FAIRBANKS - It's officially hockey season! The Alaska Nanooks hockey team begins its regular season this weekend, welcoming Penn State to Fairbanks for a pair of contests at the Big Dipper Ice Arena.

Saturday, Oct. 5
vs. Penn State | 7:07 p.m.
Big Dipper Ice Arena | Fairbanks
Taylor Swift Night

Sunday, Oct. 6
vs. Penn State | 5:07 p.m.
Big Dipper Ice Arena | Fairbanks
Pink Out!

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New Faces
The Nanooks are bringing in 19 new players for this season, with 13 freshmen joining the team. They welcome six transfers to Fairbanks. The list includes Matt Rickard, a graduate defenseman from AIC; Adam Cardona, a sophomore defenseman from UMass Lowell; Luke Johnson, a junior forward from Minnesota-Duluth; Luke LaMaster, a graduate defenseman from Wisconsin; Matt Hubbarde, a senior forward from Providence and Nicholas Grabko, a graduate goaltender from Bentley. In total, Alaska has brought in eight new blueliners, with five of them being freshmen.

Returning Stars
12 players are returning to Alaska this season, including captain Braden Birnie, Anton Rubtsov, Chase Dafoe, Kyle Gaffney and goaltender Lassi Lehti.

Last Time Out
The Nanooks are coming off a 5-4 win over Grand Canyon University in an exhibition match last Saturday. William Lawson-Body, Luke Johnson, Cade Ahrenholz, Matt Hubbarde and Peyton Platter all made it on the scoresheet for the Nooks, with Platter netting the game-winning goal. The Nanooks scored one power play goal in four chances, while they went 2/3 on the penalty kill during the contest. Alaska notched a 61.4 face-off percentage, with Chase Dafoe leading the Nanooks with seven face-off wins.

#NookNotes

• Alaska is coming off a 17-14-3 season. During the campaign, they collected wins against No. 9/10 Michigan Tech, No. 20/18 St. Cloud State, and No. 18/18 Arizona State.
• The Nooks are returning their second-leading points and assist-getter in Rubtsov. The senior forward out of St. Petersburg, Russia, tallied 19 assists and 27 points last season.
• Alaska finished 2023-24 ranked 15th in the nation in goals per game with 3.24 while holding its opponents to 2.53, good for 13th nationally.
• The Nanooks are playing their final games in the Big Dipper Ice Arena this weekend, as their next home contests will be held at the Carlson Center on Dec. 6-7. 
• Junior forward Braden Birnie was named as captain prior to Alaska's exhibition vs. Grand Canyon. He becomes the 48th captain of the Nanooks hockey program since 1979-80. 
• Four other Nanooks will wear the "A" this season as Chase Dafoe, Kyle Gaffney, Matt Koethe, and Brayden Nicholetts were named alternate captains.

Meet the Opponents
The Nittany Lions face Alaska for the first time since the 2022-23 season when they hosted the Nooks for a pair of games. This is Penn State's first visit to Fairbanks in nearly a decade, with its last match against the Nanooks in Alaska coming on October 18, 2014, for the Brice Alaska Goal Rush Tournament. Alaska earned the 4-3 victory that game, with Tayler Munson, Nolan Huysmans and Austin Vieth (x2) netting goals for the Nanooks. Vieth scored his two goals just 27 seconds apart from each other, recording the game-winning goal at the 14:30 mark in the third period. 

Penn State is returning its leading points-getter from last season, as preseason All-Big Ten Second Teamer Aiden Fink notched 34 points on a team-leading 15 goals and 19 assists. PSU opens the season having received 23 votes in the USCHO.com preseason poll on September 23.

The Nittany Lions are coming off a season that saw them make it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, beating Michigan Tech 8-0 in the opening round before falling in overtime to Michigan

Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky returns to Fairbanks after five years as the Nanooks coach at the turn of the century. From 1999-2004, Gadowsky was the bench boss for Alaska and amassed a 68- 89-22 (.441) record. His best season with the Nanooks came in 2001-02 when he led the 'Nooks to a 22-12-3 season record and quarterfinals appearance at the CCHA Tournament.

Hilinski's Hope
This weekend, the Nanooks are proud to participate in Student-Athlete Mental Health Week alongside @HilinskisHope. This week is a call to action to raise mental health awareness, destigmatize help-seeking, and provide quality resources to our student-athletes because #MentalHealthMatters. The Nanooks hockey team will represent Hilinski's Hope with a white sticker featuring a green ribbon on the back of every helmet this weekend. The Hilinski's Hope Foundation was founded in 2018 by Mark and Kym Hilinski to honor the life of their son Tyler, who died by suicide yet never showed any signs of depression or struggle. Hilinski's Hope helps colleges and universities change and save lives, eliminate stigma, and scale mental wellness programs for student-athletes by sharing Tyler's story, connecting students with mental health resources, and assisting universities to institutionalize best practices.

Looking Ahead
The Nanooks hit the road for their next 12 contests, beginning with two games against Michigan Tech on October 11 and 12. They return to Fairbanks on December 6 with a matchup against Augustana, which will see the team officially return to the Carlson Center.

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