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2018–19 Alaska Nanooks men's ice hockey season

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2018–19 Alaska Nanooks
men's ice hockey season
Conference7th WCHA
Home iceCarlson Center
Rankings
USCHO.comNR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall12–21–3
Conference12–14–2
Home6–10–0
Road6–11–3
Coaches and captains
Head coachErik Largen
Assistant coachesJoe Howe
Kārlis Zirnis
Dylan Blankenship
Ryan Reinheller
Alternate captain(s)Ryker Leer
Kyle Marino
Alaska Nanooks men's ice hockey seasons
« 2017–18 2019–20 »

The 2018–19 Alaska Nanooks men's ice hockey season was the 70th season of play for the program, the 35th at the Division I level and the 6th in the WCHA conference. The Nanooks represented the University of Alaska Fairbanks and were coached by Erik Largen, in his 1st season.

Season

[edit]

After just one season with Lance West behind the bench, Alaska brought in Erik Largen as the program's 27th head coach. The Nanooks had trouble finding their game early in the season under their new leader and began 0–7–1. While some of the struggles were caused by a difficult schedule (6 games came against ranked opponents), Alaska's offense was paltry in those matches. The team averages less than 2 goals per game and were shut out on three occasions.

The team improved in November and saw some modest gains in their scoring production. Freshman goalie, Gustavs Dāvis Grigals, also got a turn in net and helped propel Alaska to four wins over a four-week span. While it looked like the team may be rounding a corner, both Grigals and nominal starter Anton Martinsson struggled as the calendar turned to January and the Nanooks ended up with a 5-game losing streak.

Martinsson recovered first and helped the team right the ship down the stretch. Alaska showed some grit with wins over Bowling Green and Minnesota State when both were ranked in the top-10. The Nanooks were also able to take three out of four games from Alaska Anchorage to claim their seventh straight Governor's Cup.

In the WCHA Tournament, Alaska continued to show improvement when they fought hard against 2nd seed, Northern Michigan. The team took a 4–2 lead into the third period but couldn't stop the Wildcats from tying the game in the waning seconds. The Nanooks fought hard in the overtime, firing 14 shots on goal in just over 30 minutes, but they couldn't solve Atte Tolvanen. While NMU won the game, the team didn't fold and continued to press in the second game. Alaska got out to a 2–0 lead by the midpoint of the game but again could not hold the lead and surrendered 4 goals over a 20-minute span. Tyler Cline scored with Martinsson on the bench to close the gap to 1 but the Nanooks couldn't get the tying marker and saw their season slip away despite a gutsy performance.[1]

Departures

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Cause
Kyle Froese Defenseman  United States Transferred to Wisconsin–Eau Claire
Zach Frye Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with San Jose Barracuda)
Ross Heidt Forward  Canada Transferred to Red Deer
Aaron Herdt Forward  United States Transferred to Concordia
Nick Hinz Defenseman  United States Graduation (retired)
Danny Kiraly Defenseman  United States Transferred to Wisconsin–Stevens Point
Tayler Munson Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Austin Vieth Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Peoria Rivermen)
Justin Woods Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Jacksonville IceMen)

Recruiting

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Matthew Doran Defenseman  United States 21 St. Louis, MO
Colin Doyle Forward  Canada 20 Campbellford, ON
Chase Ellingson Forward  United States 21 Blaine, MN
Jake Gresh Defenseman  United States 20 Avon, CT
Gustavs Dāvis Grigals Goaltender  Latvia 20 Riga, LAT
Caleb Hite Forward  United States 21 Grand Blanc, MI
Chris Jandric Defenseman  Canada 19 Prince George, BC
Jordan Muzzillo Defenseman  United States 21 Capron, IL
Samuel Ruffin Forward  United States 19 Westfield, IN
Antti Virtanen Defenseman  Finland 20 Kittilä, FI

Roster

[edit]
No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 California Niko Della Maggiore Junior G 5' 10" (1.78 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1995-04-01 Gilroy, California Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)
2 Minnesota Jack Weiss Junior (RS) D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1994-05-30 Bloomington, Minnesota Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (NAHL)
5 Alberta Nikolas Koberstein Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1996-01-19 Barrhead, Alberta Bloomington Thunder (USHL) MTL, 125th overall 2014
6 Missouri Matthew Doran Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1997-04-28 St. Louis, Missouri Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL)
8 Illinois Jordan Muzzillo Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-03-24 Capron, Illinois Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)
9 Alberta Justin Young Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1997-12-23 Leduc, Alberta Whitecourt Wolverines (AJHL)
10 Minnesota Chase Ellingson Freshman F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 1997-09-02 Blaine, Minnesota Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)
11 British Columbia Steven Jandric Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-08-18 Prince George, British Columbia Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
12 Michigan Caleb Hite Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-02-11 Grand Blanc, Michigan Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL)
13 Connecticut Jake Gresh Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1998-02-01 Avon, Connecticut Chilliwack Chiefs (BCHL)
14 Michigan Brennan Blaszczak Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996-03-12 Troy, Michigan Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)
15 Alberta Troy Van Tetering Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997-04-26 Carstairs, Alberta Lloydminster Bobcats (AJHL)
16 Indiana Samuel Ruffin Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 1998-10-29 Westfield, Indiana Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL)
17 Ontario Colin Doyle Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-05-12 Campbellford, Ontario Wellington Dukes (OJHL)
20 British Columbia Max Newton Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-11-14 Vancouver, British Columbia Cowichan Valley Capitals (BCHL)
22 Washington (state) Chad Staley Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 1994-06-29 Kennewick, Washington Prince George Spruce Kings (BCHL)
23 Alberta Ryker Leer (A) Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1995-12-05 Red Deer, Alberta Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)
24 Michigan James LaDouce Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 1995-08-24 Saginaw, Michigan Minot Minotauros (NAHL)
25 Finland Antti Virtanen Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-03-14 Kittilä, Finland Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
26 Minnesota Tyler Cline Junior F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1995-09-03 Blaine, Minnesota Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)
27 Alberta Colton Leiter Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1996-01-16 Edmonton, Alberta Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL)
28 Saskatchewan Kylar Hope Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1995-08-17 Lashburn, Saskatchewan West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)
29 British Columbia Chris Jandric Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1998-10-03 Prince George, British Columbia Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
30 Latvia Gustavs Dāvis Grigals Freshman G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 1998-07-22 Riga, Latvia Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)
32 Alberta Tristan Thompson Junior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-01-02 Canmore, Alberta Brooks Bandits (AJHL)
33 Sweden Anton Martinsson Junior G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 1995-12-11 Klippan, Sweden Amarillo Bulls (NAHL)
35 Wisconsin Tony Rehm Sophomore G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-06-29 Madison, Wisconsin Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL)
36 Ontario Kyle Marino (A) Junior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1995-06-01 Niagara Falls, Ontario West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)

[2]

Standings

[edit]
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T 3/SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#6 Minnesota State †* 28 22 5 1 1 68 99 43 42 32 8 2 147 76
Northern Michigan 28 18 8 2 0 56 82 57 39 21 16 2 104 96
#13 Bowling Green 28 16 8 4 3 55 77 52 41 25 11 5 133 75
Lake Superior State 28 16 10 2 0 50 91 69 38 23 13 2 123 93
Bemidji State 28 13 11 4 2 45 71 63 38 15 17 6 95 94
Michigan Tech 28 13 12 3 1 43 68 63 38 14 20 4 90 101
Alaska 28 12 14 2 2 40 57 81 36 12 21 3 72 114
Alabama–Huntsville 28 8 18 2 2 28 61 93 38 8 28 2 67 129
Ferris State 28 7 18 3 0 24 68 96 36 10 23 3 90 123
Alaska Anchorage 28 2 23 3 2 11 29 86 34 3 28 3 40 115
Championship: March 23, 2019
† indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Broadmoor Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
September 29 7:07 PM vs. Simon Fraser* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Martinsson W 13–1  1,995
Regular Season
October 6 5:05 PM at Arizona State* Oceanside Ice ArenaTempe, Arizona   Martinsson L 0–3  644 0–1–0
October 7 1:00 PM at Arizona State* Oceanside Ice ArenaTempe, Arizona   Martinsson L 0–5  921 0–2–0
October 12 7:07 PM vs. #5 St. Cloud State* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Martinsson L 2–3  1,308 0–3–0
October 13 7:07 PM vs. #5 St. Cloud State* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Grigals L 2–6  1,646 0–4–0
October 19 5:05 PM at #9 Denver* Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Altitude Martinsson L 1–4  4,363 0–5–0
October 20 5:05 PM at #9 Denver* Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Altitude2 Martinsson T 3–3 OT 4,316 0–5–1
October 26 4:07 PM at #7 Minnesota State Verizon Wireless CenterMankato, Minnesota   Martinsson L 0–4  3,913 0–6–1 (0–1–0)
October 27 4:07 PM at #7 Minnesota State Verizon Wireless CenterMankato, Minnesota   Martinsson L 1–3  4,136 0–7–1 (0–2–0)
November 9 3:07 PM at Lake Superior State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan   Martinsson T 3–3 OT 1,087 0–7–2 (0–2–1)
November 10 3:07 PM at Lake Superior State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan   Grigals W 4–3  1,860 1–7–2 (1–2–1)
November 16 7:07 PM vs. Alabama–Huntsville Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Martinsson L 4–3  1,826 1–8–2 (1–3–1)
November 17 7:07 PM vs. Alabama–Huntsville Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Grigals W 2–1  1,928 2–8–2 (2–3–1)
November 23 3:07 PM at Michigan Tech MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan   Grigals L 1–2  2,605 2–9–2 (2–4–1)
November 24 3:07 PM at Michigan Tech MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan   Martinsson L 2–7  2,218 2–10–2 (2–5–1)
November 30 7:07 PM vs. Ferris State Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Grigals W 4–3 OT 1,562 3–10–2 (3–5–1)
December 1 7:07 PM vs. Ferris State Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Grigals W 6–2  1,723 4–10–2 (4–5–1)
December 7 7:00 PM vs. Lake Superior State Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Grigals L 1–4  1,694 4–11–2 (4–6–1)
December 8 7:07 PM vs. Lake Superior State Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Martinsson L 2–5  2,007 4–12–2 (4–7–1)
January 4 7:07 PM vs. Northern Michigan Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Grigals L 0–4  1,753 4–13–2 (4–8–1)
January 5 7:07 PM vs. Northern Michigan Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Martinsson L 2–4  1,923 4–14–2 (4–9–1)
January 11 4:07 PM at Bemidji State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota   Martinsson L 0–3  2,798 4–15–2 (4–10–1)
January 12 2:07 PM at Bemidji State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota   Martinsson W 2–1 OT 3,016 5–15–2 (5–10–1)
January 18 7:07 PM vs. #9 Bowling Green Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Martinsson W 4–1  1,327 6–15–2 (6–10–1)
January 19 7:07 PM vs. #9 Bowling Green Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Martinsson L 0–2  1,823 6–16–2 (6–11–1)
January 25 4:12 PM at Alabama–Huntsville Von Braun CenterHuntsville, Alabama   Martinsson W 3–1  2,440 7–16–2 (7–11–1)
January 26 7:07 PM at Alabama–Huntsville Von Braun CenterHuntsville, Alabama   Martinsson W 5–2  1,844 8–16–2 (8–11–1)
February 8 7:07 PM vs. Alaska Anchorage Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska (Governor's Cup)   Martinsson L 1–4  2,220 8–17–2 (8–12–1)
February 9 7:07 PM vs. Alaska Anchorage Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska (Governor's Cup)   Grigals W 2–1  2,468 9–17–2 (9–12–1)
February 15 3:37 PM at #16 Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio   Grigals L 0–8  2,744 9–18–2 (9–13–1)
February 16 3:07 PM at #16 Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio   Grigals T 3–3 OT 4,252 9–18–3 (9–13–2)
February 22 7:07 PM vs. #4 Minnesota State Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Grigals L 1–6  1,946 9–19–3 (9–14–2)
February 23 7:07 PM vs. #4 Minnesota State Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Martinsson W 1–0  2,435 10–19–3 (10–14–2)
March 1 7:07 PM at Alaska Anchorage Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska (Governor's Cup)   Martinsson W 4–0  3,009 11–19–3 (11–14–2)
March 2 7:07 PM at Alaska Anchorage Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, Alaska (Governor's Cup)   Martinsson W 2–1  3,429 12–19–3 (12–14–2)
WCHA Tournament
March 8 3:07 PM at Northern Michigan* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan (WCHA Quarterfinals game 1)   Martinsson L 4–5 2OT 2,326 12–20–3
March 9 3:07 PM at Northern Michigan* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan (WCHA Quarterfinals game 2)   Martinsson L 3–4  2,960 12–21–3
Alaska Lost Series 0–2
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Alaska Time.
Source:[3]

Scoring statistics

[edit]
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Steven Jandric LW 36 9 15 24 71
Tristan Thompson D 35 6 14 20 40
Kylar Hope F 36 8 11 19 46
Colton Leiter C 36 6 10 16 36
Chris Jandric LW 28 3 12 15 42
Max Newton F 32 8 3 11 16
Tyler Cline C/LW 33 6 5 11 40
Kyle Marino C/D 35 6 5 11 64
Chad Staley C 33 2 9 11 6
Nikolas Koberstein D 35 0 10 10 60
Ryker Leer LW 36 6 2 8 30
Samuel Ruffin F 29 0 8 8 31
Troy Van Tetering LW 33 5 1 6 6
Antti Virtanen D 34 1 5 6 42
James LaDouce D 36 1 5 6 24
Justin Young C 33 2 3 5 14
Colin Doyle C 26 0 4 4 54
Brennan Blaszczak F 16 1 2 3 0
Chase Ellingson C/RW 19 1 1 2 6
Anton Martinsson G 25 0 2 2 8
Jake Gresh D 11 1 0 1 2
Matthew Doran D 12 0 1 1 4
Jordan Muzzillo D 13 0 1 1 2
Jack Weiss G 28 0 1 1 41
Niko Della Maggiore G 1 0 0 0 0
Gustavs Dāvis Grigals G 14 0 0 0 0
Caleb Hite F 19 0 0 0 2
Bench - - - - - 12
Total 72 130 202 699

[4]

Goaltending statistics

[edit]
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Niko Della Maggiore 1 32 0 0 0 0 5 0 1.000 0.00
Anton Martinsson 25 1410 7 15 2 64 648 2 .910 2.72
Gustavs Dāvis Grigals 14 739 5 6 1 41 367 0 .900 3.33
Empty Net - 24 - - - 9 - - - -
Total 36 2206 12 21 3 114 1020 2 .899 3.10

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 26 (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 - 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 NR

USCHO did not release a poll in Week 25.[5]

Awards and honors

[edit]
Player Award Ref
Steven Jandric All-WCHA Third Team [6]
Chris Jandric WCHA All-Rookie Team [6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Saturday, March 9, 2019". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  2. ^ "Univ. of Alaska-Fairbanks". Elite Prospects. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  3. ^ "Alaska Nanooks (Men) 2018-2019 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  4. ^ "Univ. of Alaska-Fairbanks 2018-2019 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  5. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  6. ^ a b "WCHA Announces 2018-19 All-League Teams". WCHA.com. March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.