ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Alaska Nanooks hockey team is your 2026 United Collegiate Hockey Cup champions and concludes the 2025-26 season with a 15-15-3 record. The No. 1-seeded Nanooks took down the No. 2-seeded Lindenwood Lions, 4-3 in overtime on Saturday night.
How it Happened
Saturday's championship game opened its scoring late in the first as
Peyton Platter scored his eighth goal of the season 15:34 in.
Michael Citara crashed the net, getting Lindenwood netminder Liam Beerman out of position. After the puck came off his stick on the wrap-around attempt,
Misha Danylov tipped it back towards the open slot, and
Peyton Platter was served a perfect look at the net; the center did not miss.
5:20 into the second period Lindenwood scored their first equalizer. Ethan Zielke beat
Lassi Lehti to make it 1-1 just minutes into the second period. Despite the goal, Alaska was unfazed and answered back eight minutes later.
Michael Citara struck first 13:13 into the second. The wing won the puck along the boards to Beerman's right and skated near the center point, there he fired a shot into the back of the net using a screen out front. Platter earned the lone assist on the Nanooks' second goal of the night. 1:07 later,
Dean Spak answered again. Following a turnover in the neutral zone, Spak possessed the puck at full speed and beat Beerman with a nifty move for his second goal of the year. The unassisted goal elevated the Nanooks lead to 3-1. The two-goal advantage carried into the third period, but at the halfway mark, Lindenwood went on a run.
After 10:16 of scoreless play to open the third, Louis-Philippe Fontaine cut the LU deficit to one with the Lions' second goal of the game. Another seven minutes would go by, but Lindenwood would strike with another equalizer with less than three minutes left in regulation. Jacob Fletcher found the back of the net on a cross-crease pass to make it 3-3. The tie led to a five-minute 3v3 overtime period. Alaska won the opening faceoff and possessed the puck nearly the entire time leading up to the game-winner.
Braden Birnie entered the zone at full speed but his shot was pushed wide with a defender on his back. Lindenwood gained possession, but a pass from behind their own net was intercepted by Birnie, giving the Nanooks an odd-man rush back towards the net. Birnie quickly found
Chase Dafoe across the slot and the captain caught Beerman lunging, then tucked the winner home.
Coach's Quote
"This really felt like the culmination of our season. To win our third trophy of the year and reach our third in-season championship game says a lot about the consistency of this group. What made it even more special was how it happened—Chase Dafoe scoring the winner in the final game of his college career off a pass from Braden Birnie, who was also playing his last game. And behind it all, Lassi delivered a championship performance with 39 saves in his final game as well. It's a special way for those guys to finish their careers and a great moment for our team."
Inside the Numbers
- Since Jan. 16, 2026, the Nanooks have scored four or more goals in 12 of 14 games. This was their third-straight game with four or more.
- Since the start of the new year, the Nanooks have gone 11-5-2. In Feb/Mar, Alaska went 6-1-1.
- Michael Citara and Peyton Platter each led the Nanooks with a goal and an assist each. Citara concludes his collegiate career with a career-high 31 points on 16 goals and 15 assists this season.
- Platter finishes his sophomore season with a career-best 21 points on eight goals scored and 13 assists.
- Dean Spak's unassisted goal was his second goal of the season and of his career. He wraps up 2025-26 with nine points on two goals and seven assists.
- Misha Danylov added the primary assist on Platter's goal, his 11th point of the season and seventh assist.
- Braden Birnie's assist on the game-winning goal was his 11th of the season, giving him 18 points in his senior season and 47 career points in 114 games with the Nanooks.
- Finally, Chase Dafoe's game-winning goal was his 13th goal of the season, giving him 21 points, a new-career high. The senior finishes with 104 games played, 31 goals, 21 assists, and 52 career points.
- Dafoe's goal was his fifth-game winning goal of the season. As of Saturday night, he is tied for sixth in NCAA Division I for game-winning goals.
- Alaska blocked a dozen shots tonight. Tommy Cronin was the only skater with more than one. The rookie forward finished the championship with three blocked shots.
- The Blue and Gold owned the faceoff circle, winning 32-58 faceoffs. Chase Dafoe cleaned up on the dot, winning 14 of 21 bouts to lead both sides.
- Lassi Lehti made 39 saves in his final collegiate game. The senior stopped nine shots in the first and second before 21 came in the third. Lehti saw no shots in overtime.
- Alaska was outshot 42-22 tonight.
- Lindenwood went on the only power play tonight. They were unsuccessful.
United Collegiate Hockey Cup Honors
Three Nanooks were named to the UCHC All-Tournament Team following Alaska's championship win on Saturday.
Michael Citara was named an All-Tournament forward following a four-point weekend. He finished with one goal and three assists in the Nanooks' OTT/SOW and championship victory.
Nathan Rickey was named an All-Tournament defenseman, and
Lassi Lehti was named the All-Tournament goalie. Lehti made 33 saves in game one against Stonehill, and kept the Skyhawks off the board in all four shootout attempts. He also made 39 saves in the championship win over Lindenwood on Saturday. With his efforts,
Lassi Lehti was also named the 2026 United Collegiate Hockey Cup Most Valuable Player. He went 1-0-1 in net with 72 saves.
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