WCHA Release

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – On Monday, Alaska hockey junior forward Kylar Hope and junior defenseman Tristan Thompson were honored by the Western Collegiate Hockey Association for their performances on the ice last weekend. Hope was named the WCHA's Forward of the Week, while Thompson was selected as the conference's Defenseman of the Week.

It is both Hope and Thompson's first WCHA weekly honor of their careers and the Alaska Nanooks hockey team's third and fourth of the 2018-19 season, respectively.

The Nanooks faced the Ferris State Bulldogs in a two-game WCHA series at home last weekend, earning a 4-3 overtime victory on Friday before downing FSU 6-2 on Saturday. The pair of victories marked the Nanooks' first sweep of the 2018-19 season. Alaska walked away from the weekend with six WCHA points, ranking them fifth in the league standings with 14 points total.

Hope tallied one goal and three assists over the weekend, tying for the WCHA scoring lead with four points. Hope earned the game-winning assist in Friday's 4-3 overtime win before collecting one goal and two assists for a three-point game on Saturday. Of Hope's three assists over the weekend, one was on the man-advantage.

Additionally, Hope's three-point game on Saturday was the first of his career, having only registered two-point games on four occasions.

Thompson was named the Defenseman of the Week after tying for a league best four points with two goals and two assists in the Nanooks' sweep over Ferris State. Thompson's four-point weekend ranked second nationally among defenseman. The Canmore, Alberta native had back-to-back multi-point nights, contributing one goal and one assist on Friday before doing the same on Saturday.

Thompson scored on half of his four shots, while also chipping in two blocks and plus-three rating. The junior blueliner is currently riding a three-game point streak, collecting three goals and two assists for five points since Nov. 24.

The Alaska Nanooks hockey team continues their two-week homestand before the holiday break this week, hosting the Lake Superior State Lakers in a two-game WCHA series this Friday, Dec. 7 and Saturday, Dec. 8 at the Carlson Center. Puck-drop both nights is scheduled for 7:07pm AKST.

During this weekend's series, all kids 8th grade and under will receive free admission (limit two kids per one adult) both Friday and Saturday. There will be coloring with Santa starting at 6pm AKST on Saturday, followed by a Skate with the Nanooks and cookie social directly after the game.

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey team page on Facebook.