Wednesday, December 16, 2015

So There's That


Sunday, December 13, 2015

History Defines Seawolf Futility On This Weekend


Since the 2002-2003 season, the Seawolves are 4-17-5 on the weekend before leaving for the holiday break. In 03-04, we swept Colorado College; then in 2011-2012 we split with Colorado College; then in 2013-2014 we split with LSSU. In 8 of those seasons we got swept by the opponent.

Friday, December 11, 2015

A Fine Game; Less Than Fine Result

Tonight we got most everything you'd expect from a rivalry game. Lots of passion. Good chances thwarted by good goaltending. And a penalty shot game-tying goal from local kid; Alex Jackstadt. Good on Alex for finishing the penalty shot like a pro.

I'm happy as I can be for Alex. He's a walk-on that is getting ice time primarily because other forwards are out injured. I've liked most everything I've seen from him in the games he's played. He's quick and tenacious but maybe needs to learn how to best utilize his size disadvantage. I don't know if there's anyone on the squad quicker than him over 50 or 75 feet.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

KTUU's "Checking in with the Seawolves"

Beth O'Donnell is doing a good job with these.

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Rivarly Week Press Conference

Video

Wednesday, December 09, 2015

Random Thoughts About the UAA/UAF Rivalry

Dump Bears Doing What Dump Bears Do
What is the UAA/UAF rivalry about? It's about 2 days away from renewing itself. That's what. In case you missed it, since the first day of 2006 the Seawolves are 16-11-2 against them. Apparently, UAF has won six Governor's Cups in that time. Or maybe it's seven or only five? You tell me cos I don't really care. I think the majority of the cups they've won were awarded by virtue of winning a shootout.

Commentary: Doyle Woody on USCHO Live



So I don't get to see/hear/read media coverage about UAA usually until late at night. Such is the case tonight as I just listened to this USCHO interview. Their last guest in this podcast is Doyle Woody. There are some things which must be addressed. Now that I've finished listening and had a nice ham and cheese sammich ...

Tuesday, December 08, 2015

Nanook Hockey: An Unwanted and Unneeded Comparison

This is an examination of the ways in which the 2015-2016 UAF Nanook hockey program is like the 1936-1944 German National Socialist Party. Yes, seriously. I'm going to compare the two. Fine, I violated Godwin's Law. My only defense is that without criminals like me there'd be no sweet prison guard jobs and pensions.

Monday, December 07, 2015

Some Standings Implications To Consider

The Seawolves are currently tied for 6th place in the league table with Lake State at 11 points each. I thought it'd be interesting to take a look at how the top half of the table will be effected by this weekends various series. 

And trust me, there's a ton of implications on what is certainly the WCHA's most important weekend so far this season.

Mantha Gets WCHA DPOTW Award


Olivier Mantha's 62 save performance this weekend versus MTU earned him the nod for WCHA Defensive Player of the Week award. Congratulations to Olivier for receiving this weekly recognition. Sean "Scottie" MacTavish was nominated for the Rookie of the Week award but that went to some guy with a goal and two assists against UAF.

This is Mantha's second weekly honor this season. Here's the text of the WCHA release:
Mantha backstopped Alaska Anchorage to an impressive road sweep at then-No. 17 Michigan Tech, negating the Huskies' overall 66-45 advantage in shots by making 62 saves in a pair of 3-2 Seawolves' victories. Friday night, UAA was outshot by a 34-18 margin; however, Mantha turned aside 32 shots. The sophomore from La Tuque, Quebec followed that up with a 30-save effort Saturday as UAA completed the sweep. The Seawolves erased 2-1, third-period deficits in both games by twice scoring a pair of final-stanza goals; Mantha stopped all 17 third-period shots he faced Friday and Saturday to help propel and maintain the UAA comebacks.

Saturday, December 05, 2015

How Sweep It Is, Huskies Taste Broom 3-2


A 4 point weekend versus the 2nd place team in the conference is a worthy of celebration. It'll definitely make the long trip home go faster. The 4 points put UAA temporarily tied for 5th with 11 points. None of the other WCHA Saturday games are in the books as I type this so that may change.

Friday, December 04, 2015

"Scottie" MacTavish's 2 Goal Night Sparks Seawolf Win; 3-2 over MTU


Tonight against Michigan Tech (apparently the 17th best team in the country -- according to "polls") the Seawolves got on the board first when Sean "Scottie" MacTavish scored his 1st collegiate goal at 5:41 of the opening period.