FAIRBANKS - Come out to the Carlson Center this Saturday, Sept. 24 for the Nanooks' first game of the 2022-23 season. They'll host the Simon Fraser Red Leafs for an exhibition game at 7:07 p.m. Catch all of the action on FloHockey.tv ($$) or listen live on KSUA 91.5 FM as Bruce Cech brings all of the play-by-play to you from inside the Carlson Center. 

Saturday, Sept. 24
Simon Fraser | Live Video | Live Stats | Tickets
7:07 p.m. | Carlson Center | Fairbanks, Alaska

Last Time Out
The Nanooks are fresh off their Blue/Gold weekend. On night one, Team Two went 3-0 in the 3v3 tournament and took home the night one title. On night two, the Gold Team used an early overtime goal to defeat Blue 2-1. Blue had some late-game heroics as Payton Matsui, just outside the crease, caught the deflection off a Matt Koethe shot, tying the game at 1-1 with just over a minute remaining in regulation. Cade Neilson slotted home the first goal of the night for Team Gold in the first period. They led 1-0 at half before ending regulation tied at 1-1. Less than a minute into overtime, Brady Risk ended it and gave Gold the win. Colin Doyle played the puck in their own zone and Matteo Pecchia brought it up ice before firing a backdoor pass to a cutting Risk. Risk caught just enough of the puck, slotting the winner in the back of the net. 

Wear your Jerseys! 
Everyone under the age of 18 and in a hockey jersey will get in for FREE on Saturday night! Wear your best hockey jersey and come support the Nanooks on night one! 

Back in the "Flo" of Things
Never miss a minute of any Nanooks hockey home games as all 14 home events are streamed on FloHockey.tv! For a monthly subscription, you can catch all the action in the Carlson Center from the comfort of your home. Bruce Cech will have the call on both FloHockey.tv and KSUA 91.5 FM! 

Nanook 65 Golden Ale
The University of Alaska Fairbanks has teamed up with Fairbanks' Latitude 65 Brewing Company on a new beer that will boost scholarships for Alaska Nanooks student-athletes. Nanook 65 Golden Ale is described as an approachable and full-flavored ale with tangerine and floral hop notes and a nice crisp finish. It will be available at Alaska Nanooks hockey games at the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium, Carlson Center, The Pub and in the tap room at the Latitude 65 brewery. One dollar per pint will go toward scholarships for Alaska Nanooks student-athletes. In addition to supporting student-athletes, the partnership with Latitude 65 stands to increase community interest in Nanooks athletics and support of its teams, said Brock Anundson, Nanooks athletic director.

"We are excited about this collaboration with Lat 65 Brewing, one of Fairbanks' favorite local brands," he said. "This innovative partnership has the ability to engage the community, boost student-athlete scholarships and enhance the Nanook Nation experience, both at the games and when visiting the taproom."

The effort to create a Nanook brew started more than a year ago. Latitude 65 owners Zeb Mabie and Andy Roe were looking to create a new beer, and UAF was looking for a partner.

"We are always looking for ways to be involved in our community and have been longtime supporters of UAF athletics. Given my time as a collegiate hockey player, this partnership just made sense," Mabie said. "Andy and I see this as a great opportunity to support the Nanooks and collegiate athletes, as well as strengthen both organizations' ties to the community.

#NookNotes

• 2022-23 is officially here. The Nanooks 73rd season will begin as they take on the Simon Fraser Red Leafs in an exhibition game.
• The Nanooks lost 14 players from 2021-22. KRISTAPS JAKOBSONS is now playing for Unia Oswiecim in Poland. DIDRIK HENBRANT transferred to the University of Maine, JORDAN MUZZILLO is playing with the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL, MATT MCKIM is now playing for Acadia University (Canada) in USports, CALEB HITE transferred to Alaska Anchorage (NCAA), FILIP FORNAA SVENSSON transferred to UMass Lowell of Hockey East, ANTONIO DI PAOLO departed the team, RILEY MURPHY transferred to Adrian College (NCAA DIII), ROBERTS KALKIS is now playing for IPK in the Mestis League (Finland), ANTTI VIRTANEN is now playing for Chamonix in Ligue Magnus (France), NATAN VERTES is now playing for Fehervar AV19 in the ICEHL (Hungary), GUSTAVS GRIGALS joins FORNAA SVENSSON at UMass Lowell, AUSTIN RYMAN is now at Division III Bethel Univ., and JAKOB BREAULT departed Fairbanks. 
• The Nanooks welcomed in a class of 14 to fill in the missing pieces. That class includes four transfers; T.J. LLOYD joins the Nanooks after three seasons with Bowling Green, MATTEO PECCHIA joins the Nanooks from Western Michigan, MATT RADOMSKY joins the Nanooks from Holy Cross and JONNY SORENSON comes from Minnesota. 
• Alaska is fresh off of their annual Blue/Gold weekend. On night one, the Nanooks team made up of BRADEN BIRNIE, CHASE DUBOIS, ZACHARY POWER, HARRISON ISRAELS, QUINN RUDRUD, CONNOR MYLYMOK, T.J. LLOYD, XAVIER JEAN-LOUIS, RICARDS LANDMANIS and MATT RADOMSKY won the 3v3 tournament, going 3-0. The next night, the Gold squad took a 2-1 win over Blue in overtime as BRADY RISK slotted home the winner off of a MATTEO PECCHIA pass. 
• During the festivities, MATT KOETHE won the Fastest Skater award, knocking off Simon Falk. DANIEL ALLIN won the Goalie Shootout, saving all but one shot. GARRETT PYKE won the Hardest Shot contest, posting 98 mph. 
• Head coach ERIK LARGEN signed a four-year extension coming into the 2022-23 season. All of this coming after he led the Nanooks to a 14-18-2 record in their first season as an Independent team in nearly 30 seasons. 
• KYLE GAFFNEY and CADE NEILSON rejoin their 2020-21 Aberdeen Wings teammate PAYTON MATSUI in Fairbanks. The 'Nooks have three players on the roster from the 2020-21 Wings team. 
• Alaska's average age for the 2022-23 season is 22.07 years.
• This year's team is made up of 15 Canadians, six Americans, four Latvians, two Swedish, one British, one from Finland and one from Russia.

Fun Facts

• This is the first matchup with Simon Fraser for the Nanooks hockey team since the 2018-19 season. The 'Nooks took the win 13-1 on Sept. 29, 2018 in Fairbanks. 
• Nanooks play-by-play, Bruce Cech (pronounced Check), enters his 34th season as the voice of the Nanooks. 
• This will be the 73rd season of Nanook hockey with the first coming all the way back in 1925-26. They did not join the Division I ranks until 1984-85 season. They've been in the Great West Hockey Conference (1985-88), CCHA (1994-2013) and most recently WCHA (2013-2020).
• The Nanooks remain an NCAA Division I independent team for the second-straight year after the WCHA folded following the 2020-21 season. 
• Former Nanook Carlo Finucci (2008-12) will be on the sideline with the Red Leafs. Finucci recently retired from professional hockey on Aug. 19, 2022 after a decade. He started out in the ECHL with the Las Vegas Wranglers and Evansviille Icemen before heading overseas to play in Denmark, the EPIHL, EIHL, Erste Liga and AlpsHL.
• In four years with the Nanooks, Finucci saw time in 122 games, scoring 53 points on 18 goals and 35 assists.

Meet the Opponents

• Simon Fraser comes to Fairbanks for the first time in over three years. They last came to Fairbanks in 2018 for an exhibition game that resulted in a 13-1 Nanooks win.
• SFU recently announced their new mascot, the Red Leafs. They had been nameless as an athletic department for more than a year after retiring "The Clan" as their official nickname at the end of the 2019-20 athletic year. 
• Simon Fraser went 12-0-0 in the regular-season of the 2021-22 BCIHL season and eventually went on to win their fourth BICHL championship. They defeated Vancouver Island University on March 6, 2022 2-0 for the Championship. 

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.