DULUTH, Minn. - The Alaska Nanooks hockey team opens up 2025 on the road at the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. 

Friday, Jan. 3
at Minnesota Duluth | 4:07 p.m. AKST
AMSOIL Arena | Duluth, Minn. 

Saturday, Jan. 4
at Minnesota Duluth | 3:07 p.m. AKST
AMSOIL Arena | Duluth, Minn. 

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Last Time Out - vs. Ferris State

• The Nanooks jumped out with two early goals before making it a three-goal advantage in the second. Ferris State would jump on the board early in the third before Alaska put the game out of reach on an empty-netter late in the third. 
• Matt Hubbarde tallied the opening goal only 4:48 into the first period. He took a pass from Brendan Ross on a backdoor slash and put the shot home. Broten Sabo earned the secondary assist on the goal. Hubbarde's goal came on the power play. Five minutes later, Matt Koethe tallied an even-strength goal after winning puck possession at center ice. The winger brought the puck into the attacking zone and tucked home the shot giving Alaska a 2-0 advantage 10:18 into the opening 20 minutes. The 2-0 lead stood until 9:04 into the second period.
• Chase Dafoe found the back of the net for the second-straight night, this time shorthanded. Kyle Gaffney started the play along the wall at center ice. After winning the puck, Dafoe picked it up on the attack and beat Ferris State netminder, Noah West, from the slot. 
• 2:56 into the third period Ferris State got on the board. Logan Heroux capitalized on the power play, cutting Alaska's lead to 3-1, but that was all the Bulldogs found offensively. 15 minutes later Matt Rickard put the game away with an empty-netter 17:07 into the final stanza. The defenseman found the back of the net from the opposite side of the ice to make it a 4-1 final. 

#NookNotes

• The Alaska Nanooks took third in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off this past weekend in Milwaukee. They fell to UConn on Saturday, Dec. 28, 4-1, before knocking off Ferris State 4-1 in the third-place game on Sunday, Dec. 29.
• Lassi Lehti earned the win in net on Sunday, stopping 26 shots. With his performance and his performance on Dec. 7 against Augustana (W, 2-1) he was named the Independent Hockey Co-Goalie of the Month for December 2024. 
• In the month of December, he posted a 2-0-0 record with a 1.00 GAA and .965 save percentage on 55 saves.
• Chase Dafoe earned Honorable Mention honors for the Independent Player of the Month. The junior forward posted four points in four games for the Nanooks, tallying a power-play goal, game-winner and short-handed goal with an assist.
• Brendan Ross was the Honorable Mention honoree for the Rookie of the Month. He had two a pair of assists in the month, one against Augustana and one against Ferris State.
• Dafoe ranks 15th in the nation with one short-handed goal. That came in the win against Ferris State, the Nanooks' first SHG of the season. In that game, they scored an even-strength goal, short-handed goal, power-play goal and empty-net goal. 
• Both Kyle Gaffney and Dafoe rank 72nd in the nation with 133 faceoff wins. Broten Sabo ranks 24th in NCAA DI hockey with a pair of game-winning goals.
• These two teams last met in the 2021-22 season, also in Duluth, Minn. UMD grabbed the sweep over the Nanooks with a 5-1 win on Nov. 26, 2021 and a 1-0 OT win over Alaska on Nov. 27, 2021.
• UMD holds a 6-0-0 record over the Nanooks all-time. Before 2021, the last matchup between the two sides was 1988.
• Nicholas Grabko has a 2.59 GAA this season, that puts him second in the Independent ranks and 44th in the nation. He is 48th in the nation and third in Independent ranks with a .906 save percentage and is 21st in the nation with one shutout.
• Alaska has posted a power-play goal in four of their last five games. They now have seven power-play goals.
• Kyle Gaffney is riding a hot-streak for the Nanooks; the alternate captain has six points in his last four games. He posted a pair of assists in the Nanooks' 4-1 win over Ferris State.
• Chase Dafoe has scored a goal in the last three games for the Nanooks and has four points in the last three games for Alaska. He and Gaffney are tied for the team-lead in goals scored (5).
• Brendan Ross leads the way for rookie scorers. He has seven points on two goals and five assists (2-5--7) through 17 games played.
• Alaska has scored the first goal in seven of their 17 games this year. They have three unassisted goals, two game tying goals and three goals with the extra attacker on the ice. 

Meet the Opponents - Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs

• Minnesota-Duluth enters this matchup with the Nanooks on a one-game winning streak. They knocked off Bemidji State on New Year's Eve, 4-2 on the road in the Sanford Center.
• UMD is led by Dominic James. Through 15 games he has nine goals and eight assists for a team-high 17 points. the next closest is Aaron Pionk and Jayson Shaugaby. Both have 13 points. Pionk has the team lead with 13 assists, Shaugabay has six goals and seven assists.
• Adam Gajan has seen the most time in net for the Bulldogs. He has appeared in 12 games and has a 5-7-0-1 record with an .882 save percentage, 3.50 GAA and 36 GA. 
• Anthony Menghini is second in the nation with one hat trick this season. He trails Dominic James for the most power-play goals on UMD with three, James has four. They are both ranked in the top-30 in the nation in the category.
• Pionk is 13th in the nation with 0.81 assists per game.

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