UAF Wins First United Collegiate Hockey Cup

Senior captain Chase Dafoe scored 24 seconds into 3-on-3 overtime to lift top-seeded Alaska Fairbanks to a 4-3 victory over second-seeded Lindenwood in the championship game of the inaugural United Collegiate Hockey Cup on Saturday in Missouri.

Michael Citara and Peyton Platter each recorded a goal and an assist for the victorious Nanooks (15-15-3 overall), who also got 39 saves from senior goaltender Lassi Lehti in his final appearance in a UAF uniform. Jacob Fletcher scored one goal and set up another for the host Lions (15-15-0), including the tying goal with less than three minutes remaining in regulation. Liam Beerman stopped 18 shots for Lindenwood, which outshot UAF, 42-22, at the Centene Community Ice Center. The Nanooks won 32 out of 58 total faceoffs.

Citara, defenseman Nathan Rickey and Lehti were all named to the UCHC All-Tournament team, while Lehti was also named MVP. Lehti also backstopped UAF to the Adirondack Winter Invitational championship in Lake Placid back in November. 

Long Island defeated Stonehill, 4-3, in the consolation game of the tournament, which featured all five NCAA Division I independent men's hockey programs. UAF, which had a first-round bye as the top seed, defeated Stonehill in a shootout on Friday to advance to the title game, while Lindenwood topped LIU on Thursday to earn its championship contest berth. Alaska Anchorage finished in fifth place after falling to Stonehill and LIU.

Alaska Blanks St. Lawrence in Lake Placid

Alaska Fairbanks won its first game since Oct. 18 with a 2-0 victory over St. Lawrence yesterday in the semifinal round of the 2025 Adirondack Winter Invitational in Lake Placid, N.Y.

William Fleet and Michael Citara provided all the offense needed for the Nanooks (3-8-1 overall) with second-period goals, while Lassi Lehti made 19 saves for his first shutout of the season and the third of his UAF career. Colin Winn recorded 23 stops for the Saints (2-12-1) as SLU lost its sixth straight contest.

Alaska will play for the tournament title tonight against Clarkson, a 2-0 winner over UMass Lowell in the other semifinal, at Herb Brooks Arena.

ADDENDUM: The Nanooks claimed the Adirondack Winter Invitational championship with a 3-2 triumph over Clarkson in the title contest. Lehti finished with 21 saves in net, while Citara scored UAF's first two goals and Rylen Roersma tallied the game-winner late in the third period. UMass Lowell took third place by beating St. Lawrence, 7-2.

Alaska Ties at Quinnipiac

Alaska (Fairbanks) snapped a four-game losing streak and completed a five-game road trip with a 2-2 tie at No. 5 Quinnipiac on Tuesday night at the M&T Bank Arena in Hamden, Conn. The visiting Nanooks then outscored the home team in the ensuing shootout, three to two, although the result will be officially recorded as a tie for NCAA purposes.

Chris Pelosi opened the scoring for the host Bobcats with a first-period power-play goal. Misha Danylov then tied matters for the Nanooks halfway through the third period, before Ethan Wyttenbach scored just under four minutes later for Quinnipiac. Alaska then knotted the contest again with less than two minutes remaining in regulation on a power-play tally by Peyton Platter, with the primary assist going to Michael Citara. It was the Nanooks' fourth power-play goal in two games, and Citara's fourth assist in that same span.

Lassi Lehti finished with 39 saves in net for the Nanooks, while Matej Marinov made 14 stops for the Bobcats, as Quinnipiac outshot Alaska, 41-16. The Bobcats also won 34 of 57 total face-offs.

Alaska (2-8-1 overall) returns home to face Simon Fraser in an exhibition contest on Saturday, while Quinnipiac (5-2-2) will enter ECAC Hockey conference play on the road at Harvard and Brown this weekend.

Princeton Sweeps Visting Alaska Fairbanks

Princeton University men's hockey started off its 2025-26 campaign with a two-step sweep of visiting NCAA independent Alaska Fairbanks at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink this weekend. The Tigers recorded a 5-2 victory on Halloween night, and followed that up the next night by outlasting the Nanooks, 6-3. It was the first meetings between the two schools since 1985, when Alaska won two games in Fairbanks. This weekend's sweep was Princeton's first to start a season at home since 1955-56.

On Friday, Jaxon Ezman scored back-to-back goals early in the third period to break open the game for the Tigers, who also got a goal and 10 faceoff wins from Kai Daniells. Arthur Smith made 20 saves in net for host Princeton, while Lassi Lehti made 29 stops for the Nanooks, who were outshot, 34-22. 

Saturday's game was tied at one entering the final 20 minutes, before the two sides combined for seven goals. Princeton broke open a 3-3 contest with two goals 10 seconds apart in the final four minutes of play, with Jake Manfre scoring twice in that span, including the game-winning goal and an empty-net tally. Smith finished the night with 26 saves, while Brendan Gorman scored two goals and set up another for the Tigers, who also got three points from Ezman. Freshman goaltender Calvin Vachon finished with 31 saves for Alaska, while Nanook captain Chase Dafoe scored two power-play goals and Michael Citara posted three assists. Alaska, despite scoring three power-play goals in four attempts in the rematch, fell to 2-8-0 overall, while Princeton improved to 2-0-0.

Alaska finishes up a five-game road trip on Tuesday at Quinnipiac, while Princeton will visit Ivy League rivals Brown and Yale next weekend to begin ECAC Hockey conference play.