MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Alaska Nanooks hockey team is hitting the road this week to face the No. 20 Northern Michigan Wildcats in a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series this Friday, Feb. 9 and Saturday, Feb. 10 at the Barry Events Center in Marquette. Puck-drop for both nights is scheduled for 3:07pm AKST.
Where to Watch & Listen
Fans who can't make this weekend's games in Marquette can stream the games live on WCHA.tv, as well as every home and away contest for the remainder of the season. Longtime Nanook hockey commentator Bruce Cech will be live from the Barry Events Center on ESPN 820 AM Fairbanks or online 820sports.com.
WCHA Half-Season Packages Available
The WCHA announced that webstreaming packages are on sale for 50 percent off for the remainder of the season. Fans can purchase a league-wide half-season package for $64.99 that includes access to all remaining WCHA.tv games, including the entire 2018 WCHA Postseason Tournament. The WCHA is also offering a single-team, half-season package for $44.99 that includes access to all remaining WCHA.tv games for that team, including any potential games that the teams plays in the 2018 WCHA Postseason Tournament.
#StickIt2Cancer
Alaska hockey junior defenseman
Jack Weiss will miss the remainder of the 2017-18 season after being diagnosed with testicular cancer in early December. Weiss has started to undergo chemotherapy treatment near his hometown of Bloomington, Minnesota and will continue to do so for nine weeks. If fans are interested in support Jack and his family through this fight, use the hashtag #StickIt2Cancer.
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks hockey team earned their first WCHA sweep at home and second conference sweep of the season last weekend, as the Nooks defeated the Ferris State University Bulldogs 4-2 on Friday before posting a 4-1 win on Saturday at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks.
WCHA Standings
In a tight battle for playoff spots, Alaska earned six points over the weekend to move from eighth to seventh place in the conference standings with 29 points. The Nanooks have registered a conference record of 9-12-1-1 to rank seventh so far, with only three points separating sixth (Alabama-Huntsville) through eighth place (Ferris State) in the league rankings.
All-Time Series
All-time against the Wildcats, Alaska trails 13-36-12 and are 3-20-7 in Marquette. The first meeting between the two teams came as an 8-6 loss for the Nanooks on the road on Dec. 1, 1989. This weekend's series will be the third and fourth meeting between the Nanooks and the Wildcats this season, as NMU took a 5-3 win at the Carlson Center on Friday, Nov. 17 before Alaska was able to bounce back and defeat the Wildcats 4-1 on Saturday, Nov. 18.
Individually, redshirt-senior defenseman
Justin Woods has appeared in the most games against Northern Michigan with 12 but it's senior defenseman
Zach Frye who has tallied one goal and five assists for a team-best six points and a team-high 24 shots on goal against NMU. Sophomore defenseman
Tristan Thompson is the only player to tally a power play goal against the Wildcats, while freshman forward
Max Newton is the only active Nanook to register a game-winning goal.
Frye, Martinsson Earn WCHA Player of the Week Honors
On Monday, the WCHA named senior defenseman
Zach Frye the Defensive Player of the Week and sophomore goaltender
Anton Martinsson the Goaltender of the Week, following last weekend's sweep over Ferris State. Frye led all Alaska players and WCHA blueliners in points over the weekend, collecting one goal and three assists for four points to tie for the lead among all NCAA Division I defensemen. Frye tallied his first-ever three-point game on Friday by scoring on goal and two assists before adding the game-winning apple in Saturday's 4-1 win. The honor if Frye's second of his career with his first weekly award coming just three weeks ago on Jan. 15.
Martinsson earned the honor of WCHA Goaltender of the Week after posting the best save percentage (.932) and lowest goals-against average (1.50) among WCHA netminers that appeared in both games last weekend, while totaling 41 saves. The Klippan, Sweden native made 23 saves on Friday, including all 11 he faced over the final 40 minutes, and 18 saves in Saturday's 4-1 victory. The honor is Martinsson second of his career with the first coming on Dec. 11.
Fresh Frye
Frye leads all conference defensemen in goals per games played (0.30), shots on goal (88) and shots on goal per games played (3.26). The Spokane, Washington native leads his teammates in points (25), assists per games played (0.63), points per games played (0.93), shots on goal and shots on goal per games played and is tied for first in assists (17), power play goals (3), power play points (6), game-winning goals (2), plus (27) and blocks (43). This season alone, Frye has collected eight multi-point games and has also registered 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in seven of Alaska's last eight contests, including three game-winning points (two goals, one assist).
Munson Lights the Lamp
Senior forward
Tayler Munson was a large part of Alaska's sweep over FSU last weekend, as the Fairbanks native posted two goals on Friday, including the game-winner, and one goal on Saturday for a three-point weekend. Munson has not scored four goals in Alaska's last three contests, including two goals on the power plays.
Streaking
Junior forward
Chad Staley has been quietly chipping in to Alaska's offensive efforts, as the Kennewick, Washington native is currently riding a five-game point streak with one goal and five assists for six points. Staley is tied for the team-lead in power play assists with five.
Since returning from injury two weeks ago, sophomore forward
Kylar Hope is on a four-game assist streak, having contributed one assist in each of Alaska's last four games. Hope now has eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points on the season, ranking him second in scoring for the Nanooks.
Scouting the Opponent - #20 Northern Michigan (18-11-3, 16-6-2-2 WCHA)
The Alaska Nanooks will face a tough Northern Michigan team this weekend, as the Wildcats have won seven of their last 10 games. NMU is also 10-2-0 at home this season. Offensively, the Wildcats have two players (Troy Loggins and Adam Rockwood) who are tied for first in the league in scoring with 34 points each. On the backend, junior goaltender Atte Tolvanen has appeared in 24 games this season, posting a .900 save percentage and a 2.56 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.
