FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks end 2023 at home this weekend with the Augustana Vikings on Dec. 15-16. This will be the first matchup between these two programs. 

Friday, Dec. 15
Augustana | 7:07 p.m.
Carlson Center

Saturday, Dec. 16
Augustana | 7:07 p.m.
Carlson Center

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Holiday Season
The Nanooks are back home and ready to celebrate the holiday season with two theme nights against Augustana. On Friday, Dec. 15, the Nanooks will be hosting an Ugly/Holiday Sweater contest.

Pet Food Drive
Bring any pet food to the Carlson Center on Friday, Dec. 15 and you'll get into the game for FREE. Food to be donated to pet shelters throughout the local Fairbanks area.

Teddy Bear Toss
During the first intermission of game two against Augustana, the Nanooks will host their annual Teddy Bear Toss, sponsored by SAAC. Thanks to a partnership with Santas Helpers, all teddy bears/stuffed animals that are donated during intermission will go to kids of families in needs.

Last Time Out
The Nanooks are fresh off of their sweep on the road at Alaska Anchorage. With their 5-0, 3-1 victories in Anchorage, the Nanooks maintained the Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup for the 13th-straight season and took a 4-0-0 advantage in the season-series with the Seawolves. 

Team Leaders
Brady Risk was the first Nanooks skater to crack the 20-point threashold this season as the junior leads the way with eight goals and 12 helpers. His 20 points has a comfortable lead on the next leading-scorer, Harrison Israels. The captain leads the Nanooks in goals scored with 11; he adds four assists to boast his 15 points this season. Anton Rubtsov joins them with over a point per game as the junior has 14 points through a dozen games played. Arvils Bergmanis and T.J. Lloyd are the final Nanooks in double-digits as Bergmanis has 11 points and Lloyd had 10.

Pierce Charleson improved his season record to 8-4-1-1 with the two wins at Anchorage on Dec. 1-2. He has his season averages down to a 2.11 GAA and his save percentage up to .922. 

Next Up, Great Lakes Invitational 
The Nanooks will host Augustana before hitting the road for their first-ever appearance in the Great Lakes Invitational. The 57th edition of the GLI will take place on Dec. 28-29 with the Nanooks and Michigan Tech kicking off the four-game slate on Dec. 28 at 11:37 a.m. AKST. Alaska will then play Ferris State or Michigan State on Dec. 29. The GLI is played at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. and all games can be found on FloHockey or found locally on KFXF.

Scouting the Opponent
Augustana is in their first season as an NCAA Division I hockey program. They officially opened up their program history on Oct. 7-8 with a trip to Wisconsin. There, they fell to the Badgers 4-0, 3-0. They grabbed their first win as a program on Oct. 14, 3-2 over Bowling Green. They also completed their first-ever sweep that same weekend with a 4-1 win over BGSU. The Vikings are led by Luke Mobley and Ryan Naumovski through their first 14 games played. Mobley leads the way with 11 points on six goals and five helpers. Naumovski follows with 10 points on three goals and seven assists. Two former Nanooks are on the Augustana roster after transferring following the 2022-23 season. Simon Falk and Quinn Rudrud now wear 23 and 21 for the Vikings. Falk has skated in a dozen games, posting five points, all on assists, while Rudrud has skated in 12 games, scoring six points on three goals and three assists. 

Josh Kotai and Zack Rose have split time in goal for the Vikings this season as Kotai has appeared in seven games while Rose has appeared in eight. Rose holds a better record in net for Augustana, as he's currently 3-3-1 while Kotai is 2-4-1. Rose has played 453:32 in net, posting a 3.31 GAA and .905 save percentage while Kotai has spent 390:48 in net, posting a 3.07 GAA and .913 save percentage. 

On a Run
Certain Nanooks are currently riding a hot-streak when it comes to tallying points. This season, Brady Risk has scored a point in all but three games. Over the last nine games, he has posted 15 points, including five at UAA on Dec. 1-2. Harrison Israels is riding a seven-game scoring streak. The center has nine points in that span including five goals and four helpers. Arvils Bergmanis joins Risk with five points in his past two games, posting a three-point game on Dec. 1 at UAA with three assists before grabbing a pair of apples in the game two victory in Anchorage. 

The Nanooks continue to outpace their opponents offensively, outscoring them 49-35 through 14 games. So far this season, the second period has proven to be the Nanooks' best period as 25 of their 49 goals have come in the middle stanza. 

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