BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Alaska Nanooks hockey team heads to Bemidji State to take on the Beavers, closing out their 2019 portion of the season. The 'Nooks (9-9-0, 7-5-0-0 WCHA) split the first meetings against BSU on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2.
Where to Watch & Listen
Fans who are unable to make this weekend's games in Bemidji, Minn. can stream the games live on FloHockey.tv ($$), as well as every contest for the entire 2019-20 Nanooks hockey season. Longtime Nanooks hockey commentator, Bruce Cech, will be live from the Sanford Center in Bemidji to bring you all the live action on KSUA 91.5 FM. This broadcast can also be found on KSUAradio.com.
Last Time Out
The Nanooks are coming off of their seventh straight split. Last weekend at the Carlson Center, the 'Nooks hosted the Michigan Tech Huskies. Alaska claimed the series-sweep at the beginning of the year in Houghton, Mich. and were looking to do the same thing on home-ice. Game one went the way of the Nanooks as they grabbed a comeback 4-3 victory over MTU on a late goal from
Tristan Thompson.
Game two went the way of the Huskies. After Tech grabbed the first goal, Alaska tied the game on a
Steven Jandric goal only 1:24 into the second period. Unfortunately for Alaska, the Huskies grabbed the game-winning goal with five minutes left in the second period.
Double-Digit Points
The Nanooks are led on offense by their junior forward,
Max Newton. The junior from Vancouver, B.C. became the first Alaska player to crack double-digit points on the season. He now has six goals and six assists on the season, giving him 12 total points. Just behind him is
Justin Young who has collected five goals and assisted on four, giving him a total of nine points on the season.
Block Party
Four Nanooks have blocked over 10 shots on goal this season. Leading the way is
Antti Virtanen who has blocked 19 shots by the opponents. Tied for second is
Filip Fornaa Svensson and Newton, who have both blocked 16 shots. The final 'Nooks player cracking double-digits is
Tyler Cline, checking in with 11 blocks to his name.
WCHA Standings
As we hit the Christmas break, the WCHA standings find the Nanooks the highest they've been since the rearrangement of the WCHA in 2013-14. Bemidji State is currently the top team with 22 points. Trailing by only one point is Minnesota State – Mankato and Alaska. Both teams have 21 points on the season. With a pair of wins this weekend, the 'Nooks have a chance to grab at least a tie of first place, if not sole-possession, dependent on how Minnesota State does against Lake Superior State.
Scouting the Opponent – Bemidji State Beavers
Bemidji State enters this weekend's games with sole-possession of first place in the WCHA. Leading the way with 22 points, only Mankato and Alaska trail by one point in second place. Bemidji State is coming off of a split with Lake Superior State. In game one on Nov. 29, the Beavers ran away from the Lakers, winning 4-1. In game two, BSU tied 2-2 but fell in the 3x3 overtime, gaining one point off the result. Before the tie, the Beavers were on a four-game winning-streak, defeating Ferris State, sweeping Alabama-Huntsville, and then taking game one from LSSU.
Adam Brady is the team-leader in scoring. Brady has collected 16 points through 14 games played, scoring eight goals and assisting on eight others. Brady holds a +4 while on the ice, but in conference play he has a +6. Behind him in points is Aaron Miller, a junior forward who has scored seven goals and also assisted on eight.
Freshman defenseman for the Beavers, Elias Rosen holds the best plus/minus beside Zach Driscoll, the BSU starting goaltender. Rosen holds a +12 in all games played and a +10 in conference games alone. Driscoll, the top goalie for the Beavers is having a strong season. Through 12 games played, Driscoll has amounted 728:55 minutes in net, saved .939 percent of all shots on goal, and holds a 1.56 GAA.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey team page on Facebook.
