GRAND FORKS, ND - The Nanooks hockey team will face North Dakota on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 5-6. This is their first time in Grand Forks to face the Hawks since the 1993-94 season.

Friday, Jan. 5
at North Dakota | 4:07 p.m.
Ralph Engelstad Arena | Grand Forks, ND

Saturday, Jan. 6
at North Dakota | 3:07 p.m.
Ralph Engelstad Arena | Grand Forks, ND

Watch Here (Game One) | Watch Here (Game Two) | Listen Online | Live Stats | KSUA 91.5 FM | Alaska Media Notes (PDF)

#NookNotes

• The Nanooks are fresh off of a third-place finish at the 2023 Great Lakes Invitational - they fell to the host-team, Michigan Tech, on Dec. 28 in overtime, 3-2, before defeating Ferris State in the third-place game on Dec. 29, 3-2. 
• Anton Rubtsov has moved up to the second-highest scorer on the Nanooks roster this season with 18 points, surpassing Harrison Israels (17 points).
• He has 16 points in the last 13 games dating back to Oct. 21 (at St. Cloud State, 5-2 win).
• Braden Birnie tallied the game-tying goal on Dec. 29 against Ferris State, his first goal since Nov. 4, 2023 vs. Alaska Anchorage at home (SHG).
• Chase Dubois had a goal and an assist in the Nanooks' two games at the Great Lakes Invitational - the junior winger was named to the 2023 GLI All-Tournament team, representing the Nanooks. 
• In Friday's victory at the GLI, the Nanooks won 43 of the 66 faceoffs against the Bulldogs. They improved their team faceoff perentage to 54.1% and are now 11th in the nation and first amongst Independent teams in that category.
• They are holding on to a +0.89 scoring margin, ranking them 14th in the nation and second in the Independent ranks - they trail only Arizona State (+1.05).
• The Nanooks have 109 assists as a team, good for 11th in the country. They also have 170 points, good for 14th in the nation. Both rank second to Arizona State for Independent teams.
• Brady Risk and Anton Rubtsov rank in the top-35 in the nation for points per game. Risk is 18th with 1.22 per game and Rubtsov is 32nd with 1.12. Risk trails Lukas Sillinger of ASU (1.23) for the lead by Independent skaters. Rubtsov is fourth.
• Harrison Israels sits in 10th in the nation for goals per game, checking in with 0.67 - he leads the Independent skaters. Brady Risk is fourth in Independent and 42nd in the nation with 0.50 goals per game. 
• Israels made a jump in the faceoff wins. The captain now has 203 wins on the season, good for 14th in the nation. 
• As a team, the Nanooks have 17 power-play goals. This is eighth in the nation and the third most among Independent teams. Arizona State leads both categories with 27.
• The Nanooks are 7-4-0 when outshooting their opponents. For just the third time this season, the Nanooks, on Dec. 29, posted 40+ shots-on-goal. They are 3-0-0 when shooting more than 40 shots, including one 50+ SOG performance at Stonehill.
• Alaska has led entering the third period in all of their wins this season. They are 10-1-1 when entering the third with the lead. 
• The 'Nooks have a .633 Pairwise points percentage entering their matchup with the Hawks. 
• Alaska has played in three-straight one-goal games. They fell in back-to-back 3-2 OT losses before grabbing a 3-2 win over the Bulldogs of Ferris State. They are 2-2 in one-goal games. 
• This trip to NoDak marks their first return to the Flickertail State since Jan. 2-3, 1994 - a series that ended in an Alaska sweep (6-5 OT & 5-3).

Meet the Opponents - North Dakota

• North Dakota enters this weekend's matchup ranked no. 4 in both the USA Hockey/The Rink Live and USCHO.com polls. Both came out on Monday, Jan. 1. The Nanooks are receiving votes in both polls.
• NoDak is riding a three-game slide. They've fallen in three-straight overtime games starting on Dec. 2 at #3 Denver (L, 3-2 OT). They were then swept by Colorado College at home (L, 3-2 OT & L, 3-2 OT).
• On Dec. 30, 2023 they hosted the U.S. Under-18 Team and lost another overtime game, this time in an exhibition, 4-3. 
• Former Nanooks blue-liner, Garrett Pyke, is on the North Dakota squad. He's currently riding a five-game point streak from Nov. 25 on. He's scored a pair of goals and tallied three assists in the streak. 
• North Dakota currently sits in second-place in the NCHC, trailing St. Cloud State (11-5-2, 7-0-1 NCHC). They were selected to finish second in the NCHC Preseason Media Poll, receiving 175 points and 12 first-place votes. Denver took the preseason poll with 199 points and 11 first-place votes.
• They've received seven NCHC Player of the Week honors this season and had two players named to the NCHC All-Conference Preseason team. Jackson Blake and Riese Gaber. 
• They currently have 11 NHL draft picks on their roster; Jake Schmaltz (Boston), Jackson Kunz (Vancouver), Jackson Blake (Carolina), Cameron Berg (New York Islanders), Nate Benoit (Minnesota), Owen McLaughlin (Philadelphia), Dylan James (Detroit), Abram Wiebe (Vegas), Ben Strinden (Nashville), Jayden Perron (Carolina, and Michael Emerson (Carolina).
• Brad Berry enters his ninth season as the bench boss of NoDak and is in his 18th season with the Hawks. He is 192-97-32 at UND and played for NoDak from 1983-86 before time in the NHL, Swedish Elite League and IHL.

Looking Ahead

• North Dakota will be awaiting Alaska in Grand Forks in 2024 as the 'Nooks open the new year on the road on Jan. 5-6.
• Following their first roadtrip of the new year, the Nanooks return home on Jan. 13, 2024 for their final matchup on home-ice against the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. The Nanooks have already claimed the Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup with four wins against UAA earlier this season. 
• The Nanooks will head out for a three-week roadtrip after their bye week. It begins on Jan. 26-27, 2024 when they travel to LIU before facing UAA one last time on Feb. 3, 2024 and Arizona State on Feb. 9-10, 2024. 

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