DENVER, Colo. - The Nanooks hockey team fell to the Denver Pioneers on New Years Eve 2021 by the score of 7-2. This drops the Nanooks to 4-13-0 on the season.

It took only 30 seconds for the Pioneers to score the first goal as Cameron Wright scored his first of the night. Just over 10 minutes later Justin Lee made it 2-0 and that lead stuck into the second. Brett Stapley got on the board while on the power play as he made it 3-0 Pioneers 7:30 into the middle stanza. Less than a minute later it was 4-0 Denver when McKade Webster scored. 

Brady Risk got the Nanooks on the board while on their own power play. After taking a pass from Garrett Pyke, Risk skated through the faceoff circle to the left of Magnus Chrona, goaltender for Denver, and snuck it past Chrona making it 4-1. 

Wright tacked on another goal for Denver 7:58 into the final period making it 5-1. Bobby Brink and Wright would add two more for the Pioneers making it 7-1 and giving Wright a hat trick, the first hat trick Alaska has surrendered since Philip Beauleu of NMU put up three on Jan. 5, 2019. Matt Koethe scored the last goal, grabbing his first-career goal in the blue and gold. Didrik Henbrant and Brady Risk picked up assists as Koethe's goal made it 7-2 to end night one. 

The Nanooks and Pioneers will meet again tomorrow on Jan. 1, 2022.

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