, never making it past the quarterfinal best-of-three series. The Nooks went 1-2 against Alaska Anchorage Mar. 13-15, 2014 before being banned from post-season play prior to the 2014-15 season due to NCAA infractions from the 2009-12 seasons. Last year, the Nooks went 0-2 against Michigan Tech Mar. 11-12, 2016.
Playoff Format
For the first time in WCHA history, the entire 2017 WCHA Tournament will be played completely on college campuses. The best-of-three quarterfinal series between the top-eight teams in the league Mar. 3-5 and will be hosted by seeds 1-4. The semifinal rounds between the remaining four teams will be played Mar. 10-12 and will also be a best-of-three series, hosted by the top-two highest remaining seeds. Following the semifinal series, there will be a one-off WCHA Championship game Saturday, Mar. 18, hosted by the highest remaining seed.
Per the conference rules, if a game is tied after 60 minutes of regulation, there will be a 15 minute intermission and ice resurface before a 20-minute 5-on-5 overtime, which will continue until a team scores.
2017 WCHA Tournament Quarterfinal Match-Ups
#8 Northern Michigan at #1 Bemidji State
#7 Lake Superior State at #2 Michigan Tech
#6 Alaska at #3 Minnesota State Mankato
#5 Ferris State at #4 Bowling Green
Staley Becomes Leader
Sophomore forward Chad Staley currently leads all Nanooks in scoring, posting eight goals and 13 assists for a team-high 21 points in 34 games played this season. Staley leads the team in points per games played (0.62) and is tied for first on the team in power play assists with six.
#Goals
Senior forward Marcus Basara continues to be the team's leading goal-scorer, registering a team-high nine goals (19 points total) and leading the team in goals per games played (0.29). Basara is also tied for the team-high in game-winning goals with two on the season.
Golden Frye
Junior defenseman Zach Frye continues to demonstrate his strengths in all areas of the game, as the Spokane, Washington native is tied for second on the team in points with 19. Alone, Frye leads the Nanooks in assists (14), assists per games played (0.41), shots on goal (99), shots on goal per games played (2.91), power play goals (4) and power play points (10).
Line Chart Veterans
Only four players on this year's roster have competed in all of Alaska's 34 games this season, two of which are rookies, as Staley and Frye are joined by freshman forwards Troy Van Tetering and Colton Leiter.
Century Mark
Basara (138), Morley (137) and senior forward Josh Erickson (122) are the only current Nanooks to play more than 100 career games in an Alaska sweater, with Frye one game out from crossing the threshold (99) and redshirt-junior defenseman Justin Woods (95) and junior Tayler Munson (92) following closely behind.
Rookie Come-Up
Each of Alaska's nine freshmen skaters who have dressed this season have tallied at least one point, with three rookies posting 10-or-more points this season. Van Tetering (8G, 6A), Leiter (7G, 4A) and freshman forward Tyler Cline (4G, 10A) lead the newcomers with Cline currently on a four-game point streak.
Scouting the Opponent – Minnesota State Mankato
The Mavericks finished the season third in the WCHA with a 15-9-4 record and most recently split last weekend's conference series with Bemidji State 1-2 and 2-1. In their last 17 games, Mankato has gone 10-5-2. In post-season play, the Mavericks are 22-33 all-time in the WCHA Tournament and have gone 13-4 the past four years under head coach Mike Hastings.
MSU's Marc Michaelis currently leads Minnesota State in points (36), goals (14), assists (22) and shorthanded goals (2). When it comes to goaltending, Cole Huggins has played 19 of Mankato's games this season, posting a 2.29 goals against average and .902 save percentage.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey team page on Facebook.
