AMHERST, Mass. - The Nanooks are out east for a matchup with the UMass Minutemen. 

Friday, Jan. 24
at UMass | 3 p.m. AKST
Mullins Center | Amherst, Mass.

Saturday, Jan. 25
at UMass | 2 p.m. AKST
Mullins Center | Amherst, Mass.

Watch Live (Day One) | Watch Live (Day Two) | Live Stats (Day One) | Live Stats (Day Two) | Listen Online | KSUA 91.5 FM

Last Time Out
Ryan Johnson got the Seawolves on the board only 4:26 into the game. For over 12 minutes, Alaska Anchorage held the lead until Matt Hubbarde tied the game at 1-1. Hubbarde tallied his fifth goal of the year to make it 1-1 after playing the puck Broten Sabo outside the crease and beating UAA's netminder Tyler Krivtsov on his left. The 1-1 tie stood into the second period until Max Helgeson made it 2-1 UAA 15:20 into the second after finding the back of the net outside the Nanooks net. Alaska Anchorage took the one-goal advantage into the third before extending their lead on the power play. Dimitry Kebreau made it 3-1 12:15 into the third stanza. 

16:06 into the third, while on a power play of their own, Alaska pulled to within one goal on a Kyle Gaffney power-play goal. Three minutes later, Hubbarde tallied his second goal of the night, tying the game at 3-3 with 9.5 seconds left in regulation. After tying the game up and forcing the overtime period, the Nanooks managed to put two shots on goal while UAA put up zero. Unfortunately, none of the shots found the back of the net, resulting in a 3-3 tie.

Meet the Opponents

• UMass is led by Cole O'Hara who has posted 31 points through 23 games. He's scored 12 goals and dished a team-high 19 assists.
• Aydar Suniev has scored a team-high 14 goals and follows with 27 points. No other Minuteman has scored more than eight goals (Jack Musa).
• The Minutemen have the second-best power play in the nation. They have converted 29.6% of their man-advantages (21-71).
• They are 12th in the nation on the penalty kill, killing 58-69 attempts.
• Michael Hrabal is the main goalie for UMass, playing in 19 games (1091:02 minutes) and has given up 43 goals. He holds a 2.36 GAA and .924 save percentage. His record in net is 9-8-2-2.
• They are fresh off of a split with Merrimack, falling at Merrimack on Jan. 17 before defeating Merrimack the next night in Amherst, 5-2. 
• UMass is 3-5-1 at home in the Mullins Center.
• In Hockey East play, the Minutemen are 4-7-2, in non-conference play, UMass is 7-3-0.

#NookNotes

• Nicholas Grabko is the Nanooks nominee for the 2025 Hobey Baker award. The goalie has made 17 appearances this season and holds a 5-8-4-1 record. He also holds a .909 save percentage and 2.51 GAA. Fans can vote once per day until March 9 before the second round.
• Kyle Gaffney has nine points over the last eight games leading the Nanooks. He has posted three points over the last two games and five over the last four. He picked up a pair of assists on 12/29 in the Nanooks 4-1 win over Ferris State.
• He then picked up two assists in the victory over UMD on Jan. 4 before scoring a goal at UAA last weekend. 
• Matt Hubbarde has three points over the last two games, including his first-career multi-goal game at UAA on Jan. 18. After scoring the first goal for Alaska, Hubbarde tied the game with 9.5 seconds left, forcing the OT period. 
• Broten Sabo sits in 14th in the nation with his three game-winning goals this season. That total leads independent skaters, tying him with Carter Rapalje (LIU) and Evan Orr (Stonehill).
• Kyle Gaffney is 50th in the nation with three power-play goals. This total places him fifth among independent skaters. 
• Chase Dafoe has one short-handed goal this season, good for 18th in the nation.
• Nicholas Grabko's 2.51 GAA is 41st in NCAA DI hockey. His .909 save percentage is 43rd and his one shutout ties him for 30th in NCAA DI.
• Alaska and UMass have faced off only twice all-time. The Nanooks won both matchups in the 1993-94 season. 
• The Nanooks won the first-ever matchup 12-4 at home on Jan. 21, 1994 before blanking UMass the next night, 8-0. 
• This will be Alaska's first appearance at the Mullins Center.
• William Lawson-Body leads the Nanooks with 27 blocked shots this year. Carson Reed follows with 24 and Adam Cardona has 21. Kyle Gaffney and Luke LaMaster both have 20. 
• Alaska has blocked 257 shots this year. They have had 211 shots blocked. 
• Luke LaMaster has a +9 on-ice this season to lead Alaska. The defenseman  is followed by William Lawson-Body (+6) and Will Hilfiker (+5).
• Trenton Penner made his college debut on Saturday at UAA. He slotted into the extra skater position for his debut.
• Brendan Ross leads the rookie scorers this season with 10 points on three goals and seven assists. Haden Kruse follows with five points.
• Alaska has scored 114 points this season, rookies have accounted for 31.
• The 'Nooks scored their fifth extra-attacker goal against the Seawolves on Jan. 18. They have scored five and allowed two. Alongside that, the Nanooks have scored four game-tying goals to their opponents one. 
• Kyle Gaffney leads the way in the faceoff circle with 160 wins. Chase Dafoe has won 155 and leads with a .531 win percentage in the circle.

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