FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks hockey team welcomes the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves for the return of the Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup! 

Alaska Nanooks Media Notes (PDF)

Friday, Dec. 9
Alaska Anchorage | Watch ($$) | Live Stats | KSUA 91.5 FM (Online)
Fairbanks | 7:07 p.m. | Carlson Center | Tickets

Saturday, Dec. 10
Alaska Anchorage | Watch ($$) | Live Stats | KSUA 91.5 FM (Online)
Fairbanks | 7:07 p.m. | Carlson Center | Tickets

AFTER ALL THIS TIME
The Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup is OFFICIALLY back! Anchorage comes to Fairbanks for the first game between the in-state rivals in over 1,000 days! The Nanooks are looking for their 12th-straight cup victory, having won the rivalry dating back to the 2009-10 season. The Seawolves have not claimed the cup since the 2008-09 season when they swept the 'Nooks in two games.

FLY, FLY, FLY AWAY!
On night one, the Nanooks and Alaska Airlines will giveaway a pair of round-trip vouchers to anywhere Alaska Airlines flies. There will be a paper airplane contest during the first intermission of the Dec. 9 matchup.

IT'S "UGLY" SWEATER WEATHER
There will be an ugly holiday sweater contest in the second intermission on the first night of the Alaska Airlines Gov Cup.

IN-VENUE ENTERTAINMENT
The Nanooks will welcome the Casey Smith Project and Once & Future to the Carlson Center this weekend for intermission entertainment! Casey Smith Project will play Friday, Dec. 9 and Once & Future will play Saturday, Dec. 10.

TEDDY BEAR TOSS
Come out on Saturday, Dec. 10 and bring new/slightly-used teddy bears and stuffed animals - we'll be tossing them on the ice during the first intermission to be donated!

LAST TIME OUT
The Nanooks are on the ice for the first time since Nov. 23 following a trip to #7/7 Penn State. The Nanooks are riding a two-game losing streak and look to get off the slide with a return to the Carlson Center. This is the 'Nooks first game at home since Oct. 13-14 against Michigan Tech. The Nov. 23 loss to Penn State snapped an eight-game streak of two or more goals scored by Alaska. At Penn State, the 'Nooks fell 3-2 on day one, falling short on a comeback before falling 2-1 on day two. PSU scored a pair of unanswered goals after Alaska grabbed an early 1-0 lead at Pegula.

#NookNotes

• ALASKA AIRLINES GOVERNOR'S CUP IS BACK. The Nanooks and Seawolves meet for the first time since Feb. 29, 2020 in Fairbanks for the regular-season finale. 
• HARRISON ISRAELS sits in 39th in the national ranking for faceoffs won. The sophomore captain has won 148 and leads all independent teams. 
• MATT RADOMSKY currently sits at 22nd in the nation for goals against average (50 ranked). The transfer goalie for the 'Nooks currently holds a 2.27 GAA and leads the independent rankings. He is currently third in the independent ranks for save percentage with a .907. Dominic Basse (St. Cloud St.) leads the nation with a .940 save percentage. 
• HARRISON ISRAELS and JONNY SORENSON are tied for 13th in the nation as each have tallied a short-handed goal on the season. 
• The Nanooks lead the independent ranks for team short-handed goals with their two. They are 16th in the nation as a team with the pair of goals. 
• Alaska's power-play struggles have continued as they are ranked 53rd in the nation with only six power-play goals on the season. AIC and Western Michigan lead the nation with 22 each. Arizona State leads the independent ranks with 11 this season. 
• Four current Nanooks have Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup experience; COLIN DOYLE, MARKUSS KOMULS, GARRETT PYKE and ERIKS ZOHOVS have played the Seawolves while donning the blue and gold. T.J. LLOYD played UAA while a part of BGSU in 2019-20. In four career games against Anchorage, LLOYD has two points on two assists. 
• CONNOR MYLYMOK looks to etch his name on the Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup just like his dad, Jeremy, who played for UAA from 1992-96. While at UAA, Jeremy Mylymok won the Gov Cup in 1994, 1995 and 1996. 
• The Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup earned it's name in 1997. Prior to the 1997 Cup, it was known as the Nissan Governor's Cup.
• Alaska leads the cup series 14-8 all-time.
• Alaska has five players with 13+ blocks on the season. A.J. Macaulay leads the way with 17 blocks through 14 games. Arvils Bergmanis follows with 16, Markuss Komuls has 15 and Pyke and Sorenson both have 13. Brady Risk is the sixth Nanook in double-digits with 10 blocks on the season.

Meet the Opponents

• Alaska Anchorage enters this weekend with a 2-8-0 record. Their two wins came against Western Michigan in their regular-season opener and Northern Michigan on Oct. 22. 
• The Seawolves have played four-straight exhibition games leading up to this weekend's Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup meeting; they have won all four, defeating UNLV 3-1, Liberty 9-1 and sweeping Simon Fraser 6-0 and 4-0. 
• In their 10 NCAA games, Derek Hamelin is leading the way in scoring with eight points, all coming on assists. Connor Marritt follows in second with six points - he leads UAA with four goals scored this season. Ben Almquist and Maximilion Helgeson will spend the most time in the faceoff circle for the Seawolves. Helgeson has won a team-high 71 bouts while Almquist follows with 61 wins in the circle.
• Matt Shasby is the bench boss of the Seawolves - he's in his first season. Shasby is an Eagle River-native and played for the Seawolves at the turn of the century (1999-2003). During the 2001-02 season, he donned the 'A' and in 2002-03 he wore the captain's 'C'. 
• Shasby is a former defenseman and his best season came in 2001-02 when he tallied 27 points in 35 games. He ended his professional career with five seasons on the Alaska Aces in the ECHL. He was the Aces 'A' in 2006-07 and wore the 'C' in 2007-08. 
• The Seawolves grabbed a 6-0 and 4-0 win over Simon Fraser in a pair of exhibition games this past weekend. Ben Almquist scored one goal and assisted on two others in the 6-0 win over SFU on Friday night. 
• Dylan Finlay had two assists in the second game after scoring one goal and adding an assist in the Friday win over the Red Leafs. 
• Caleb Hite returns to Fairbanks - the former Nanook will take on his old team in the green and yellow after scoring five goals and seven assists in 72 career games with the 'Nooks. Hite, now donning #51, has five points this season for the Seawolves on two goals and three assists. He set up the game-winner at Northern Michigan on Oct. 22 with the primary assist to Jamie Collins. UAA went on to win that game 3-1. 
• UAA has scored first in three games this season while surrendering the first goal to their opponents seven times. 
• Brett Bamber puts his body in front of the puck the most for the Seawolves. He leads UAA with 18 blocked shots through 10 NCAA games this season. Carson Kosobud follows with 16 - he's the only other UAA player with more than 15. 
• The Seawolves are looking for their first Gov Cup win since the 2008-09 season. 
• Nolan Kent currently sits in 12th in the nation with a save percentage of .925. Kent is also 17th in the nation with a pair of shutouts on the season. Blake Pietila of Michigan Tech leads the nation with four and AJ Semptimphelter of Arizona State leads all independent goalies. 
• Derek Hamelin is 37th in the nation with a 0.67 assists per game average. He is second in independent ranks, Robert Mastrosimone of Arizona State leads independent ranks with an average of 0.71 per game.

Looking Ahead

• After this weekend's clash in Fairbanks, the two teams will head to Anchorage for the second leg of this year's Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup. The Nanooks will take on the Seawolves in the Seawolf Sports Complex on the campus of UAA for the second time ever and first time since the 2019-20 season after UAA moved to their on-campus rink, leaving behind the Sullivan Arena. 
• After Anchorage, the Nanooks will travel to Notre Dame for the first time since the 2016-17 season. They'll face the Fighting Irish on Dec. 31, 2022 and Jan. 1, 2023 in the Compton Family Ice Arena. The last matchup also fell on Dec. 31/Jan. 1 and ended in a Notre Dame sweep. The Nanooks did not score the last time these two met, falling 5-0 and 4-0. 
• The Nanooks will return to Denver on Jan. 6-7, 2023 for a rematch with the reigning national champs. The 'Nooks and Pioneers faced off last season and Denver grabbed a game one victory in Magness Arena before the 'Nooks tied the champs 4-4, using two goals from Connor Mylymok. 
• The Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup will resume on Jan. 27-28, 2023 with a home-and-home matchup with UAA. On Jan. 27, 2023, the 'Nooks will head to Anchorage before hosting the finale on Jan. 28, 2023 in the Carlson Center.