FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks hockey team returns to the Carlson Center this weekend for a pair of Western Collegiate Hockey Association contests against the No. 9 Bowling Green Falcons. The Nooks and the Falcons will face-off against one another on Friday, Jan. 18 and Saturday, Jan. 19, 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 contest 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.
Military Appreciation Night
On Saturday, Jan. 19, the Alaska Nanooks will be hosting their annual Military Appreciation Night, following the Army vs. Air Force hockey game at the Carlson Center at 1:30pm AKST. All active military members and their dependents will receive free general admission to Saturday night's Alaska Nanooks vs. Bowling Green hockey game with the presentation of a valid military ID at the door. This ticket special will be held
only on Saturday, Jan. 19.
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks were on the road last week, taking on the Bemidji State University Beavers in a two-game series in Bemidji, Minnesota. The Nooks fell to the Beavers 3-0 on Friday, before bouncing back and taking a 2-1 overtime victory on Saturday, earning a weekend split. The win marks Alaska's first of 2019 and snapped a five-game losing streak.
WCHA Standings
The Nanooks currently sit in seventh place in the WCHA standings with 17 points, having collected a 5-8-1-1 mark through 14 league games. The Nanooks' weekend opponent, Bowling Green, sits in third place in the league rankings with 34 points and a 10-4-2-2 WCHA record. Minnesota State holds possession of first place in the standings with 39 points (13-3-0-0 WCHA).
All-Time Series
This weekend's series marks the 68th and 69th all-time meeting between the two programs, respectively, with the first-ever game resulting in a 6-4 loss for the Nanooks on Dec. 27, 1987 on neutral ice. The Nanooks trail the all-time series 23-30-9 and would be 29-30-9 if Alaska didn't have to vacate six wins between 2008-2012 due to NCAA violations. On the road, Alaska is 9-15-6 against the Falcons but are 14-14-3 on home ice (and 0-1-0 on neutral grounds). This weekend's series will be the first time the Falcons visit the Carlson Center since December 2016, where the Nanooks earned a split (3-2, 3-6). In their last meeting on Oct. 28, 2017 in Bowling Green, Ohio, the Nooks and the Falcons skated to a 2-2 overtime tie with senior forward
Chad Staley scoring in the shootout to earn the extra WCHA point.
Individually All-Time
Of Alaska's 28 players this season, 15 have played against Bowling Green on at least one occasion. Senior forward
Chad Staley holds the record with the most games played among active players against BGSU with eight. Staley also holds a team-best five points against the Falcons with five assists. Of the four Nanooks who have registered at least one goal against Bowling Green, junior forward
Troy Van Tetering possesses a team-high of two, while junior forward
Colton Leiter is the only active Alaska player to tally a game-winning goal.
In net, junior goaltender
Anton Martinsson is the only active Alaska player to see time between the pipes against BGSU, appearing in two games for a total time of 124:02, collecting 59 saves and a 0-1-1 record.
In the Clutch
Despite appearing in 21 games this season, sophomore forward
Justin Young has been held pointless throughout the 2018-19 campaign. All that changed last Saturday, as Young's first point of the season happened to be the game-winning tally to lift the Nanooks past the Bemidji State Beavers only 52 seconds into overtime, snapping Alaska's five-game losing streak. This season, Young has tallied 13 shots on goal, 12 blocks and 15 games with an even plus/minus rating.
Young joins only three Nanooks who have scored a game-winning goal this season, including freshman defenseman
Chris Jandric (1) and sophomore forward
Steven Jandric (3).
Intermission Edge
The Nanooks are 4-6-2 in games that they break open the scoring and 1-9-0 in contests where their opponent scores first. So far this season, Alaska is 2-0-2 when leading at the first intermission, 0-7-0 when trailing at the first intermission and 3-8-0 when tied after 20 minutes. Additionally, Alaska is 2-1-2 when leading at the second intermission, 1-14-0 when trailing and 2-0-0 when tied after 40 minutes.
Free Hockey
The Nanooks have been a part of five games throughout the 2018-19 season that have reached a stalemate after 60 minutes of play. Alaska is 2-0-2-1 in games that have exceeded regulation play, with Oct. 20 vs. Denver and Nov. 9 vs. Lake Superior State resulting in ties in the eyes of the NCAA. Since Oct. 20's game in the Mile High City was a nonconference matchup, no 3-on-3 overtime or shootout was played due to the new NCAA rule. Junior forward
Colton Leiter scored in the 3-on-3 double-overtime on Nov. 9 at LSSU to earn the extra conference point, but was still ultimately considered a tie.
Alaska earned their first overtime victory since Nov. 3, 2017 on Nov. 30 against Ferris State this season, as sophomore forward
Steven Jandric scored 21 seconds into overtime to lift the Nanooks over the Bulldogs. Young's overtime game-winner on Saturday against Bemidji continues Alaska's hot streak after 60 minutes of play.
The Nanooks are currently the only team in the WCHA to win twice in overtime this season. Of the 10 conference schools, seven have only won once in OT.
New Year, New Me
Junior forward
Troy Van Tetering is kicking off 2019 in a big way, having registered two goals and one assist for three points through four games since Jan. 1. Since Alaska's first game against Arizona State on Oct. 6, Van Tetering appeared in 15 games prior to the holiday break, only picking up one point (a goal) on Nov. 9 at Lake Superior State. Throughout the month of January so far, Van Tetering leads his teammates in goals (2), points (3), goals per games played (0.50), points per games played (0.75), plus (3) and plus/minus (+2).
Scouting the Opponent - #9 Bowling Green Falcons
The No. 9 Falcons visit Fairbanks for the first time since 2017, coming off of a split against Michigan Tech last weekend. BGSU fell 0-2 to the Huskies last Friday, before bouncing back with a 3-2 win on Saturday. Prior to the holiday break, BGSU went 6-0-1-1 from Dec. 1 -15. As a team, Bowling Green currently leads the league in shorthanded goals (4), hat tricks (2), plus/minus (+29), least amount of losses (5), ties (3), least amount of goals against (41), goals against per games played (1.78), goal margin per games played (+1.61), penalty kills (103), penalty kill percentage (.880) and opponent power play percentage (.120).
Individually, eight Falcons have tallied double-digit points this season, led by sophomore forward Brandon Kruse with 26 (7G, 19A). Sophomore forward Max Johnson is the only other player to record 20-or-more points for the Falcons, collecting 23 points (9G, 14A). In net, junior goaltender Ryan Bednard has appeared in 18 games this season, posting a .929 save percentage, a 1.78 goals against average and a 12-4-2 record between the pipes.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey team page on Facebook.
