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2022–23 Alaska Nanooks men's ice hockey season

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2022–23 Alaska Nanooks
men's ice hockey season
ConferenceIndependent
Home iceCarlson Center
Rankings
USCHO#15
USA Today#15
Record
Overall22–10–2
Home10–2–1
Road12–8–1
Coaches and captains
Head coachErik Largen
Assistant coachesChris Brown
Lenny Hoffman
Eric Yancey
Captain(s)Harrison Israels
Garrett Pyke
Alaska Nanooks men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

The 2022–23 Alaska Nanooks men's ice hockey season was the 73rd season of play for the program and the 38th at the Division I level. The Nanooks represented the University of Alaska Fairbanks and were coached by Erik Largen in his 4th season.

Season

[edit]

With nearly half of the team's roster changing in the offseason, Alaska was a mystery when the season began. Senior transfer Matt Radomsky was given control of the crease but the rest of the team would take some time to sort out. Unsurprisingly, it took the offense a while to build some chemistry as the Nanooks averaged slightly more than 2 goals per game over the first two months of the season. That wasn't much improvement over the year before, however, whereas they had started out 1–12 the previous season, the 2023 Nanooks were in a much better position. The defense, led by co-captain Garrett Pyke, did a tremendous job insulating Radomsky and allowed an average of less than 25 shots against per game. The relatively light workload and Radomsky's strong play helped keep the team afloat in the early part of the season and they held a .500 record by mid-November.

Just before Thanksgiving, Alaska travelled south to take on #7 Penn State. Though they lost both games, each defeat was only by a single goal and demonstrated that the Nanooks could compete with the college hockey elite. After the winter break Alaska fulfilled that promise by splitting two consecutive weekends against ranked opponents, including then-#1 Denver. With a winning record and several impressive wins, the Nanooks were suddenly alive for the NCAA tournament berth, having risen up to 22nd in the national rankings. After a couple of weeks off, Alaska entered the stretch run of its season with 12 games remaining. Alaska had a fairly easy slate of games but this left them with catch-22; because they weren't going to participate in a conference tournament, Alaska would have to be at least #15 in the national rankings to make the NCAA tournament. To do that they needed to win, however, they wouldn't get much credit for wins over low-ranked teams. Of all their opponents in those final 12 games, only Arizona State was above 50 (out of 61 teams) and they were still in the bottom half. Because of this,Alaska would likely need to go undefeated, or very close to, to have any chance of getting into the top 15. With little room for error, that's exactly what the Nanooks did.

Over a 6-week span, Alaska's offense came into its own and helped the team go 11–1 to end the regular season. The streak gave the team its first 20-win season in 21 years and raised them up to #12 in the rankings. However, when the team finished its schedule on March 4, many other clubs still had games to play. Alaska had to wait and see how the rest of the teams fared before they could punch their ticket to the tournament. By mid-March they had been overtaken by Minnesota State and, as the conference tournaments progressed, they were pushed down to #15. Entering championship weekend, Alaska was in the final position for an at-large bid but were in a relatively good position. For various reasons, the winners of the Atlantic Hockey, Big Ten and CCHA tournaments would not affect the Nanooks. What Alaska needed was for each of the ECAC Hockey, Hockey East and NCHC to be won by a team that was ranked higher than the Nanooks. While Hockey East and the NCHC obliged, Colgate stunned three higher-seeded teams to capture the ECAC crown. That upset shrunk the at-large field to the top-14 teams, leaving Alaska out in the cold.[1]

In spite of the misfortune at the end, this was still the best season for the Nanooks in 35 years, the final season of the Great West Hockey Conference.[2]

Departures

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Cause
Jakob Breault Forward  Canada Left program (retired)
Antonio Di Paolo Defenseman  Canada Left program (retired)
Filip Fornåå Svensson Forward  Sweden Transferred to Massachusetts Lowell
Gustavs Dāvis Grigals Goaltender  Latvia Graduate transfer to Massachusetts Lowell
Didrik Henbrant Forward  Sweden Transferred to Maine
Caleb Hite Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Kristaps Jākobsons Defenseman  Latvia Left program (retired)
Roberts Kaļķis Defenseman  Latvia Signed professional contract (Iisalmen Peli-Karhut)
Matt McKim Forward  Canada Transferred to Acadia
Riley Murphy Forward  United States Left program (retired)
Jordan Muzzillo Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Wichita Thunder)
Austin Ryman Goaltender  United States Transferred to Bethel
Nátán Vertes Forward  Hungary Signed professional contract (Fehérvár AV19)
Antti Virtanen Defenseman  Finland Graduation (signed with Tappara)
Ēriks Žohovs Forward  Latvia Left mid-season; signed professional contract (Fehérvár AV19)

Recruiting

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Braden Birnie Forward  Canada 21 Weyburn, SK
Kyle Gaffney Forward  United States 21 Plymouth, MI
Will Hilfiker Defenseman  United States 21 Middletown, NJ
Xavier Jean-Louis Defenseman  United States 21 Miami, FL
Ricards Landmanis Defenseman  Latvia 20 Ventspils, LAT
Lassi Lehti Goaltender  Finland 20 Espoo, FIN
T. J. Lloyd Defenseman  Canada 22 Lloydminster, SK; transfer from Bowling Green
A. J. Macaulay Defenseman  Canada 20 Bonnyville, AB
Cade Neilson Forward  England 21 Lafayette, LA
Matteo Pecchia Forward  Canada 22 Nobleton, ON; transfer from Western Michigan
Zachary Power Forward  Canada 21 Glencoe, ON
Matt Radomsky Goaltender  Canada 23 Winnipeg, MB; transfer from Holy Cross
Quinn Rudrud Forward  United States 21 Farmington, MN
Jonny Sorenson Forward  United States 22 St. Louis Park, MN; transfer from Minnesota

Roster

[edit]

As of August 12, 2022.[3]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Alberta Daniel Allin Sophomore G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-02-11 Edmonton, Alberta Drumheller (AJHL)
2 Sweden Karl Falk Sophomore D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2000-01-20 Västerås, Sweden Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)
4 Minnesota Jonny Sorenson Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-09-21 St. Louis Park, Minnesota Minnesota (Big Ten)
5 Latvia Markuss Komuls Junior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1998-01-04 Talsi, Latvia Kenai River (NAHL)
6 Saskatchewan T. J. Lloyd Senior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 1999-11-15 Lloydminster, Saskatchewan Bowling Green (CCHA)
7 Ontario Garrett Pyke (C) Junior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-08-01 Toronto, Ontario Oakville (OJHL)
8 New Jersey Will Hilfiker Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-08-07 Middletown, New Jersey Bonnyville (AJHL)
10 Latvia Ēriks Žohovs Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 1997-11-26 Riga, Latvia Zemgale (LHL)
11 Alberta Brady Risk Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-03-16 Medicine Hat, Alberta Drumheller (AJHL)
12 Alberta A. J. Macaulay Freshman D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2002-04-12 Bonnyville, Alberta Bonnyville (AJHL)
13 Quebec Xavier Jean-Louis Freshman D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2001-06-25 Montreal, Quebec Austin (NAHL)
14 Russia Anton Rubtsov Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1999-03-06 Saint Petersburg, Russia Shreveport (NAHL)
15 Saskatchewan Braden Birnie Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-08-19 Weyburn, Saskatchewan Steinbach (MJHL)
16 British Columbia Chase Dubois Sophomore (RS) F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1998-03-12 Williams Lake, British Columbia West Kelowna (BCHL)
17 Ontario Colin Doyle Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-05-12 Campbellford, Ontario Wellington (OJHL)
18 Ontario Zachary Power Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-09-10 Glencoe, Ontario Steinbach (MJHL)
20 Sweden Simon Falk Sophomore F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2000-01-20 Västerås, Sweden Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)
23 Latvia Ričards Landmanis Freshman D 6' 6" (1.98 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2001-10-02 Ventspils, Latvia Collingwood (OJHL)
24 Ontario Harrison Israels (C) Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-09-01 Mississauga, Ontario Oakville (OJHL)
25 England Cade Neilson Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-05-15 Nottingham, England Aberdeen (NAHL)
26 Minnesota Payton Matsui Sophomore F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2000-04-15 Lakeville, Minnesota Aberdeen (NAHL)
27 Ontario Matteo Pecchia Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2000-06-05 Nobleton, Ontario Western Michigan (NCHC)
28 Alberta Brayden Nicholetts Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-08-27 Spruce Grove, Alberta Spruce Grove (AJHL)
29 Minnesota Quinn Rudrud Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 2001-08-18 Farmington, Minnesota Bismarck (NAHL)
31 Manitoba Matt Radomsky Senior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-06-21 Winnipeg, Manitoba Holy Cross (AHA)
32 Saskatchewan Connor Mylymok Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2000-03-18 Wilcox, Saskatchewan Austin (NAHL)
34 Michigan Kyle Gaffney Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-09-05 Plymouth, Michigan Aberdeen (NAHL)
35 Finland Lassi Lehti Freshman G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2001-11-29 Espoo, Finland Minot (NAHL)
38 Latvia Arvils Bergmanis Sophomore D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1999-12-29 Riga, Latvia Olimp Riga (LHL)
40 Minnesota Matt Koethe Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-09-28 Minnetonka, Minnesota Fairbanks (NAHL)

Standings

[edit]
Overall record
GP W L T GF GA
#15 Alaska 34 22 10 2 104 74
Alaska Anchorage 28 8 19 1 66 106
Arizona State 39 18 21 0 115 112
Lindenwood 30 7 22 1 92 134
Long Island 36 13 22 1 116 123
Stonehill 25 17 6 2 102 95
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
September 24 7:07 PM Simon Fraser* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska (Exhibition) FloHockey Radomsky W 6–0  1,612
Regular Season
October 1 7:07 PM American International* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska FloHockey Radomsky T 1–1 OT 1,950 0–0–1
October 2 4:07 PM American International* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska FloHockey Radomsky W 2–1  1,410 1–0–1
October 7 4:07 PM at St. Thomas* St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Radomsky W 4–2  821 2–0–1
October 8 3:07 PM at St. Thomas* St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Radomsky L 2–3 OT 738 2–1–1
October 13 7:37 PM Michigan Tech* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska FloHockey Radomsky L 0–2  1,912 2–2–1
October 14 7:07 PM Michigan Tech* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska FloHockey Radomsky L 2–6  2,124 2–3–1
October 21 4:00 PM at Omaha* Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska   Radomsky W 3–2 OT 6,414 3–3–1
October 23 11:00 AM at Omaha* Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska   Radomsky L 2–3 OT 4,697 3–4–1
October 28 3:07 PM at Northern Michigan* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Radomsky W 2–1  2,338 4–4–1
October 29 2:07 PM at Northern Michigan* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Radomsky L 2–3  2,321 4–5–1
November 18 3:00 PM at Rensselaer* Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Radomsky W 3–1  1,965 5–5–1
November 19 3:00 PM at Rensselaer* Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Radomsky T 3–3  1,711 5–5–2
November 22 3:00 PM at #7 Penn State* Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania   Radomsky L 2–3  5,271 5–6–2
November 23 1:00 PM at #7 Penn State* Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania   Radomsky L 1–2  5,521 5–7–2
December 9 7:07 PM Alaska Anchorage* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska (Governor's Cup) FloHockey Radomsky W 5–2  2,712 6–7–2
December 10 7:07 PM Alaska Anchorage* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska (Governor's Cup) FloHockey Radomsky W 7–2  3,034 7–7–2
December 16 7:07 PM at Alaska Anchorage* Seawolf Sports ComplexAnchorage, Alaska (Governor's Cup)   Radomsky W 4–0  666 8–7–2
December 17 6:07 PM at Alaska Anchorage* Seawolf Sports ComplexAnchorage, Alaska (Governor's Cup)   Radomsky W 1–0  810 9–7–2
December 31 1:00 PM at #19 Notre Dame* Compton Family Ice ArenaNotre Dame, Indiana Peacock Radomsky W 3–2  4,878 10–7–2
January 1 1:00 PM at #19 Notre Dame* Compton Family Ice ArenaNotre Dame, Indiana Peacock Radomsky L 0–2  4,911 10–8–2
January 6 5:00 PM at #1 Denver* Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Altitude 2 Radomsky W 3–1  6,221 11–8–2
January 7 4:00 PM at #1 Denver* Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado   Radomsky L 2–7  6,254 11–9–2
January 27 7:07 PM at Alaska Anchorage* Seawolf Sports ComplexAnchorage, Alaska (Governor's Cup)   Radomsky W 4–3 OT 872 12–9–2
January 28 7:07 PM Alaska Anchorage* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska (Governor's Cup) FloHockey Radomsky W 4–3 OT 3,423 13–9–2
February 3 7:07 PM Arizona State* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska FloHockey Radomsky W 2–1  2,016 14–9–2
February 4 7:07 PM Arizona State* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska FloHockey Radomsky W 5–2  2,892 15–9–2
February 10 11:00 AM at Long Island* #20 Northwell Health Ice CenterEast Meadow, New York ESPN+ Radomsky W 5–3  372 16–9–2
February 11 10:00 AM at Long Island* #20 Northwell Health Ice CenterEast Meadow, New York ESPN+ Radomsky L 1–3  230 16–10–2
February 17 7:07 PM Long Island* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska FloHockey Radomsky W 3–2  1,912 17–10–2
February 18 7:07 PM Long Island* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska FloHockey Radomsky W 6–3  2,817 18–10–2
February 24 5:00 PM at Arizona State* Mullett ArenaTempe, Arizona Pac-12 Insider Radomsky W 4–2  4,716 19–10–2
February 25 5:00 PM at Arizona State* Mullett ArenaTempe, Arizona   Radomsky W 4–2  5,010 20–10–2
March 3 7:07 PM Lindenwood* #18 Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska FloHockey Radomsky W 4–1  2,417 21–10–2
March 4 7:07 PM Lindenwood* #18 Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska FloHockey Radomsky W 8–0  3,562 22–10–2
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Alaska Time.
Source:[4]

Scoring statistics

[edit]
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Jonny Sorenson F 34 10 18 28 19
Payton Matsui F 34 9 19 28 6
Brady Risk F 33 13 10 23 22
Chase Dubois F 34 11 11 22 6
Garrett Pyke D 34 4 15 19 40
Anton Rubtsov F 33 5 12 17 22
T. J. Lloyd D 34 3 13 16 10
Harrison Israels C 34 9 6 15 12
Kyle Gaffney F 33 5 8 13 13
Matt Koethe F 34 5 7 12 33
Simon Falk RW 32 9 2 11 8
Markuss Komuls D 34 3 8 11 16
Arvils Bergmanis D 34 3 8 11 79
Brayden Nicholetts F 19 3 6 9 24
Colin Doyle C 27 3 6 9 6
A. J. Macaulay D 33 2 7 9 12
Connor Mylymok LW 29 1 7 8 83
Karl Falk D 31 3 2 5 24
Braden Birnie F 16 2 3 5 19
Xavier Jean-Louis D 13 0 3 3 4
Cade Neilson C 18 0 2 2 8
Zachary Power C 5 1 0 1 4
Will Hilfiker D 5 0 1 1 0
Matt Radomsky G 34 0 1 1 0
Lassi Lehti G 1 0 0 0 0
Daniel Allin G 2 0 0 0 0
Ēriks Žohovs C 4 0 0 0 5
Matteo Pecchia LW 4 0 0 0 2
Total 104 175 279 477

[5]

Goaltending statistics

[edit]
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Matt Radomsky 34 1992:08 22 10 2 68 742 2 .916 2.05
Daniel Allin 2 40:06 0 0 0 2 13 0 .867 2.99
Lassi Lehti 1 10:47 0 0 0 1 5 0 .833 5.56
Empty Net - 16:59 - - - 3 - - - -
Total 34 2060:00 22 10 2 74 760 2 .911 2.16

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 27 (Final)
USCHO.com NR - NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR - NR NR NR NR NR 20 NR NR 18 16 15 15 - 15
USA Today NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 19 15 15 15 15 15

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "PairWise Rankings explanation". Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  2. ^ "Alaska Nanooks Men's Hockey Team History". U.S. College Hockey Online. 1996–2010. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  3. ^ "2020–21 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  4. ^ "2022-23 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Alaska Nanooks. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  5. ^ "Univ. of Alaska-Fairbanks 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.