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2017–18 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey season

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2017–18 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves
men's ice hockey season
Conference10th WCHA
Home iceSullivan Arena
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall4–26–4
Conference4–21–3–3
Home1–13–3
Road3–13–1
Neutral0–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachMatt Thomas
Assistant coachesChris Kamal
Louis Mass
Captain(s)Matt Anholt
Alternate captain(s)Tad Kozun
Olivier Mantha
Nolan Nicholas
Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey seasons
« 2016–17 2018–19 »

The 2017–18 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey season was the 39th season of play for the program, the 36th at the Division I level and the 25th in the WCHA conference. The Seawolves represented the University of Alaska Anchorage and were coached by Matt Thomas, in his 5th season.

Season

[edit]

Alaska Anchorage entered the season trying to pull out of the tailspin that had begun after Matt Thomas' surprising first season. The team started well, pushing North Dakota into overtime twice, but couldn't get their offense on track over the next few weeks. After finally getting their first win over Lake Superior State, the Seawolves ran off three consecutive wins in mid-November and looked like they may have found a recipe for success.

Unfortunately, as soon as December rolled around, the offense dried up and Alaska Anchorage lost 19 of their next 20 games. During the run, senior netminder Olivier Mantha did what he could to keep the Seawolves within striking distance, be he was called upon to stop more than 40 shots on multiple occasions. While Brody Claeys got some starts in towards the end of the season, Mantha was in net for the season finale against Alaska and finally got some support when the Seawolves scored a season-high 5 goals. Mantha ended the season as well as his college career on a high note with a second win, salvaging an otherwise terrible season.

Departures

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Cause
Aleksi Ainali Forward  Finland Signed professional contract (Vaasan Sport)
Conor Deal Forward  United States Left program (retired)
Bradley Duwe Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Dylan Hubbs Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Tulsa Oilers)
Sean MacTavish Forward  Canada Transferred to MacEwan
Mason Mitchell Forward  Canada Signed professional contract (Washington Capitals)
Rasmus Reijola Goaltender  Finland Graduation (signed with Rovaniemen Kiekko)
Eric Roberts Defenseman  Canada Left program (retired)
Chase Van Allen Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Alaska Aces)
Connor Wright Forward  United States Graduation (retired)

Recruiting

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Alec Butcher Forward  United States 23 Anchorage, AK; transferred from Sacred Heart
Brody Claeys Goaltender  Canada 20 Dauphin, MB
Trey deGraaf Forward  Canada 21 Red Deer, AB
Drake Glover Forward  United States 21 Anchorage, AK
Zac Masson Forward  Canada 21 Newmarket, ON
Aaron McPheters Defenseman  United States 20 Anchorage, AK
Eric Sinclair Defenseman  Canada 21 Kenora, ON
Joe Sofo Forward  United States 21 Sylvania, OH
Kristian Stead Goaltender  Canada 20 Merritt, BC
Brandon Switzer Forward  Canada 21 Brandon, MB
Cameron Trott Defenseman  Canada 20 Anmore, BC
Jordan Xavier Forward  Canada 20 Calgary, AB

Roster

[edit]

[1]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Manitoba Brody Claeys Freshman G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1996-10-02 Dauphin, Manitoba Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL)
4 British Columbia Tanner Johnson Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 1995-09-24 Castlegar, British Columbia Langley Rivermen (BCHL)
6 Alberta Jarrett Brown Senior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1994-01-13 Beaumont, Alberta Cowichan Valley Capitals (BCHL)
7 Ontario Nolan Nicholas (A) Sophomore D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1995-09-24 Thunder Bay, Ontario Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
8 Alaska Drake Glover Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1996-03-05 Anchorage, Alaska Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)
9 Alaska Alec Butcher Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1994-04-15 Anchorage, Alaska Sacred Heart Pioneers (AHA)
10 Ohio Joe Sofo Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 1996-08-07 Sylvania, Ohio Coulee Region Chill (NAHL)
11 Washington (state) Austin Azurdia Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1993-07-27 Wenatchee, Washington Langley Rivermen (BCHL)
12 New York (state) Nils Rygaard Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1995-04-11 Cheektowaga, New York Janesville Jets (NAHL)
13 Manitoba Brandon Switzer Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1995-11-20 Brandon, Manitoba Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL)
17 Saskatchewan Matt Anholt (C) Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1994-05-15 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)
18 Finland Tomi Hiekkavirta Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1996-04-05 Helsinki, Finland HIFK U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga)
19 Alaska Alex Jackstadt Junior F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 154 lb (70 kg) 1994-03-15 Anchorage, Alaska Kenai River Brown Bears (NAHL)
20 British Columbia Corey Renwick Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1995-03-28 Nanoose Bay, British Columbia Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL)
21 Saskatchewan Tad Kozun (A) Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1993-03-03 Nipawin, Saskatchewan Nipawin Hawks (SJHL)
22 British Columbia Cameron Trott Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1997-04-19 Anmore, British Columbia Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
23 Ontario Eric Sinclair Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1996-02-19 Kenora, Ontario Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL)
27 Washington (state) Jeremiah Luedtke Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 159 lb (72 kg) 1994-09-24 Seattle, Washington Prince George Spruce Kings (BCHL)
28 Alberta Jordan Xavier Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1997-08-05 Calgary, Alberta Okotoks Oilers (AJHL)
29 Alberta Trey deGraaf Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996-01-30 Red Deer, Alberta Okotoks Oilers (AJHL)
33 Quebec Olivier Mantha (A) Senior G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1993-01-18 La Tuque, Quebec Penticton Vees (BCHL)
37 Germany David Trinkberger Sophomore D 6' 5" (1.96 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1996-08-25 Landshut, Germany Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
39 British Columbia Kristian Stead Freshman G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1996-10-17 Merritt, British Columbia Nipawin Hawks (SJHL)
41 Alaska Aaron McPheters Freshman D 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1997-03-25 Anchorage, Alaska Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL)
67 Ontario Jonah Renouf Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 154 lb (70 kg) 1994-05-11 Mississauga, Ontario Quinnipiac Bobcats (ECAC)
71 Ontario Zac Masson Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1996-02-06 Newmarket, Ontario Langley Rivermen (BCHL)
74 Alberta Cam Amantea Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 1994-02-17 Calgary, Alberta Penticton Vees (BCHL)
76 Ontario Nathan Renouf Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 154 lb (70 kg) 1994-05-11 Mississauga, Ontario Quinnipiac Bobcats (ECAC)
77 Alaska Mason Anderson Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 161 lb (73 kg) 1995-02-23 Anchorage, Alaska Weyburn Red Wings (SJHL)
95 Sweden Nicolas Erb Ekholm Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1995-06-07 Malmö, Sweden Malmö Redhawks J20 (J20 SuperElit)

Standings

[edit]
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T SOW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#9 Minnesota State 28 22 5 1 0 67 116 58 40 29 10 1 153 84
#20 Northern Michigan 28 19 7 2 2 61 85 64 43 25 15 3 130 108
Bowling Green 28 17 6 5 2 58 87 63 41 23 12 6 122 100
Bemidji State 28 13 9 6 4 49 77 63 38 16 14 8 103 95
#16 Michigan Tech* 28 12 11 5 2 43 82 75 44 22 17 5 134 117
Ferris State 28 11 16 1 0 34 68 86 38 14 23 1 87 122
Alabama–Huntsville 28 10 16 2 1 33 69 86 37 12 23 2 84 121
Alaska 28 9 17 2 1 30 74 85 36 11 22 3 97 118
Lake Superior State 28 8 17 3 0 27 59 90 36 10 22 4 76 121
Alaska Anchorage 28 4 21 3 3 18 55 102 34 4 26 4 65 124
Championship: March 17, 2018
† indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Broadmoor Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 5, 2018

Schedule and results

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
September 30 7:07 PM vs. Simon Fraser* McDonald CenterEagle River, Alaska (Exhibition)   Mantha W 6–1  1,500
Regular Season
October 6 7:07 PM vs. #7 North Dakota* Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska   Mantha T 1–1 SOL 2,563 0–0–1
October 7 7:07 PM vs. #7 North Dakota* Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska   Mantha L 2–3 OT 2,506 0–1–1
October 13 5:37 PM at Colorado College* World ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Mantha L 1–6  4,357 0–2–1
October 14 5:07 PM at Colorado College* World ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Mantha L 2–3  4,764 0–3–1
October 20 7:07 PM vs. Alaska* Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska (Governor's Cup)   Mantha L 2–6  2,846 0–4–1
October 21 7:07 PM at Alaska* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska (Governor's Cup)   Mantha L 2–3  3,128 0–5–1
November 3 3:07 PM at Lake Superior State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan   Mantha L 2–3 OT 1,221 0–6–1 (0–1–0)
November 4 3:07 PM at Lake Superior State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan   Mantha W 4–1  1,381 1–6–1 (1–1–0)
November 10 4:07 PM at Alabama–Huntsville Von Braun CenterHuntsville, Alabama   Mantha L 1–5  3,128 1–7–1 (1–2–0)
November 11 4:07 PM at Alabama–Huntsville Von Braun CenterHuntsville, Alabama   Mantha T 3–3 SOW 3,072 1–7–2 (1–2–1)
November 17 7:07 PM vs. Michigan Tech Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska   Mantha T 1–1 SOW 2,198 1–7–3 (1–2–2)
November 18 7:07 PM vs. Michigan Tech Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska   Mantha T 3–3 3x3 OTW 2,063 1–7–4 (1–2–3)
December 1 3:07 PM at Ferris State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan   Mantha L 0–2  1,550 1–8–4 (1–3–3)
December 2 3:37 PM at Ferris State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan   Mantha L 2–5  1,821 1–9–4 (1–4–3)
December 8 7:11 PM vs. Alaska Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska (Governor's Cup)   Mantha L 2–7  2,298 1–10–4 (1–5–3)
December 9 7:10 PM vs. Alaska Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska (Governor's Cup)   Mantha L 2–3  2,264 1–11–4 (1–6–3)
December 15 4:07 PM at Bemidji State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota   Mantha L 1–5  2,561 1–12–4 (1–7–3)
December 16 4:07 PM at Bemidji State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota   Mantha L 0–4  2,581 1–13–4 (1–8–3)
January 5 7:07 PM vs. #7 Minnesota State Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska   Mantha L 2–5  1,646 1–14–4 (1–9–3)
January 6 7:07 PM vs. #7 Minnesota State Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska   Mantha L 1–4  1,776 1–15–4 (1–10–3)
January 12 7:07 PM vs. Alabama–Huntsville Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska   Mantha L 2–4  1,866 1–16–4 (1–11–3)
January 13 7:07 PM vs. Alabama–Huntsville Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska   Mantha W 2–1  2,338 2–16–4 (2–11–3)
January 19 3:07 PM at #17 Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio   Mantha L 2–6  2,397 2–17–4 (2–12–3)
January 20 3:07 PM at #17 Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio   Mantha L 2–3  3,682 2–18–4 (2–13–3)
January 26 7:07 PM vs. #20 Northern Michigan Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska   Mantha L 2–4  1,483 2–19–4 (2–14–3)
January 27 7:07 PM vs. #20 Northern Michigan Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska   Mantha L 3–5  1,708 2–20–4 (2–15–3)
February 2 4:07 PM at #7 Minnesota State Verizon Wireless CenterMankato, Minnesota   Mantha L 1–7  1,708 2–21–4 (2–16–3)
February 3 4:07 PM at #7 Minnesota State Verizon Wireless CenterMankato, Minnesota   Claeys L 3–4  4,207 2–22–4 (2–17–3)
February 9 7:07 PM vs. Lake Superior State Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska   Mantha L 2–3 OT 1,640 2–23–4 (2–18–3)
February 10 7:07 PM vs. Lake Superior State Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska   Claeys L 1–2  1,558 2–24–4 (2–19–3)
February 15 7:07 PM vs. #14 Bowling Green Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska   Claeys L 2–5  1,276 2–25–4 (2–20–3)
February 16 7:07 PM vs. #14 Bowling Green Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska   Mantha L 2–5  1,929 2–26–4 (2–21–3)
February 23 7:07 PM at Alaska Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska (Governor's Cup)   Mantha W 5–3  2,696 3–26–4 (3–21–3)
February 24 7:07 PM at Alaska Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska (Governor's Cup)   Mantha W 3–2  2,876 4–26–4 (4–21–3)
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Alaska Time.
Source:[2]

Scoring statistics

[edit]
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Austin Azurdia F 29 13 6 19 33
Nicolas Erb Ekholm C/RW 27 8 7 15 4
Tad Kozun LW 33 5 10 15 50
Jonah Renouf LW 26 3 11 14 8
Alec Butcher LW/RW 16 8 5 13 6
Jarrett Brown D 23 4 8 12 48
Jeremiah Luedtke F 24 4 7 11 26
Jordan Xavier F 29 4 7 11 12
Trey deGraaf F 27 3 4 7 12
Nathan Renouf LW 23 2 5 7 10
Tanner Johnson D 24 1 6 7 13
Eric Sinclair D 34 2 4 6 19
Tomi Hiekkavirta D 23 1 5 6 16
Alex Jackstadt F 32 1 5 6 26
Mason Anderson D 19 2 3 5 24
Joe Sofo F 21 0 5 5 27
Aaron McPheters D 17 0 4 4 8
David Trinkberger D 22 0 4 4 25
Cameron Trott D 10 2 1 3 6
Nils Rygaard C/RW 24 1 2 3 10
Brandon Switzer RW 14 0 2 2 10
Zac Masson RW 26 0 2 2 17
Corey Renwick F 30 1 0 1 12
Cam Amantea F 19 0 1 1 28
Olivier Mantha G 31 0 1 1 0
Nolan Nicholas D 32 0 1 1 24
Matt Anholt LW 1 0 0 0 0
Brody Claeys G 7 0 0 0 0
Drake Glover C 7 0 0 0 4
Bench - - - - - 6
Total 65 116 181 484

[3]

Goaltending statistics

[edit]
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Brody Claeys 7 269 0 3 0 15 132 0 .898 3.34
Olivier Mantha 31 1784 4 23 4 102 946 0 .903 3.43
Empty Net - 14 - - - 7 - - - -
Total 34 2067 4 26 4 124 1078 0 .897 3.60

Rankings

[edit]
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR - NR
USA Today NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

USCHO did not release a poll in Week 24.[4]

Awards and honors

[edit]
Player Award Ref
Olivier Mantha WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year [5]
Eric Sinclair WCHA All-Rookie Team [6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Univ. of Alaska-Anchorage". Elite Prospects. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  2. ^ "Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (Men) 2017-2018 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  3. ^ "Univ. of Alaska-Anchorage 2017-2018 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  4. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  5. ^ "WCHA Announces 2017–18 Individual Awards". WCHA.com. March 13, 2018.
  6. ^ "WCHA Announces 2017–18 All-League Teams". WCHA.com. March 8, 2018.