FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks hockey team officially begins 2022-23 with their annual Blue/Gold scrimmages on Friday, Sept. 16 and Saturday, Sept. 17. Both nights begin at 7:00 p.m in the Patty Ice Arena.

Friday, Sept. 16
Live Video | Listen Live | 7:00 p.m. | Patty Ice Arena

Saturday, Sept. 17
Live Video | Listen Live | 7:00 p.m. | Patty Ice Arena

General Admission: $5
Family Pack: $20

Back on Campus!
The Nanooks hockey team is back in the Patty Center for their annual Blue/Gold Weekend. Blue/Gold will take place on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16-17 in the Patty Ice Arena. Night one will consist of a 3-on-3 style tournament and mini game competitions. Night two will be a traditional Blue/Gold setup with two 25-minute running clock periods  and more mini game competitions happening throughout the night! 

Nanook Country, Let's Ride
The Nanooks are welcoming a big group of newcomers for the 2022-23 season. Braden Birnie, Kyle Gaffney, Will Hilfiker, Xavier Jean-Louis, Ricards Landmanis, Lassi Lehti, T.J. Lloyd, A.J. Macaulay, Cade Neilson, Matteo Pecchia, Zachary Power, Matt Radomsky, Quinn Rudrud and Jonny Sorenson now call Fairbanks home as the 'Nooks welcomed the group of 14 that was made up of 10 incoming freshmen and four transfers. T.J. Lloyd (Bowling Green - CCHA), Matteo Pecchia (Western Michigan - NCHC), Matt Radomsky (Holy Cross - Atlantic Hockey) and Jonny Sorenson (Minnesota - Big Ten) headlined the transfers.

Four Year Extension
On July 28, 2022, the Nanooks and head coach Erik Largen agreed to a four-year extension, locking Largen up through the 2025-26 season. Largen completed his fourth season as the bench boss of your Nanooks in 2021-22. He led them into their first fully independent season since 1993-94 and posted a 14-18-2 record including a 10-5-2 record in the 2022 half of the schedule including a 4-4 OT tie at #8/8 Denver, a 3-2 win over #8/8 Minnesota and a 3-0-1 record against independent rival Arizona State. Under Largen, the Nanooks have succeeded on the ice, however, their academics have not gone unnoticed. Over his four year career as the head coach, the Nanooks hold a 3.5 GPA average, including a 3.58 GPA during the 2020-21 academic year and a 3.56 GPA in the 2021-22 academic year. 

Season Outlook
The Nanooks will see a lot of similar opponents from a year ago, including home-and-home matchups with Long Island University (LIU) and Arizona State. With the exception of 2020-21, this will be the fourth season in a row that the Nanooks and Sun Devils meet.

It will also be the second-straight year the Nanooks face off with the Sharks of LIU after LIU joined the NCAA DI ranks in 2020-21. 

Alaska will officially open the season on Sept. 24 at the Carlson Center with an Exhibition game against the Simon  Fraser Red Leafs.  A week later, they'll begin their regular-season with American International College on Oct. 1-2 before hitting the road at St. Thomas on Oct. 7-8. This will be the 'Nooks first trip to St. Thomas since December 29, 1983 when the Nanooks were a Division II program. That game was a 6-3 Alaska win. After their first road trip of the season, the Nanooks welcome old WCHA opponent Michigan Tech to the Carlson on Oct. 13-14 before hitting the road until December. They'll face Omaha, Northern Michigan, RPI and Penn State before the return of the Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup on Dec. 9-10 as Alaska Anchorage will come to town for the first time since Feb. 2020. The Nanooks will head South to Anchorage on Dec. 16-17 before facing Notre Dame on New Years Eve and New Years Day. They'll stay on the road for three more games, two at Denver and one more at UAA before returning home on Jan. 28, 2023. After the conclusion of this year's Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup, the Nanooks will welcome ASU on Feb. 3-4, 2023.

They'll then head East for a matchup with LIU on Long Island on Feb. 10-11 before bringing LIU back North on Feb. 17-18. Their final road trip will come on Feb. 24-25, 2023 at Arizona State, in the Sun Devil's new arena before coming home for their regular-season finale on March 3-4 with Lindenwood, a first-year NCAA DI hockey program. 

All home games will be streamed on FloHockey.tv (monthly subscription) or can be listened to for free on KSUA 91.5 FM or on KSUAradio.com. Bruce Cech enters his 34th season as the Voice of the Nanooks and will bring you all the action.

Season & Single-Game Tickets
Both season tickets and single-game tickets are available for purchase. The Nanooks Ticket Office is open M-T (8am-4pm) and Fridays (10am-3pm). Call (907)-474-NOOK (6665) for more information.

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