FAIRBANKS, Alaska – It's been 215 days since the Alaska Nanooks hockey team played in an official contest and the wait is almost over, as the Nooks head to the desert this week to open the 2018-19 season against Arizona State University this Saturday, Oct. 6 and Sunday, Oct. 7. The two-game nonconference series will take place at Oceanside Arena in Tempe, Arizona with puck-drop slated for 6:05pm AKT on Saturday and 2pm AKT on Sunday.
Where to Watch & Listen
Fans who cannot make this weekend's games in Tempe can stream the game live through Arizona State University's livestream in the link posted above. Longtime Nanook hockey commentator Bruce Cech will be live from Oceanside Arena on KSUA 91.5 FM in Fairbanks or fans can catch him online at ksuaradio.com.
Last Time Out
Last Saturday, the Alaska Nanooks hosted the Simon Fraser Clan in an exhibition matchup at the Carlson Center to shake the rust off. A five-goal first period paced the Nanooks throughout the remainder of the game, resulting in a 13-1 defeat for the home team. Ten of Alaska's skaters registered multi-point nights led by senior defenseman
Nikolas Koberstein, who produced one goal and five assists for six points.
Three of Alaska's four goaltenders appeared in one 20-minute period against Simon Fraser, with freshman netminder Gustavs Grigals capturing a team-high 11 saves.
All-Time Series
Since becoming an NCAA Division I men's ice hockey program prior to the 2015-16 season, Alaska has only met Arizona State on one occasion. The Nanooks are 0-1-0 against the Sun Devils with their first and last meeting resulting in a 2-1 loss for Alaska on Oct. 15, 2015 at the Kendall Classic in Anchorage, Alaska.
Individually, only three active Nanooks have played in a game versus ASU, including senior forward
Ryker Leer, senior forward
Chad Staley and senior defenseman
Jack Weiss, who were all freshmen at the time. Weiss is the only player to tally at least a point against ASU with an assist.
Largen Era Begins
The 2018-19 season will be the first Alaska Nanooks hockey season under new head coach
Erik Largen. Largen was named bench boss of the Nooks in April after serving the past two seasons as the assistant coach to Dallas Ferguson (2016-17) and Lance West (2017-18). The Fairbanks native was a goaltender for the Nanooks from 2006-08 and at 31, is currently the second-youngest among active NCAA Division I men's ice hockey head coaches.
WCHA Preseason Polls
Last week, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association released the Mankato Free Press WCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll and the UAHHockey.com WCHA Media Preseason Poll, which picked Alaska to finish eighth and ninth in the WCHA standings at the conclusion of the 2018-19 regular season, respectively. Alaska ranked eighth in the Coaches' Poll prior to the 2017-18 season but moved down one spot from their eighth place rank from last year's Media Poll.
Koberstein Named Captain
Recently, Largen named senior defenseman
Nikolas Koberstein the team captain for the upcoming 2018-19 season. The Barrhead, Alberta native will be assisted this season by senior forward
Ryker Leer and junior forward
Kyle Marino, who were named alternate captains by Largen.
The New Guys
This season, Largen and his staff have brought in a 10-man freshman class that includes four forwards, five defensemen and one goaltender hailing from the Canada (2), Finland (1), Latvia (1) and the United States (6).
The Alaska Nanooks hockey coaching and support staff also has new faces this season, including assistant coaches
Joe Howe and
Karlis Zirnis, volunteer assistant coach
Dylan Blankenship, volunteer student assistant coach Eric Yancey, equipment manager
Tom Carroll and athletic trainer
Dave Boyd.
Return of the Pack
Of the 28-man roster for 2018-19, Alaska returns 18 veterans for the upcoming season. The Nanooks return two of their top-three scorers from last season in sophomore forward
Steven Jandric (23 points) and junior forward
Colton Leiter (20 points). With four newcomers to mix with 11 returning forwards, Alaska's rookie defense core will rely heavily on their four veteran upperclassmen. In the net, Alaska returns junior netminders
Anton Martinsson and
Niko DellaMaggiore and sophomore goaltender
Tony Rehm and adds rookie Gustavs Grigals.
Scouting the Opponent – Arizona State
The Arizona State University Sun Devils went 8-21-5 throughout the 2017-18 season and do not compete in conference play, as they are an NCAA Division I men's ice hockey independent. Against Western Collegiate Hockey Association teams, the Sun Devils went 4-4-0, playing at least one game against Alabama Huntsville (1-1-0), Lake Superior State (0-1-0), Michigan Tech (1-2-0) and Northern Michigan (1-0-0).
Individually, ASU returns all three of the top-scorers from last season in junior defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk (26 points), junior forward Brett Gruber (25 points) and sophomore forward Johnny Walker (24 points). In net, junior goaltender Joey Daccord appeared in the most games throughout the 2017-18 campaign with a 8-19-5 record, posting a .909 save percentage and a 3.51 goals against average.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey team page on Facebook.
