Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

[mmf]

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Agree with Squarebanks. Glad we got MTU, not that they aren’t just as good or better than MSU or BGSU, but because we were just there and played them tight without our best player and motivational leader. Expectations are zero from anyone outside the program and we played some pretty good hockey this weekend. We should be loose. We need to skate as hard against Tech as we did against our rival in our do-or-die game and goaltending needs to remain sharp. We have an uphill battle but a chance this weekend.

Go Nooks!

 

[UAFHockeyFan314]

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

The Nanooks have a chance, and I hope they have some confidence now. Jenks is hurt, but Jones is hot. With not just Morley, but also Mullally back, the 'Nooks have a solid lineup going back to Houghton. Burns and Weiss played well enough up front, but its great to have our forwards back.

 

[Suze]

The Nanooks have a chance, and I hope they have some confidence now. Jenks is hurt, but Jones is hot. With not just Morley, but also Mullally back, the 'Nooks have a solid lineup going back to Houghton. Burns and Weiss played well enough up front, but its great to have our forwards back.

UAA swept Tech in Houghton - the Nooks can beat them!!

 

[UAFHockeyFan314]

UAA swept Tech in Houghton - the Nooks can beat them!!

UAA swept Tech the weekend after they came up and played in Fairbanks, got hung up with a cancelled flight in Seattle, and didn't get back to Houghton until Tuesday morning after living in airports and busses for over 30 hours while UAA arrived in Houghton Monday evening during the second half of a two week trip.

Not to discredit the sweep, but with a league of teams this close, circumstances make all the difference.

Regardless, the enthusiasm is appreciated all things considered. No we can both cheer for the right team!

 

[Suze]

UAA swept Tech the weekend after they came up and played in Fairbanks, got hung up with a cancelled flight in Seattle, and didn't get back to Houghton until Tuesday morning after living in airports and busses for over 30 hours while UAA arrived in Houghton Monday evening during the second half of a two week trip.

Not to discredit the sweep, but with a league of teams this close, circumstances make all the difference.

Regardless, the enthusiasm is appreciated all things considered. No we can both cheer for the right team!

Hog wash. These are young kids, that had nothing to do with it. Wasn't it Squarebanks who said circumstances like massive injuries have no effect on a teams performance. Sorry I posted.

 

[UAFHockeyFan314]

Hog wash. These are young kids, that had nothing to do with it. Wasn't it Squarebanks who said circumstances like massive injuries have no effect on a teams performance. Sorry I posted.

Individual player injuries, sure. Entire team fatigued by travel is another. Both of our teams typically benefit from the travel taken by other teams up here to play us because they simply aren't used to full 18-24 hour travel days to get somewhere regularly. It's kind of a wash this year for each of our home games, but when BG came here, they didn't show up until Wednesday night. They were pretty sluggish Friday, and the Nooks beat em.

Don't take what I said as a jab, it wasn't meant that way. Mel Pearson of MTU (ironically enough given this discussion) said to me this is a league of circumstances. Depending how the schedule lines up, and where you catch teams coming or going can make a big difference in the outcome of a series in a league where every team is so close competitively. UAA/MTU back in December just rang as a poster child for his statement that was ironically delivered the week beforehand.

 

[Suze]

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Individual player injuries, sure. Entire team fatigued by travel is another. Both of our teams typically benefit from the travel taken by other teams up here to play us because they simply aren't used to full 18-24 hour travel days to get somewhere regularly. It's kind of a wash this year for each of our home games, but when BG came here, they didn't show up until Wednesday night. They were pretty sluggish Friday, and the Nooks beat em.

Don't take what I said as a jab, it wasn't meant that way. Mel Pearson of MTU (ironically enough given this discussion) said to me this is a league of circumstances. Depending how the schedule lines up, and where you catch teams coming or going can make a big difference in the outcome of a series in a league where every team is so close competitively. UAA/MTU back in December just rang as a poster child for his statement that was ironically delivered the week beforehand.

Oh I took it as a jab. Most definitely I did. You forget that UAA was on the road for two weeks as well, not an easy thing living out of suitcases and travelling by bus. Tech had several days of rest in their own beds ... their situation had no bearing on the outcome of those games.

 

[Squarebanks]

Oh I took it as a jab. Most definitely I did. You forget that UAA was on the road for two weeks as well, not an easy thing living out of suitcases and travelling by bus. Tech had several days of rest in their own beds ... their situation had no bearing on the outcome of those games.

If you made a list of weird things that happened this WCHA season, UAA sweeping at Tech has to be at the top, or at least close. Circumstances aside, nobody saw that coming and it was a complete anomaly on both teams' season.

I think we have a shot down there. All of a sudden Jones is playing like a #1 goalie, and having Morley back is a game changer.

2013...one week before the playoffs, we sweep Michigan State. Sparty comes back for the playoffs and beats us in 3.

2014...one week before the playoffs, we split UAA (including that 7-2 drubbing). UAA comes back for the playoffs and beats us in 3.

2016...two weeks before the playoffs Tech sweeps us in Houghton (not to mention swept us at home in November), and look where we are headed. Could be interesting.

 

[Squarebanks]

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Final average attendance this year was 2,702.

For the last three seasons...
2013-14: 3,005
2014-15: 2,437
2015-16: 2,702

The biggest crowd of the season was 3,600 and change this Saturday against UAA. I wasn't in the building, but on tv the building looked a lot more packed than that.

The 13-14 number is a little bit skewed because we played Mercyhurst at the Patty Center, and I didn't count those (both those Patty games were sold out at 1,350, so if you count them in the overall average it knocks it down to 2,798). Also, the 13-14 season is the last time we sold out the Carlson Center (last game of the regular season against UAA).

Nice to see it bounce back a little bit; a 10% increase is still a 10% increase, especially in a year where we only won 10 games, were mostly abysmal at home until the last weekend of the year, and coming off a postseason ban. Hopefully last year was a low point due to the sanctions.

 

[mmf]

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

A few observations about attendance over the last three WCHA years. I pulled numbers from USCHO (by game) so they don’t exactly match Squarebank’s numbers, but are close. I was curious about conference games only because they probably tell a truer story.

1. Attendance was up 14% from last year, but then again we had dropped 21% from 2013-14 to 2014-15.
2. I didn’t adjust 2013-14 Mercyhurst games at the Patty Center. Removing those games would increase average attendance by about 140.
3. Saturday averages about 160 more than Friday (this is based on all home games).
4. Interesting that UAF has played at home the weekend following Thanksgiving and the first weekend in January all three years (I’ll save my thoughts on why this might be). This town/university probably empties out more than most during breaks so that’s four games each year with lower than average attendance. Those games average 2,345 per game while other conference games average 2,800, or about 450 less.
5. Also interesting that the three playoff games in 2013-14 with UAA only averaged 2,027. I do not count those as conference games. I believe that was the beginning of spring break week for the U and public schools. The two conference games the previous week had 3,921 and 4,585.

<a href="https://mmf.smugmug.com/Alaska-Nanook-Hockey/201516-Hockey-Season/n-3B6CTS/i-ZJJ284b/A"><img src="https://mmf.smugmug.com/photos/i-ZJJ284b/0/M/i-ZJJ284b-M.jpg" alt=""></a>

I also summarized conference games by opponent (over three years) for grins.

<a href="https://mmf.smugmug.com/Alaska-Nanook-Hockey/201516-Hockey-Season/n-3B6CTS/i-jXPjQBg/A"><img src="https://mmf.smugmug.com/photos/i-jXPjQBg/0/M/i-jXPjQBg-M.jpg" alt=""></a>

I obviously have too much time on my hands.

 

[Squarebanks]

A few observations about attendance over the last three WCHA years. I pulled numbers from USCHO (by game) so they don’t exactly match Squarebank’s numbers, but are close. I was curious about conference games only because they probably tell a truer story.

1. Attendance was up 14% from last year, but then again we had dropped 21% from 2013-14 to 2014-15.
2. I didn’t adjust 2013-14 Mercyhurst games at the Patty Center. Removing those games would increase average attendance by about 140.
3. Saturday averages about 160 more than Friday (this is based on all home games).
4. Interesting that UAF has played at home the weekend following Thanksgiving and the first weekend in January all three years (I’ll save my thoughts on why this might be). This town/university probably empties out more than most during breaks so that’s four games each year with lower than average attendance. Those games average 2,345 per game while other conference games average 2,800, or about 450 less.
5. Also interesting that the three playoff games in 2013-14 with UAA only averaged 2,027. I do not count those as conference games. I believe that was the beginning of spring break week for the U and public schools. The two conference games the previous week had 3,921 and 4,585.

<a href="https://mmf.smugmug.com/Alaska-Nanook-Hockey/201516-Hockey-Season/n-3B6CTS/i-ZJJ284b/A"><img src="https://mmf.smugmug.com/photos/i-ZJJ284b/0/M/i-ZJJ284b-M.jpg" alt=""></a>

I also summarized conference games by opponent (over three years) for grins.

<a href="https://mmf.smugmug.com/Alaska-Nanook-Hockey/201516-Hockey-Season/n-3B6CTS/i-jXPjQBg/A"><img src="https://mmf.smugmug.com/photos/i-jXPjQBg/0/M/i-jXPjQBg-M.jpg" alt=""></a>

I obviously have too much time on my hands.

Nice. I used collegehockeystats.net for my numbers.

Regarding the playoff series against UAA, there was also the Arctic Winter Games going on at the time.

 

[Squarebanks]

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Well, if we had started playing playoff hockey prior to the 3rd period of game two we might be playing tomorrow.

Thanks to all of our seniors. I am sure Tyler Morley will be leaving on a pro deal of some kind in the next few days.

I normally find some kind of optimism in the offseason, but I'm a little concerned this year. Ever since Dallas has been coach there has been an heir apparent alpha dog...until this year. Dion Knelson passed the torch to Andy Taranto. Taranto passed it to Cody Kunyk, Kunyk to Parayko, Parayko to Morley. There's no heir apparent this year. Silver lining is it might force guys to step up, but unless we have some hotshot freshmen I don't think we win games unless we really ugly it up. And if you're going to win ugly, you need to have good goaltending and we didn't have it this year.

 

[Suze]

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Well, if we had started playing playoff hockey prior to the 3rd period of game two we might be playing tomorrow.

Thanks to all of our seniors. I am sure Tyler Morley will be leaving on a pro deal of some kind in the next few days.

I normally find some kind of optimism in the offseason, but I'm a little concerned this year. Ever since Dallas has been coach there has been an heir apparent alpha dog...until this year. Dion Knelson passed the torch to Andy Taranto. Taranto passed it to Cody Kunyk, Kunyk to Parayko, Parayko to Morley. There's no heir apparent this year. Silver lining is it might force guys to step up, but unless we have some hotshot freshmen I don't think we win games unless we really ugly it up. And if you're going to win ugly, you need to have good goaltending and we didn't have it this year.

The loss of Morley reminds me of UAA's loss of Bailey. I was checking out your incoming freshmen, and you do have a few guys coming in who know how to put the puck in the net.

 

[mmf]

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Krieger seems to have the speed, skill set, and hopefully the work ethic to step up next year. Needs a good off-season workout routine. He tries to do too much one-on-one stuff but hopefully this year’s experience will help make him an even better overall player and scoring threat.

 

[Superfly100]

Well, if we had started playing playoff hockey prior to the 3rd period of game two we might be playing tomorrow.

Thanks to all of our seniors. I am sure Tyler Morley will be leaving on a pro deal of some kind in the next few days.

I normally find some kind of optimism in the offseason, but I'm a little concerned this year. Ever since Dallas has been coach there has been an heir apparent alpha dog...until this year. Dion Knelson passed the torch to Andy Taranto. Taranto passed it to Cody Kunyk, Kunyk to Parayko, Parayko to Morley. There's no heir apparent this year. Silver lining is it might force guys to step up, but unless we have some hotshot freshmen I don't think we win games unless we really ugly it up. And if you're going to win ugly, you need to have good goaltending and we didn't have it this year.

Hats off to the Nooks for going down with a fight instead of throwing in the towel. You guys could have easily given up at 4-1, but outplayed us in the second half of the 2nd, and really played with intensity in the third. It was a nervous third period in the stands.

It says a lot about how well the team is coached, and in that case, someone will step up and take the reins.

 

[Squarebanks]

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

New goalie recruit from Sweden via the NAHL Amarillo Bulls, Anton Martinsson.

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=65860

Timely with John Keeney's graduation.

 

[Squarebanks]

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Alec Hajdukovich signed with the Alaska Aces.

 

[gfmorris]

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

What's the status on funding cuts?

GFM

 

[Squarebanks]

What's the status on funding cuts?

GFM

Senate approved a better number closer to what the Governor suggested, but still a cut.

House and Senate will conference to determine the final number.

There's an Alaska Nanook fundraising cruise on the Riverboat Discovery in June should you be interested.

 

[Squarebanks]

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Re: Alaska Nanooks 2015-16 Season Thread - Straight Outta Sanction…

Tyler Morley headed to AHL San Diego on an ATO.