ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks hockey team concludes the 2018-19 regular season on the road this weekend, taking on in-state rival Alaska Anchorage in a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series this Friday, Mar. 1 and Saturday, Mar. 2 at the Sullivan Arena. This weekend's series will also determine the 2019 Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup champion, with puck-drop on both nights scheduled for 7:07pm AKST.
Where to Watch & Listen
Fans who cannot make this weekend's games in Anchorage can stream the game live on FloHockey.tv, as well as every postseason contest for the remainder of the 2018-19 season. Longtime Nanook hockey commentator Bruce Cech will be live from the Sullivan Arena on KSUA 91.5 FM in Fairbanks or anywhere online at ksuaradio.com in the link posted above.
Weekend Activities
Alaska Nanooks hockey alumni Trevor Hyatt will be hosting a joint-UAA and UAF alumni social prior to Friday, Mar. 1's hockey game in Anchorage. Participants can meet at the King Street Brewery in Anchorage at 4pm AKST before a bus will transport fans to the game at 6:40pm AKST. Following the game, a bus will bring patrons back to King Street Brewery at 9:30pm AKST, or there will be an option to be dropped off downtown. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door, with proceeds benefitting local charities, scholarships and the UAF student alumni chapter. The event will include beer, pizza, transportation to and from the game, a ticket to Friday night's game and an event souvenir. For more information, contact Trevor Hyatt at
trevorhyatt17@gmail.com.
The annual UAF vs. UAA hockey alumni game will take place on Saturday, Mar. 2 at the Sullivan Arena. Puck-drop is set for 2:30pm AKST.
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks hockey team hosted their last home games of the season last weekend, taking on the No. 5 Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks in a two-game conference series at the Carlson Center. The Nanooks fell 6-1 to the Mavs on Friday before bouncing back and upsetting MSU 1-0 on Saturday night.
WCHA Standings
Alaska has clinched seventh place in the WCHA standings with 34 points through 26 games this season, surpassing the 30 points they collected last season. Alaska's weekend opponent, UAA, currently sits in 10th place in the conference standings with 11 points through 26 games.
All-Time Series
The Alaska Nanooks trail the all-time series to the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves 67-92-12, with the first meeting between the two teams resulting in a 3-13 loss for the Nooks on the road on Nov. 16, 1979. Alaska is 29-49-6 in Anchorage and 39-43-6 in competitions in Fairbanks. Alaska and Alaska Anchorage split in their last meeting this season, with UAA winning 4-1 on Friday, Feb. 8 before the Nanooks earned a 2-1 victory on Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Carlson Center.
#AKGovCup Continues
This weekend's series will determine the 2019 Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup champion, a best-of-four series between the Nanooks and the Seawolves. The Nanooks are seeking their 14th title overall and seventh-straight since 2012.
Alaska holds the all-time record over the Seawolves in the #AKGovCup 13-8, winning consecutive titles from 2010-2018, but the 2010, 2011 and 2012 titles were vacated due to NCAA infractions sanctioned prior to the 2014-15 season. The Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup first appeared during the 1993-94 season and has been determined by a shootout on eight different occasions.
The 2019 #AKGovCup will be determined by whichever team collected the most WCHA points at the conclusion of the four-game series. A team that wins in regulation or 5-on-5 overtime receives three (3) points, while the losing team will receive zero (0). A team that wins in 3-on-3 overtime or a shootout receives two points (2), while the losing team receives one (1) point. So far, both the Nanooks and the Seawolves have three points each.
First of the Season
Saturday's 1-0 victory over Minnesota State was junior goaltender
Anton Martinsson and Alaska's first shutout of the season. Alaska and Martinsson's last shutout came in the form of a 5-0 upset against the nationally-ranked Mavericks on Jan. 12, 2018. Saturday was the Klippan, Sweden native's second shutout of his career.
Intermission Edge
The Nanooks are 8-7-3 in games that they break open the scoring and 2-12-0 in contests where their opponent scores first. So far this season, Alaska is 4-0-3 when leading at the first intermission, 1-10-0 when trailing at the first intermission and 5-9-0 when tied after 20 minutes. Additionally, Alaska is 6-1-2 when leading at the second intermission, 1-18-0 when trailing and 3-0-1 when tied after 40 minutes.
Seven of 10
In sophomore forward
Steven Jandric's last 10 games, the Prince George, British Columbia native has registered at least one point in seven of those games. S. Jandric's picked up nine points in 10 games, collecting one goal and nine assists in 10 games, including one game-winning assist and one three-point game. S. Jandric now leads the Nanooks in scoring with a team-best 19 points, tallying six goals and 13 assists in 32 games.
Century Men
Junior forward
Troy Van Tetering surpassed 100 career games last Friday, dressing in the Blue and Gold in 101 games throughout his three-year career. Three Nooks are close behind, including fellow juniors
Kylar Hope (94),
Colton Leiter (96) and
Tristan Thompson (95). Van Tetering joins the ranks of senior defenseman
Nikolas Koberstein (121), senior forward
Ryker Leer (124) and senior forward
Chad Staley (124).
Scouting the Opponent – Alaska Anchorage
Since our last meeting, UAA has gone 0-3-1-1 in conference play, falling victim to a road sweep at Michigan Tech last weekend (2-3, 1-3). The Seawolves are led by senior forward Nicolas Erb-Ekholm, who boasts a team-best 13 points with six goals and seven assists. Senior forward Jeremiah Luedtke is the only other Seawolf to register double-digit points this season with seven goals and three assists for 10 points. All three UAA netminders have seen action in games this season with sophomore Brody Claeys boasting the best record (2-5-1), save percentage (.921) and goals-against average (2.33) among the three.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey team page on Facebook.
