THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP

• This weekend marks Penn State’s third trip to Alaska and is the program’s second trip to Fairbanks, but first playing a series against the Nanooks. Ten years ago, the Nittany Lions traveled to Fairbanks to play in the 2014 Brice Alaska Goal Rush Tournament playing one game against both Fairbanks and Anchorage. Fairbanks won the opening game 4-3 with the Nittany Lions skating to a 3-3 tie against Anchorage in the finale.
• Penn State’s last trip to Alaska was in November of 2015 when the Nittany Lions traveled to Anchorage winning the opening game 5-2 before playing to a 1-1 draw the following night. PSU is 1-2-1 all-time in The Last Frontier.
• This is only the fifth time in 13 seasons that Penn State has opened play on the road, however, it marks the second-consecutive season after the Nittany Lions began the 2023-24 campaign on Long Island with a 3-2 victory over LIU. Penn State is 8-3-1 all-time in season opening contests and have won five of the last six including three straight. After last season, Penn State is 2-2-0 all-time in season openers on the road.
• This marks the sixth and seventh meetings all-time between the Nanooks and Nittany Lions with Penn State holding the slim 3-2-0 advantage including a series sweep with a pair of one-goal victories back in November 2022. Three of the five games have been one-goal contests with the other two being shutouts each way, 7-0 Penn State and 4-0 Alaska, as part of a 2019 series in Hockey Valley.
• Penn State was an impressive 7-3-3 in games decided by one goal or less during the 2023-24 campaign.
• Graduate student Tyler Paquette scored a goal and had the primary assist on Christian Sarlo’s game-winning, short-handed goal in a 3-2 victory in the series opener back in 2022 while senior Ben Schoen lit the lamp with a powerplay tally midway through the third period to secure the 2-1 win and series sweep in the finale.
• Head Coach Guy Gadowsky makes a return trip to Fairbanks after serving as the Nanooks Bench Boss from 1999-2004, his first stop as an NCAA head coach. The 2002 CCHA Coach of the Year was inducted into the Nanook Hall of Fame in 2014.
• With Alaska’s home rink, The Carlson Center, undergoing renovations, this weekend’s games will be contested at Big Dipper Ice Arena which is home to the NAHL’s Fairbanks Ice Dogs.

SCOUTING ALASKA

• The Nanooks finished the 2023-24 campaign with a 17-14-3 record ending the year with victories in six of their last seven games including three-straight to close the season.
• Alaska is without the services of eight of its top-10 scorers from last season including 20-goal scorer Harrison Israels and leading point-getter Brady Risk (13-20-33). Israels and Risk were the only double-digit goal scorers for a Nanook squad that averaged 3.23 goals per game in 2023-24.
• Anton Rubtsov returns for his senior season after finishing third on the team a year ago with 27 points on eight goals and 19 assists with Braden Birnie as the only other top-10 scorer back for Alaska after registering 16 points on three goals and 13 assists in 2023-24.
• The Nanooks are also without their starting net-minder from a season ago, Pierce Charleson, but do return Finnish junior Lassi Lehti who made nine appearances with five starts last season posting a 4-1-0 record with a .931 save percentage and a 1.77 goals-against average. Bentley transfer Nicholas Grabko will also compete for time between the pipes this season.
• Alaska scrimmaged Grand Canyon University last Saturday defeating the Antelopes 5-4.
• The Nanooks are led by 2010 alumnus Erik Largen in his seventh season behind the bench.