FAIRBANKS, Alaska – It's been 32 days since the Alaska Nanooks hockey team played their last game at home, but thankfully the Nooks return to the Carlson Center this weekend for two-game WCHA contest against the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers. Alaska will host UAH on Friday, Nov. 16 and Sunday, Nov. 17 at their home arena with puck-drop both nights scheduled for 7:07pm AKST.
Where to Watch & Listen
Fans who cannot make this weekend's games in Fairbanks can stream the game live on FloHockey.tv, as well as every home and conference contests for the remainder of the 2018-19 season. Longtime Nanook hockey commentator Bruce Cech will be live from the Carlson Center on KSUA 91.5 FM in Fairbanks or anywhere online at ksuaradio.com in the link posted above.
SAAC Canned Food Drive
This weekend, the Alaska Nanooks Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be hosting their annual canned food drive at the hockey games. The Alaska Nanooks SAAC is asking patrons of Friday and Saturday nights' games to bring canned or non-perishable food items to be donated to the Fairbanks Food Bank prior to Thanksgiving. Boxes for the canned food will be placed at every entrance of the Carlson Center.
Side: the Alaska Nanooks SAAC will be hosting their annual Teddy Bear Toss on Saturday, Dec. 1 at the Nanooks' hockey game versus Ferris State.
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks hockey team earned five WCHA points last weekend in a two-game conference series against the Lake Superior State Lakers in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. On Friday, Alaska took a 3-0 lead before a third-period three-goal comeback by the home team forced extra hockey. The official result was a 3-3 overtime tie with each team earning one WCHA point, but junior forward
Colton Leiter scored in the five-minute three-on-three overtime to give the Nanooks the extra WCHA point.
On Saturday, Alaska was down 3-0 with only 1:21 remaining in the second period, Leiter struck on the power play to get the Nanooks on the board. Only 1:12 into the third period, sophomore forward
Steven Jandric pulled the Nanooks to within 3-2 before scoring a power play goal less than nine minutes later to tie the game at 3-3. Rookie defenseman
Steven Jandric tallied his first game-winning goal of his career at the 18:47 mark, sealing Alaska's first victory of the season.
WCHA Standings
With five WCHA points, Alaska ranks eighth in the conference standings with a 1-2-1-1 mark in league contests. Alaska's weekend opponent, Alabama-Huntsville, sits in 10th place with zero conference points, registering a 0-4-0-0 record in WCHA games.
All-Time Series
The Alaska Nanooks lead the all-time series against the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers 22-9-2, going 13-5-0 in Fairbanks. The first meeting between the two teams came as a 10-6 win for the Nanooks at home on Dec. 11, 1987. The Nanooks are currently on a one-game losing streak to the Chargers, dropping their last meeting 3-1 at home on Jan. 6.
C. Jandric Named WCHA Rookie of the Week
On Monday, the WCHA named freshman blueliner
Chris Jandric the Rookie of the Week. Over the weekend, C. Jandric tallied four points, collecting one goal and one assist in each of Alaska's two games. His four-point effort led all WCHA defensemen and all league rookies (of any position) with three of his four points coming on the power play and two of his three shots resulting in goals. Nationally, C. Jandric's four points tied for second among NCAA freshmen and third for all defensemen (of any class).
Couple First-Timers
Saturday's win was historic for many reasons, most importantly because it marked the Alaska Nanooks hockey team's first victory of the season, but also first-year head coach
Erik Largen's first win as an NCAA Division I men's ice hockey bench boss.
Besides C. Jandric's first game-winning goal in the Blue and Gold, it was a monumental night for another Alaska rookie, as freshman goaltender Gustavs Grigals earned his first career win in net, making 19 saves. Furthermore, freshman defenseman
Jordan Muzzillo and freshman forward
Sam Ruffing also tallied their first career points against the Lakers, both assists.
Alaska Ties
Fairbanks is a familiar place for two members of the UAH Charger program, starting with first-year assistant coach Lance West. Last season, West served as the Alaska Nanooks interim head coach following the departure of former head coach Dallas Ferguson, leading the Nanooks to an overall mark of 11-22-3 and 9-17-2 in WCHA play. Prior to the 2017-18 season, West served as Alaska's assistant coach for nine seasons under Ferguson.
Additionally, UAH's senior defenseman John Teets is a hometown product of Fairbanks, playing his last year of junior hockey with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs.
Multi-Point Efforts
Last weekend, four Nooks tallied multi-point nights against the Lakers, with sophomore forward
Steven Jandric, junior forward
Colton Leiter and senior forward
Chad Staley each registering one multi-point game while C. Jandric collected two. C. Jandric, S. Jandric and Staley posted two-point efforts, while Leiter is the only Alaska player this season to tally three points in one game with one goal and two assists.
The Difference-Maker
Special teams has played a massive part in Alaska's last four league contests. Of Alaska's last two opponents' combined 13 goals, nine have been on the power play. Conversely, of Alaska's last seven goals in their last four games, four have been on the man-advantage. The Nanooks have gone 1-2-1 in their last four contests but would be 1-1-2 if power play goals weren't considered.
Century Men
This past weekend senior defenseman and Alaska hockey captain
Nikolas Koberstein played in his 99th and 100th career games, respectively. Koberstein joins fellow seniors
Chad Staley (103) and
Ryker Leer (102) in the exclusive club with junior forward
Troy Van Tetering being the next Nanook on track to cross the threshold with 79 throughout his career.
Scouting the Opponent – Alabama-Huntsville Chargers
Like the Nanooks prior to last weekend, the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers are still searching for their first win of the season, currently on a 0-10 run, going 0-4 in WCHA play. Of those 10 contests, four have been one-goal games.
Individually, three UAH players are tied for the lead in scoring with three points each, led by senior forward Madison Dunn (one goal, two assists), senior forward Hans Gorowsky (one goal, two assists) and senior forward Jesper Ohrvall (three assists).
#StickIt2Cancer
Last November, senior defenseman
Jack Weiss was diagnosed with testicular cancer, foregoing the second half of the 2017-18 season to undergo chemotherapy treatment in his home state of Minnesota. After successfully defeating cancer and working over the summer to get back on the ice, Weiss appeared in Alaska's season-opener against Arizona State on Oct. 6, solidifying his comeback less than a year after being diagnosed.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey team page on Facebook.
