FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks hockey team will play their final two games prior to the holiday break at home this weekend, hosting the Lake Superior State Lakers in a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series at the Carlson Center this Friday, Dec. 7 and Saturday, Dec. 8. Puck-drop both nights is scheduled for 7:07pm AKST.
 

Opponent	Lake Superior State University Lakers (7-6-1, 4-5-1-0 WCHA)
Dates & Times	Friday, Dec. 7 at 7:07pm AKST | Saturday, Dec. 8 at 7:07pm AKST
Location	Carlson Center | Fairbanks, Alaska
Ticketing Promotion	All Weekend (Friday & Saturday) All kids 8th grade & under will receive free admission (Limit two kids per one adult)
Weekend Activities	Saturday, Dec. 8 6pm AKST: Kids coloring with Santa in the lower prow (front, south entrance of Carlson Center) Directly after game: Skate with the Nanooks & Cookie Social Sunday, Dec. 9 2-4pm AKST: Open House & Locker Room tours at the Carlson Center Cookies & punch provided
Game Notes	Nanooks | Lakers
Follow Along	Live Stream: FloHockey.tv ($) Live Box Score: CollegeHockeyStats.net (Free) Radio: KSUA 91.5 FM | ksuaradio.com
Social Media	Twitter | Facebook

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 contest for the reminder 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.

Ticketing Promotion
This weekend, the Alaska Nanooks Ticketing Office is offering free admission to any kids eighth grade and under both Friday and Saturday. There will be a limit of two kids per one adult who will receive free admission.

Weekend Activities
Starting at 6pm on Saturday, there will be coloring with Santa in the lower prow of the Carlson Center near the front, south entrance of the building. Directly following the game, there will be a Skate with the Nanooks and a cookie social sponsored by the Face-Off Club.

On Sunday, the Face-Off Club is hosting an open house and locker room tours at the Carlson Center to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the new locker room from 2-4pm AKST. There will be cookies and punch provided.

Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks registered their first sweep of the season last week, defeating Ferris State in back-to-back conference games at the Carlson Center. Sophomore forward Steven Jandric scored 21 seconds into overtime on Friday to edge the Bulldogs 4-3 before Alaska defeated FSU 6-2 on Saturday. It was Alaska's first Friday win of the season and first WCHA sweep at home since Feb. 2-3 against Ferris State.

WCHA Standings
The Nanooks currently sit in fifth place in the WCHA standings with a 4-5-1-1 conference mark, collecting 14 league points this season so far. Alaska's weekend opponent, Lake Superior State, is currently tied for sixth place in the league rankings with Bemidji State, both with 13 points.

All-Time Series
All-time against the Lakers, Alaska trails 19-37-8 but is 8-10-6 in Fairbanks. The first meeting between Lake Superior State and Alaska resulted in an 8-6 win for the Nanooks on the road on Oct. 10, 1986. Lake Superior becomes the first opponent this season who the Nanooks have already faced, posting a 3-3 overtime tie on Nov. 9 before earning a 4-3 comeback win on Nov. 10 in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

Hope, Thompson Earn WCHA Player of the Week Honors
On Monday, junior forward Kylar Hope and defenseman Tristan Thompson were honored by the WCHA for their performances on the ice last weekend. Hope was named the league's WCHA Forward of the Week, while Thompson was selected as the conference's Defenseman of the Week. Both Hope and Thompson tied for a league-best four points this weekend, as Hope registered one goal and three assists, including the game-winning assist in Friday's 4-3 overtime win, while Thompson tallied one goal and one assist in each of Alaska's games last weekend. It was both Hope and Thompson's first weekly honor of their careers.

In the Clutch
Sophomore forward Steven Jandric currently leads the Nanooks in goals with five and is tied for first on the team in points with 10. Of S. Jandric's five goals this season, three have been game-winners, which is second best among WCHA players. The Prince George, British Columbia native netted his first GWG of the season on Nov. 17 against Alabama-Huntsville, scoring with less than 1:30 remaining in regulation to lift Alaska past the Chargers 2-1. This past weekend, S. Jandric scored the game-winner in back-to-back nights, including Friday's goal 21 seconds into overtime before scoring Alaska's third goal of the game on Saturday in the first period that eventually became the difference-maker.

Streaking
A trio of Alaska Nanooks are currently riding three-game point streaks, including sophomore forward Steven Jandric, junior forward Colton Leiter and junior defenseman Tristan Thompson. Since Nov. 24's game at Michigan Tech, S. Jandric has tallied two goals and two assists for four points, Leiter has registered four assists for four points and Thompson has collected three goals and two assists for five points.

Three-Pointers
Of the 10 Alaska players who have tallied at least one multi-point game this season, only three have collected three-point games. Junior forward Colton Leiter was the first Alaska player this season to do so with a three-point (one goal, two assists) night against Lake Superior state on Nov. 10, while junior forward Kylar Hope (one goal, two assists) and senior defenseman Nikolas Koberstein (three assists) joined the fun on Saturday, Dec. 1 against Ferris State in Alaska's 6-2 win. Hope and Koberstein join sophomore forward Steven Jandric, Leiter and junior forward Troy Van Tetering in being the only active Alaska players to earn at least one three-point game.

Shoot Your Shot
Junior forward Kylar Hope currently leads his teammates and ranks second in the WCHA in shots on goal with 51 through 16 games this season. The Lashburn, Saskatchewan native currently averages 3.19 shots on goal per game and boasts a .078 goals per shots on goal average. Hope only tallied 17 shots on goal throughout the month of October (eight games) but picked up the pace in November, totaling 34 through eight games. So far this season, Hope's nine shots on goal against Alabama-Huntsville on Nov. 16 was a single-game career-high.

Goose Tales
Freshman goaltender Gustavs Grigals backstopped the Nanooks to their first sweep of the season this past weekend, being one of two WCHA netminders to earn two wins. Grigals led all conference goaltenders in minutes (120:21), time (100%), saves (56) and shots (61). The Riga, Latvia native collected 23 saves in Friday's 4-3 overtime win before stopping 33 shots in Saturday's 6-2 win. The rookie currently boasts a 4-2-0 mark in games he starts, while the Nanooks are 0-8-2 in contests he does not. Through eight games played this season, Grigals currently leads all WCHA freshmen goaltenders in save percentage with a .913.

Free Hockey
The Nanooks have been a part of four games throughout the 2018-19 season that have reached a stalemate after 60 minutes of play. Alaska is 1-0-2-1 in games that have exceeded regulation play with Oct. 20 (at Denver) and Nov. 9 (at Lake Superior State) resulting in ties in the eyes of the NCAA. Alaska's junior forward Colton Leiter scored in the three-on-three double-overtime against LSSU to earn the extra conference point on Nov. 9, while Oct. 20 remained a 3-3 tie due to it being a nonconference contest. Friday's 4-3 overtime winner from sophomore forward Steven Jandric marked Alaska's first win in overtime since Nov. 3, 2017 vs. Bemidji (4-3) at home. Additionally, Alaska is currently the only WCHA team to win a game in overtime this season.

Scouting the Opponent – Lake Superior State
The Lakers will be looking for revenge against the Nanooks after Alaska stole five points from Lake Superior State in their own building last month. Lake Superior State dropped a pair of WCHA contests to the now-ranked No. 3 Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks at home last weekend, falling 4-2 on Friday before dropping Saturday's contest 3-0 in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Despite being on a three-game losing streak, Lake Superior State is only one point behind the Nanooks in the league rankings having split with Northern Michigan (Nov. 23-24) and Bowling Green (Nov. 16-17) since facing Alaska last.

Individually, Lake Superior State is led by senior forward Anthony Nellis, who has tallied eight goals and seven assists for a team-best 15 points in 14 games this season. Following Nellis, three other Lakers have recorded double-digit points this season including senior forward Diego Cuglietta, senior forward Gage Torrel and freshman defenseman Jacob Nordqvist, each with 11 points. In net, senior goaltender Nick Kossoff has appeared in the most games for the Lakers this season with eight, collecting a 5-2-1 record, a save percentage of .908 and a goals against average of 2.36.

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