UAF Claims 15th Straight Governor's Cup

For the 15th straight time, the Alaska Airlines Governors Cup belongs to the University of (Alaska) Fairbanks.

The Nanooks sewed up their annual in-state rivalry with Alaska Anchorage with a pair of wins in southeastern Alaska this weekend, defeating the host Seawolves by 4-3 and 6-2 scores. UAF has won four of its six meetings with UAA this season, while also recording a tie.

On Friday at Sullivan Arena, Braden Birnie scored with three seconds remaining in regulation to lift UAF to the win. On Saturday, Birnie supplied a goal and two assists, while Chase Dafoe and Alexander Malinowski both scored twice. 

Lassi Lehti stopped 26 of 31 shots for the Nanooks over both games, which drew over 3,000 spectators each night to Sullivan Arena. Tyler Krivtsov stopped 51 of 60 shots in all for UAA, which got goals from five different skaters over the weekend.

The Nanooks (12-15-2 overall) and Seawolves (5-23-1) will close out their 2025-26 NCAA independent season series on Feb. 27-28 at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks.

2025 NCAA Coaching Carousel Continues

There are a number of new assistant coaches in new places for the upcoming 2025-26 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey campaign, with transactions having taken place since the Frozen Four in St. Louis in April:

Coach (Alma Mater) New School         Last Team

Chris Brown (Wisc. River Falls) Cornell            Alaska

Cam Clarke (Ferris State) Cornell            Norwich 

Matt Curley (Clarkson) Alaska             Des Moines (USHL)

Rick Bennett (Providence) Maine              Quinnipiac

Shane Madolora (RIT) RIT                Vermont 

Andrew Magera (Penn State) Lindenwood         Bemidji State 

Josh Mitchell (RIT) RIT                Waterloo (USHL)

Jordy Murray (Wisconsin) Colorado College   Michigan Tech

Andrew Ogilvie (Notre Dame) Notre Dame         Colorado College 

Paul Pooley (Ohio State) Colorado College   Notre Dame

L.J. Scarpace (Michigan) Michigan Tech      Detroit(NHL)

Marco Treviño     Robert Morris      Tri-City (USHL)

Coaches listed by last name, not date of hire. Moves made at same school not included.

Also, Lindenwood hired Keith Fisher, former longtime Penn State assistant coach, as its new head coach.

30 Years Since Devils First Stanley Cup Title

The New Jersey Devils won their first-ever Stanley Cup 30 years ago today at the Meadowlands, completing a four-game sweep of the visiting Detroit Red Wings with a 5-2 victory. Former NCAA players on that NHL championship squad included (by last name): 

• Neal Broten (Minnesota)

• Danton Cole (Michigan State)

• Shawn Chambers (Alaska Fairbanks)

• Tom Chorske (Minnesota)

• Kevin Dean (New Hampshire)

• Jim Dowd (Lake Superior State)

• Bruce Driver (Wisconsin)

• Bill Guerin (Boston College)

• Randy McKay (Michigan Tech)

• Mike Peluso (Alaska Anchorage)

• Brian Rolston (Lake Superior State)

• Chris Terreri (Providence)

New Jersey also won the Stanley Cup again in 2000 and 2003, while also making the final in 2001 and 2012.

Nanooks Win First Game of Season

Alaska (Fairbanks) finally has its first victory of the 2024-25 NCAA campaign, and it has goaltender Nicholas Grabko to thank for that. 

A transfer from Bentley University, Grabko made 37 stops in Saturday's 1-0 win at Notre Dame, including 20 saves in the second period alone, to gain the series split. Broten Sabo scored the only goal of the penalty-filled contest for the Nanooks midway through the game. The two former CCHA rivals combined for 22 penalties and 87 penalty minutes at Compton Family Ice Arena.

UAF improved to 1-5-0 overall, while UND fell to 3-1-0. Nicholas Kempf made 22 saves for the Fighting Irish. 

Michigan Tech Claims 57th GLI

Michigan Tech claimed the 2023 Great Lakes Invitational last night with a 4-3 win over seventh-ranked Michigan State in Grand Rapids, Mich. The game goes down as an official 3-3 tie for NCAA tournament purposes, but the Huskies won the 57th GLI in a shootout. 

Jack Works tallied a hat trick in regulation for MTU, and also earned tournament MVP accolades. Ryland Mosley notched the only goal in the extra session after a scoreless overtime period, while Blake Pietila stopped a career-high 54 shots for the Huskies

Alaska Fairbanks won the consolation game, 3-2, over Ferris State earlier yesterday. In the preliminary round on Thursday at Van Andel Arena, MTU edged UAF, 3-2, in overtime while MSU upended Ferris, 4-1.

The GLI, which originated in Detroit, will play in Grand Rapids through 2026. Next year's edition will feature MSU, MTU, Northern Michigan and Western Michigan.

Alaska Nanooks Claim Governor's Cup Again

The annual Governor's Cup has once again been claimed by Alaska (Fairbanks).

The Nanooks swept a pair of contests over the weekend at in-state rival Alaska Anchorage, by 5-0 and 3-1 counts. Michigan State transfer Pierce Charleson recorded both victories in net, including the shutout on Friday, followed by a 33-save effort on Saturday. Brady Risk paced the UAF attack with three goals and two assists for five points overall through the two games.

Coupled with an earlier pair of wins in Fairbanks on Nov. 3-4 against UAA, it means that UAF (8-5-1 0verall) has again taken possession of the instate trophy that has been awarded in the head-to-head series between the two NCAA Division I hockey schools since 1994. UAF has won the last 10 Cups, although its 2010, 2011 and 2012 titles were vacated as a result of NCAA violations against the Nanooks. Neither team played during the 2020-21 COVID season, while the Seawolves also sat out the 2021-22 campaign while re-establishing their program after it had been a victim of budget cuts. UAA (6-11-1) last earned the Cup in 2009.

The Nanook and Seawolves will wrap up their 2023-24 season series on Jan. 13 in Fairbanks and on Feb. 3 in Anchorage.

NCAA Coaching Carousel Continues

The offseason NCAA men's ice hockey coaching carousel was in full swing over the past two weeks.

Foremost among all the moves made was the firing of Todd Woodcroft by Vermont, after a months-long investigation by UVM administrators concerning "inappropriate text messages" with a student at the university. Woodcroft, who registered an overall record of 20-55-9 at the helm of the Catamounts over the last four years, has been replaced by assistant coach Stephen Wiedler for the 2023-24 season. Wiedler played collegiately at Southern Maine, and was an assistant at Curry College and AIC before becoming an assistant in Vermont in 2020.

The rest of the recent coaching movements came in the assistant ranks, as also reported at USCHO.com. Alaska (Fairbanks) brought aboard former NAHL/NA3HL head coach Casey Mignone, who played collegiately at both Lebanon Valley and Westfield State. Michigan hired Mathew Deschamps (Maine) and Kevin Reiter (Alaska Anchorage) as assistant coaches, and also promoted Rob Rassey (Northeastern) to associate head coach. Colgate added Zach Badalamenti (Wisconsin-Stevens Point), while Brock Kautz (Minnesota) has joined Bemidji State.

Lastly, Arizona State associate head coach Mike Field (AIC), who has spent the last eight seasons with the Sun Devils since they joined the NCAA Division I ranks, has jumped to the major junior hockey ranks as an assistant with Everett (WHL).  Field, who has also coached at his alma mater and at Dubuque (USHL), helped ASU to its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2019 as an independent.

More Moves in NCAA Hockey Coaching Ranks

There have been some recent happenings in the NCAA Division I men's hockey head coaching ranks, including one renewal, one hiring, and one retirement.

Alaska's Erik Largen was signed to a five-year extension after leading the Nanooks to 22 wins and within a hair of a 2023 NCAA tournament at-large berth. A former goaltender for his alma mater, Largen, 36, is 64-64-12 in four seasons at the Alaska (Fairbanks) helm.

Ohio State assistant coach Luke Strand has been named the new head coach at Minnesota State. He replaces Mike Hastings, who left MSU last month for Wisconsin. A former player for Wisconsin Eau Claire who was born in the Phillipines, Strand, 50, previously served as a head coach with his alma mater, and in junior hockey with Green Bay (USHL).

Lastly, longtime Colgate head coach Don Vaughan has called it a career after guiding the Raiders for the past 30 seasons. The St. Lawrence graduate also led Colgate to this year's Whitelaw Cup as ECAC hockey tournament champions. Vaughan, 62, from Almonte, Ont., went 472-504-123 in his tenure in Hamilton, N.Y., which began in 1992-93 and included four NCAA tournament appearances.

MSU, UAF, BC and Princeton All Still Playing

Michigan State won its first-ever Big Ten playoff series, ousting host Notre Dame last weekend with two 4-2 wins in their best-of-three series following a one-goal loss. The Spartans (18-17-2 overall) will now face top-seeded Minnesota on Saturday in an elimination semifinal.

Alaska (Fairbanks) kept its NCAA tournament hopes alive by sweeping fellow independent Lindenwood, 4-1 and 8-0, to close out the regular season. The Nanooks (22-10-2) are 13th in the Pairwise Rankings.

Boston College dropped its regular-season finale at UConn, 6-5. The Eagles (13-15-6) will host UMass in a single-elimination Hockey East contest this Wednesday.

Princeton (13-17-0) eliminated Union, 6-4, in their winner-take-all ECAC Hockey first-round contest on Saturday. The Tigers will now visit Harvard this weekend in a best-of-three quarterfinal series.

Alaska on 2023 NCAA Tournament Bubble

Alaska (Fairbanks) has climbed into the NCAA tournament conversation. The Nanooks, who swept host Arizona State this past weekend, have climbed to 12th in the Pairwise Rankings, which mimics the NCAA tournament selection process.

UAF (20-10-2 overall) has won nine of its last 10 games, and closes out its 2022-23 regular season this weekend at home against fellow NCAA Division I independent Lindenwood. Senior goaltender Matt Radomsky, a Holy Crass transfer, is 20-10-2 in net for UAF so far this season, with a 2.14 goals-against average and two shutouts 

The Nanooks last made the NCAAs in 2010, when they were a member of the original incarnation of the CCHA, while this season also marks their first 20-win campaign since 2001-02. The last independent to make the NCAA tournament field was Arizona State in 2019.

The 2023 NCAA tournament selection show and the 16-team bracket will be held on March 19. The regionals will be held in Allentown, Bridgeport, Fargo, and Manchester the following weekend, with the Frozen Four to be contested on April 6-8 in Tampa.

Alaska (Fairbanks) Wins 2022-23 Governor's Cup

The Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup continued last weekend after a two-year hiatus—and Alaska (Fairbanks) is the champion once more.

The visiting Nanooks swept Alaska Anchorage by 4-0 and 1-0 scores at the Seawolf Sports Complex on Dec. 16-17 to clinch the Cup for 2022-23. Simon Falk and Bowling Green transfer T.J. Lloyd each posted a goal and an assist for the Nanooks (9-7-2 overall) in the opener on Friday, while Chase Dubois notched the game-winning goal with just over five minutes remaining in regulation in the rematch on Saturday. Holy Cross transfer Matt Radomsky earned the shutout both nights for UAF, stopping 20 and 17 shots, respectively.

UAF had swept UAA (2-12-0) at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks on Dec. 9-10 by 5-2 and 7-2 counts in the Governor's Cup renewal, the first games played between the two 49th State rivals since the 2019-20 campaign. Both teams sat out the 2020-21 season due to COVID-19, while UAA stayed on the sidelines last season to rebuild, after the hockey program was dropped by the university due to budget cuts before being reinstated through a fundraising effort.

The Nanooks have now won nine straight Governor's Cups, after their titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012 were subsequently vacated due to NCAA violations. The two independent schools will close out their season series on Jan. 27-28 in Anchorage.

2022-23 NCAA Hockey Season Underway

Just under six months after Denver was crowned the Division I men's national champion in Boston, the 2022-23 NCAA hockey season is underway.

The Pioneers opened the new season on Saturday with a 10-0 exhibition victory at home over UNLV, although things actually got underway on Sept. 23 when Alaska Anchorage returned to action after a two-year hiatus with a 1-0 exhibition loss to visiting Simon Fraser, 6-0. A day later, Alaska (Fairbanks) blanked SFU, 6-0.  

In CCHA play, Bowling Green split a two-game series with Northern Michigan, while Miami posted a win and a tie against Ferris State. In Hockey East, UConn swept Vermont in a pair of contests, while Minnesota-Duluth did the same to Arizona State in non-conference action.

The Division I women's game made its season debut on Sept. 17 when Syracuse topped Union, Quinnipiac edged UConn, and Maine defeated New Brunswick. As of Oct. 3, defending national champion Ohio State (2-0-0) was in first place in the USCHO.com women's poll.

Nanooks Upset Ranked Minnesota Again

Alaska (Fairbanks) did it to Minnesota. Again.

One night after a 4-1 loss at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, the visiting Nanooks upset the host Golden Gophers, ranked eighth in the nation, by a 3-2 count on Saturday evening in NCAA competition before over 8,000 spectators.

Following a 1-1 tie after 20 minutes, Brayden Nicholetts and Markus Komuls scored goals to stake Alaska to a 3-1 lead after two periods. Chaz Lucius made it 3-2 just 18 seconds into the final frame for Minnesota, but Alaska (6-15-1 overall) held on behind goaltender Gustavs Davis Grigals, who made 36 saves for the victory. 

Minnesota (13-9-0) outshot Alaska, 36-16, but went 0-for-7 on the power play. The loss also snapped the Gophers' five-game win streak.

It's not the first time Alaska has upset the Gophers when the latter was ranked in the national top 10. In Oct. 2005, then-UAF edged host Minnesota, 4-3, in overtime, the first of three wins that season that the Nanooks registered over schools that were ranked No 1 at the time of play.

Multiple Sweeps in NCAA Hockey, Nov. 18-21

It was a weekend for sweeps in NCAA Division I men's hockey, including two major upsets, from Nov. 18-21.

In Big Ten play, No. 14 Notre Dame took two games from then-No. 1 Michigan by 3-2 and 5-4 scores, both of them in overtime. Michigan State also swept visiting Wisconsin, winning 3-2 and 5-2. 

In the NCHC, No. 9 Western Michigan upended No. 2 St. Cloud State, 6-2 and 4-0, while No. 11 Denver routed Miami by 7-1 and 4-1 scores.

Bowling Green bounced visiting Lake Superior State twice (5-1, 6-2) in a pair of CCHA contests. Northern Michigan took out Ferris State by 7-6 (OT) and 6-3 margins, while No. 3 Minnesota State blanked St. Thomas, 9-0 and 5-0.

In Hockey East, No. 12 Providence defeated Vermont, 4-3 and 2-0. No. 10 Cornell recorded a pair of wins in ECAC Hockey play, defeating Brown, 3-2 (OT) and Yale, 3-0, while Colgate did likewise with a 3-0 win over Yale and a 6-0 whitewash of Brown.

In non-conference play, No. 9 Omaha won two games at independent Alaska (Fairbanks) by 5-2 and 4-2 counts.

Splits, Sweeps and a First in NCAA Men's Hockey

It was a weekend for splits, sweeps and firsts in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey, from Oct.21-24.

Michigan fell from the top spot in the national polls after first losing and then winning against Western Michigan in a home-and-home series that saw the visitor triumphing in both instances. Boston College lost to Colorado College on Friday at home, but rebounded to top No. 8 Denver the next night by a 5-1 score.

North Dakota, which defeated Quinnipiac in the 2016 NCAA title game in Tampa, split with the host Bobcats last Friday and Saturday in Connecticut. RIT edged Notre Dame in overtime on Thursday night, before the host Irish responded with a shutout win on Friday. Meanwhile, Merrimack split a home-and-home with Boston University in Hockey East play, while independent Arizona State salvaged a split at Colgate with an overtime win in the rematch.

Elsewhere, Clarkson swept Alaska (Fairbanks), Lake Superior State broomed Union, and St. Cloud State did the same to Wisconsin, with the home team winning in each of those instances. Minnesota-Duluth won both halves of a home-and-home with in-state rival Minnesota, and has now won five of its first six outings overall. Bowling Green earned a win and a tie against Miami, while UMass Lowell did the same versus Michigan State, and Sacred Heart did likewise at Maine.

Finally, Division I newcomer St. Thomas recorded its first-ever win at that level with a three-goal triumph over Ferris State on Saturday after falling to the visiting Bulldogs by a goal the night before.

Alaska (Fairbanks) Cancels 2020-21 Hockey Season

The college hockey season is over in Alaska, before it even began.

The administration at the University of Alaska Fairbanks cancelled the men's hockey campaign on Friday due to COVID-19 concerns, along with the UAF men's and women's basketball seasons. The University of Alaska Anchorage, which has been soliciting funds to keep several of its athletics programs alive, including hockey, had opted out of playing hockey earlier this fall. UAF was supposed to start play next month.

A proposal to have UAF play its 2020-21 hockey season in Marquette, Mich. for at least part of this season did not come to fruition. Nanooks head coach Eric Largen, who seemingly did not agree with the decision to cancel the season, has pointed supporters of the hockey program towards an online petition to have the team play this year.

The Nanooks and UAA Seawolves are both now sitting out the last season of the WCHA, after which they will likely revert to NCAA Division I independents along with fellow conference member Alabama-Huntsville. The other seven WCHA schools are leaving the conference after this season to re-form the CCHA.

Alaska Anchorage Plans to Eliminate Men's Hockey Program

The University of Alaska Anchorage hockey program has soldiered on for 40 years—but next season might be the last one for the Seawolves.

UAA announced Wednesday that it was planning to restructure its athletic program, which would result in the elimination of four varsity programs: men’s ice hockey, women’s gymnastics, women’s skiing and men’s skiing, which would result in annual savings of about $2.5 million. The restructuring would also leave UAA with eight NCAA programs, all at the Division II level, following the 2020-21 academic year. Only men’s hockey and women’s gymnastics competed in NCAA Division I.

The Seawolf hockey program got its start in 1979-80 playing at the UAA Sports Center as a Division II independent under head coach and program founder Kelvin “Brush” Christiansen. UAA posted a winning record in each of its five seasons at that level, shifting home venues to the newly-built 6,200-seat Sullivan Arena in downtown Anchorage in 1983, before also moving up to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1984-85.

After one season as a Division I independent, UAA played three seasons in the short-lived Great West Hockey Conference before re-joining the independent ranks. The Seawolves enjoyed their greatest success over the next four seasons, winning at least 18 games in each campaign, and also earned three consecutive independent berths to the NCAA Division I tournament, including a trip to the quarterfinal round in 1991. The last of those teams registered a program-record 27 victories overall in 1991-92. 

UAA joined the Western Collegiate Hockey Association as an affiliate member in 1992-93, and finished 18-13-4 overall that winter. The next season it became a full-time member of the WCHA, with Christiansen stepping down as head coach following the 1995-96 season, having fashioned a 287–229–30 record over 17 years. He was subsequently replaced at the helm by Dean Talafous (1996-2001), former UAA player and assistant coach John Hill (2001-05), and Dave Shyiak (2005-2013).

The Seawolves made the WCHA Final Five three times (2004, 2011, 2014), although they have posted just one winning season overall from 1993 until the present. The 2013-14 squad finished 18-16-4 under former head coach Matt Thomas, who succeeded Shyiak beginning with that season. The program has recorded just 12 campaigns with double-digit wins since joining the WCHA on a full-time basis.

UAA moved its home games back on campus to its hockey practice home, now known as the Seawolf Sports Center, beginning with the 2019-20 season under current head coach Matt Curley, and finished 4-25-7 overall last year. The university had tentatively planned to expand the rink’s capacity from 800 spectators in the next few years, until Wednesday’s announcement. The Alaska Airlines Center, the newest UAA athletic facility that opened on campus in the fall of 2014, is not equipped with an ice-making apparatus.

UAA has sent dozens of players on to the professional hockey ranks, with at least nine former Seawolves having reached the National Hockey League to date. Mike Peluso became the first former Seawolf to hoist the Stanley Cup when he won it with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils in 1995, and Jay Beagle followed suit in 2018 with the Washington Capitals.

Members of the public who wish to comment on UAA's restructuring decision may send feedback to uaa_feedback@alaska.edu, or can attend a virtual town hall meeting and Board of Regents public testimony later this month, with information on both events available at uaa.alaska.edu/calendars/public.

UAA was set to be without a conference home following next season, along with Alaska (Fairbanks) and Alabama-Huntsville, as the WCHA men’s league is scheduled to break up. Bemidji State, Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State, and Northern Michigan are all slated to withdraw from the WCHA following the 2020-21 season to reform the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, which itself originally disbanded in 2013.

Alabama-Huntsville announced earlier this year that it would be eliminating its men’s hockey program, only to have it at least temporarily saved by an aggressivefundraising campaign. Alaska (Fairbanks) announced Wednesday that it was not planning to eliminate ice hockey or any of its other nine NCAA athletic programs at present. 

MSU and Alaska Done, BC and Princeton Move On

The 2019-20 season is over for Michigan State and Alaska (Fairbanks) men's hockey.

MSU bowed out Saturday evening with a second straight 3-0 loss at arch-rival Michigan in their best-of-three Big Ten quarterfinal series. The Spartans finish the season at 15-19-2 overall. Senior goaltender John Lethemon finished his Spartan career with 33 wins, a 2.79 goals-against average, a .911 save percentage and nine shutouts.

Alaska fought back from several deficits at the Carlson Center but fell, 3-2, to visiting Bowling Green on Saturday in the second game of their best-of-three WCHA preliminary round series. The Nanooks end the campaign at 16-15-5, while Alaska senior netminder Anton Martinsson concluded his NCAA career with 26 victories (2.81, .906, 5 SO).

Princeton had four wins overall the entire winter prior to its ECAC Hockey series at Dartmouth this weekend. The Tigers now have six wins, following their second straight overtime victory to oust the Big Green and move on to next week's quarterfinal series against top-seeded Cornell. Mark Paolini notched the game-winner halfway through the extra session, after Dartmouth scored three straight times in the final nine minutes of regulation to force OT. Jeremie Forget made 46 saves in all for the Tigers (6-20-5).

Fourth-ranked Boston College finished its regular season with a 3-3 tie at New Hampshire on Saturday. Aapeli Räsänen scored the game-tying goal late in the third period, while Spencer Knight made 47 stops for the Eagles. BC (24-8-2) will now host No. 18 Providence in a best-of-three Hockey East quarterfinal series next weekend at Conte Forum.

Princeton, Other Surprises as 2020 League Playoffs Begin

There were some surprises on Friday night, as conference postseason tournaments got underway with the openers of best-of-three series in most NCAA Division I men's hockey leagues.

In ECAC Hockey, Princeton recorded just its fifth win of the 2019-20 season in edging host Dartmouth, 4-3, in overtime. Finn Evans tied the game for the Tigers with 2:45 remaining in regulation, before Reid Yochim connected for the game-winner 3:36 into the extra session. Christian O'Neill scored twice for Princeton, which got 25 saves from Jeremie Forget.

In the Big Ten, Trevor Janicke tallied the game's only goal late in the second period as visiting Notre Dame blanked No. 19 Minnesota, 1-0. Cale Morris stopped all 12 shots he faced for the Fighting Irish.

In the WCHA, Tim Theocharidis and Frederic Letourneau scored power-play goals late in the third period as Bowling Green bested host Alaska (Fairbanks), 4-2. Eric Dop made 19 saves for the victorious Falcons.

In Atlantic Hockey, Brendan Walkom scored twice and Jonathan Desbiens set up three goals for Bentley, which routed visiting Canisius, 6-1. Aidan Pelino picked up the win for the Falcons with 18 saves.

Hockey East and the NCHC will both complete their regular seasons this weekend before starting their respective playoffs late next week.

Alaska Fairbanks Wins Governors Cup Again

The University of Alaska (Fairbanks) locked up its 10th consecutive Governors Cup with a 6-1 victory over visiting rival Alaska Anchorage at the Carlson Center on Saturday night. The Nanooks had moved with one win of the title following a come-from-behind 5-2 victory over UAA on Friday night.

Steven Jandric tallied a natural hat trick for the Nanooks in the third period in the opener to break a 2-2 tie, after the visiting Seawolves had taken a 2-0 lead. The two rivals combined for a total of 48 separate penalties on the night.

UAA then jumped out to a 1-0 advantage on Saturday, only to have the Nanooks score six unanswered goals the rest of the way. Roberts Kaļķis notched two goals for Alaska and set up another, while Anton Martinsson stopped 49 of 52 shots on the weekend for the Nanooks.

Both Alaska schools qualified for the WCHA tournament, which features all its games played on member campuses at the site of the higher seed. Alaska (16-13-5 overall, 14-9-5-2 WCHA) finished in fourth place in the league standings and will host Bowling Green in a best-of-three series this weekend, while UAA (4-23-7, 4-18-6-3) will visit top-seeded Mankato State.