FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks hockey team unofficially kicks-off the 2018-19 season this Saturday, Sept. 29, as they host the Simon Fraser Clan (Burnaby, British Columbia) in an exhibition matchup at the Carlson Center. Puck-drop is slated for 7:07pm AKT.
 

Opponent	Simon Fraser University
Time & Date	Saturday, Sept. 29 at 7:07pm AKT
Location	Carlson Center | Fairbanks, Alaska
Ticket Specials & Activities	Family 4-Pack: 4 GA Tickets, 4 hot dogs & 4 drinks for $50 First 100 students in the door will receive "Growl Towels" Team autograph signing
Follow Along	Stream: FloHockey.tv Radio: KSUA 91.5 FM | ksuaradio.com Live Stats: CollegeHockeyStats.net
Social Media	Twitter | Facebook

Where to Watch & Listen
Fans who cannot make this weekend's game in Fairbanks can stream the game live on FloHockey.tv, as well as every home and conference contest for the remainder of the season. Longtime Nanook hockey commentator Bruce Cech will be live from the Carlson Center on KSUA 91.5 FM or online at ksuaradio.com.

Activities
The first 100 students who come to Saturday's game will receive a "Growl Towel" in the student section. "Growl Towel's" will be made available to students at various games throughout the season.

The Alaska Nanooks Ticketing Office is also hosting the Family 4-Pack special this weekend, where fans can get four general admission tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks for $50.

Lastly, the entire 2018-19 Alaska Nanooks hockey team will be available for a poster signing session at the south end of the arena directly following the game.

Last Time Out
Last weekend, the Nanooks took to the Patty Ice Arena for their annual Blue vs. Gold game – hosted by the Face-Off Club. Gold took home the victory 4-0 over the Blue team, thanks to goals from sophomore forward Brennan Blaszczak, junior forward Colton Leiter, freshman forward Sam Ruffin and rookie defenseman Matthew Doran.

The Nanooks skills competition also took place on Saturday evening with junior forward Kyle Marino taking home the title of hardest shot, while fellow junior forward Kylar Hope won fastest skater.

All-Time Series
Currently, the Alaska Nanooks hockey team is 2-1-0 against SFU, as the Nanooks dropped their first-ever meeting on Mar. 20, 1980 in a 4-6 decision on neutral ice. Since then, Alaska is on a two-game winning streak against Simon Fraser, defeating the Clan 2-0 in 2016 before downing the visitors 6-0 in 2017.

Of Alaska's 28-man roster, only 17 have appeared in at least one game against Simon Fraser, while only nine have shared the ice with the Clan on two occasions. Sophomore forward Steven Jandric, junior forwards Colton Leiter and Kylar Hope lead the Nanooks in points, each producing two against SFU. Hope and junior forward Tyler Cline are the only active Alaska players to register a game-winning goal against the Clan. In net, junior netminder Niko DellaMaggiore has appeared in two games against Simon Fraser, which includes 40 minutes in net and a combined 11 saves.

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
On Monday, 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
On Saturday, 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 Competition – Simon Fraser
Simon Fraser University is located in Burnaby, British Columbia and their club hockey team is a member of the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCHL), not affiliated with the NCAA. Subsequently, five of Alaska Nanooks' varsity sport teams compete against SFU in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (men's cross country running, women's cross country running, men's basketball, women's basketball and volleyball). Simon Fraser is the only Canadian university whose varsity sports teams are a member of the NCAA.

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