Nebraska Omaha Video

Here is some video from Jaime Schwartzwald from Friday's game against Nebraska Omaha.

Enjoy

Nanooks alum Johnson gets the call

Former Nanook goaltender Chad Johnson was called up to the New York Rangers on Thursday from the Hartford Wolf Pack, New York's AHL affiliate.

Here is the release per the New York Rangers website:

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that goaltender Chad Johnson and defenseman Ilkka Heikkinen have been recalled from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), and goaltender Steve Valiquette has been assigned to Hartford.

Chad Johnson
Johnson, 23, has appeared in 18 games with Hartford this season, posting a 10-6-1 record with a 2.10 goals against average, .926 save percentage and three shutouts. He is currently tied for second in the AHL in shutouts, fifth in wins, eigth in save percentage, and ninth in goals against average.

Johnson registered a season-high four-game winning streak, beginning with his first career AHL shutout on October 31 against Providence to November 7 at Bridgeport. He also notched back-to-back shutouts on November 13 vs. Manchester (26 saves) and November 14 at Worcester (35 saves). The AHL rookie made his debut with Hartford on October 9 at Providence, and recorded his first AHL win the following game on October 10 against Springfield.

Prior to joining Hartford, Johnson appeared in 79 games over four seasons with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), posting a 25-34-11 record with a 2.33 goals against average. Last season, he earned CCHA Player of the Year and CCHA Goalie of the Year honors, and was named to the CCHA First All-Star Team after establishing career-highs in wins (14), goals against average (1.66), save percentage (.940) and shutouts (six) in 35 appearances. Johnson was also selected to the NCAA West All-American Second Team, and was a top ten finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in collegiate hockey.

The Calgary, Alberta native was originally the Pittsburgh Penguins’ fifth round selection, 125th overall, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He was acquired by the Rangers on June 27, 2009, in exchange for a fifth round selection (Andy Bathgate) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Ilkka Heikkinen
Heikkinen, 25, has skated in 24 games with Hartford this season, registering five goals and 11 assists for 16 points, along with eight penalty minutes. He is currently tied for fifth among AHL defensemen in goals, sixth in points and ninth in assists. He also ranks second on Hartford overall in shots (54), fifth in points, and is tied for second on the team in shorthanded goals (one), third in assists and seventh in goals.

Heikkinen has recorded four multi-point performances on the season, including two multi-assist efforts. He tallied a point (assist) in his AHL debut on October 3 at Binghamton, and notched his first career AHL goal on October 11 at Providence.

The Rauma, Finland native skated in 283 career SM-liiga games with Lukko and HIFK over six seasons prior to joining Hartford, registering 31 goals and 82 assists for 113 points, along with 255 penalty minutes. He finished last season ranked third among all SM-liiga defensemen in points (34) and led HIFK defensemen in goals (eight), assists (26) and points, while finishing second on the team overall in assists, fourth in points and seventh in goals. In 2007-08, he established SM-liiga career-highs in goals (11), assists (26), points (37), and penalty minutes (96).

Heikkinen signed with the Rangers as a free agent on May 20, 2009.

Valiquette, 32, has appeared in six games with the Rangers this season, posting a record of 2-3-0 with a 3.74 goals against average, .852 save percentage and one shutout. He registered his fourth career shutout with an 18-save effort in his season debut on October 11 against Anaheim.

Johnson also had an interview after his first practice, asking about the promotion:



Congrats Chad!

What is on his mask?

The CCHA did a nice video of Nanooks goaltender Scott Greenham about what his mask is all about. You can watch the video via this link or go to the CCHA site.

Here are the highlights from the Nanooks 4-4 tie with Northern Michigan. The Nanooks also took home an extra point in the standings by winning the shootout.

Alaska/Northern Michigan Video Highlights

Here are some video highlights from the Nanooks 3-3 tie with Northern Michigan on Friday, November 27, 2009. Courtesy of Thomas Bohnet. Enjoy

Nanooks vs. Irish

Here are some video highlights brought to you by Jaime Schwartzwald. Enjoy

Greenham named CCHA Goaltender of the Month

Nanooks goaltender Scott Greenham was named the CCHA goaltender of the month for October.

Here is the release from the Alaska Nanooks site.

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI — The Central Collegiate Hockey Association announced today that Alaska Nanooks sophomore goaltender Scott Greenham (Addison, ON) has been named the RBC Financial Group CCHA Player of the Month for October. This is the first time Greenham has earned the honor in his career.

Greenham, a 22-year-old from Addison, Ontario, led the Nanooks to a 5-0-1 record in October and leads the CCHA in winning percentage (.917), save percentage (.949) and goals-against average (1.14). His goals-against average ranks second in the nation and first among goaltenders to record more than 100 minutes. In addition, Greenham ranks sixth in Division I in save percentage and second among netminders who have faced more than 100 shots on goal.

The 6-foot-2, 197-pound sophomore has been named CCHA Goaltender of the Week two times through the first four weeks of play. Greenham was the first player to receive the honor after being named Most Outstanding Player in the Kendall Hockey Classic Oct. 10-11. He allowed just one combined goal in wins over then-No. 4/3 Michigan (2-0) and Mercyhurst (5-1) with a total of 43 saves. Greenham was recognized a second time after allowing just three goals, two of which came on the power play, during Alaska’s home sweep of Ferris State, Oct. 30-31.

Special mention for RBC Financial Group CCHA Player of the Month honors goes to Bowling Green freshman forward Jordan Samuels-Thomas, Ferris State senior forward Blair Riley, Lake Superior senior forward Zac MacVoy, Miami sophomore goaltender Cody Reichard, Michigan junior forward Matt Rust, Michigan State junior forward Corey Tropp, Nebraska-Omaha junior forward Rich Purslow, Northern Michigan junior forward Mark Olver, and Notre Dame senior defenseman Kyle Lawson.

The RBC Financial Group CCHA Rookie of the Month is Michigan State's Derek Grant, who is tied for first in the nation in scoring among rookies with 10 points, including four goals and six assists. Alaska Nanooks right wing Andy Taranto (Woodridge, IL) earned special mention for CCHA Rookie of the Month for October. Taranto has two goals and four assists in six games for the Blue and Gold.

Players of the Week

Both the GNAC and the CCHA announced their players of the week and two Nanooks took home honors. Senior setter Alexa Sherman and sophomore goaltender Scott Greenham was named CCHA goalie of the week.


Here are the releases for the Nanook players:

Alexa Sherman

Alaska Nanooks senior setter Alexa Sherman (Calabasas, CA) was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the week ending 11-1.

Sherman had 91 assists, 15 kills, 14 digs, and hit for a .684 percentage in a 2-0 week for Alaska, defeating St. Martin’s (3-1) and Western Oregon (3-1). She had 50 assists and 10 kills in the Nanook win over Western Oregon, while hitting a team best .818 as the Nanooks set a GNAC single-match record for a four set contest with a .407 hitting percentage.

On the season, Sherman is fifth in the GNAC in assists per set with 9.60 and is currently ranked seventh in GNAC history with 3,421 assists and ninth in conference history in assists per set (9.68).

Sherman is the second Alaska volleyball player to win player of the week. Senior outside hitter Megan Thigpen took home the award for the week ending September 9.

This will be the second time Sherman was named GNAC player of the week in her career at Alaska. She was named co-player of the week in 2008 for the week ending September 13.


Scott Greenham

The Central Collegiate Hockey Association announced today that Alaska Nanooks sophomore Scott Greenham (Addison, ON) has been selected as the conference’s goalie of the week, for the week ending November 1.

Greenham stopped 44 of the 47 shots he faced in a pair of wins over Ferris State to help his team sweep the opening weekend of CCHA play and remain unbeaten on the season at 5-0-1. His 1.44 goals-against average and .940 saves percentage improved his season totals to 1.14 GAA and .949: good for second and fifth amongst NCAA Division I goalies. His .917 winning percentage is also tied for sixth nationally.

He made 24 stops in Friday’s 3-1 win against the Bulldogs that kept him unbeaten in his first nine career starts (7-0-2) and tied a mark set by former Nanook goaltender Keith Bartusch (2001-05), who was 6-0-3 in his first nine starts. Saturday, his 20-save performance in Alaska’s 3-2 overtime win improved his career record to 8-0-2, making him the first Alaska netminder in the program’s 30-year history to go unbeaten in his first 10 career starts.

In addition to his unbeaten record, Greenham backstopped the Nanooks to 19 consecutive penalty kills, before surrendering the first power-play goal of the season late in the first period Friday against the Bulldogs. The shutout of the opponents’ special teams lasted over 329 minutes.

This is Greenham’s third CCHA player of the week award and second of the season. He was named the CCHA Goalie of the Week after the opening weekend of the season (Oct. 9-10) after being named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2009 Kendall Hockey Classic. Last season he earned CCHA Goalie of the Week for the week of October 14-20, following a 5-0 whitewashing of Mercyhurst: his second shutout in just his second career start.

Jaime Schwartzwald brings us some more video action of the Alaska Nanooks and their thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over Ferris State.



Hit the Jump to read the game stories of the Nanooks two wins on the weekend.

Alaska Nanooks vs. Ferris State Bulldogs

Good evening (if you are in Alaska) and thanks for tuning in for the pregame of the Alaska Nanooks game against CCHA foe Ferris State. This will be the first CCHA matchup this year for both teams so it should be interesting to see how both teams play.

Not sure if there will be a live blog in game but I will try and get in between periods to give you some tidbits of information and what is going on.

Here are some pictures of early in the contest, probably before you were able to see with your own eyes.


Here is our view from up perched up high at the Carlson Center


and another behind the home team goal


The scoreboard at the Carlson pitting the two teams who will battle tonight

The lineups for both teams are as followed:

Ferris State

Forwards
Riley-Haines-Chupp
Embach-Menke-Lewicki
Kirzinger-Graham-Pococke
Fillinger-Ouellette-Alexander

Defense
Billins-Redmond
Wysopal-Case
Hill-Wietecha

Goaltender
Nagle

and for your Nanooks

Forwards
Yaremchuk-Dion Knelsen-Taranto
Hohl-Klassen-Cardwell
Gehon-Filzen-Meyers
Finucci-Granberg-Sather

Defense
Sova-Gens
D. Molle-Enders
B. Molle-Odegard

Goaltender
Greenham

Some statistics that you might find interesting:

Power Play
Alaska - 16.7% (4 for 24)
Ferris State - 18.8% (6 for 32)

Penalty Kill
Alaska - 94.3 % (33 for 25)
Ferris State - 100% (13 for 13)

The referees decide to come grace the ice with their skates


The rival Bulldogs take the ice


A few pictures of your Nanooks on the ice




You knew it was coming. Pregame. Large Polar Bear with players coming out of the mouth. You love it.



Sorry folks. No live blog tonight. You can, however, follow the game on Twitter at Alaska Nanooks

I will be back periodically. Stayed tuned to both here and Twitter for updates.

First Intermission

The Nanooks fell behind early but fought back for a 1-1 tie at the intermission.

Blair Riley scored for Ferris State at the 14:31 mark to make it 1-0 Ferris State but then Nik Yaremchuk scored with 1.1 seconds left in the period, on the power play, to tie the score.

Nanooks down CWU video

Here are some video clips courtosy of Jaime Schwartzwald

Great clips from Jaime and a great win for the Alaska Nanooks Volleyball team

Alaska Volleyball defeats Central Washington

The Alaska Nanook volleyball team snapped a five-match losing streak by defeating the Central Washington Wildcats 3-2 Saturday night at the Patty Center. The Nanooks clawed back from a 9-6 deficit in the fifth set to capture their first win in a month and improve their record to 9-12 overall and 3-7 in the GNAC.

The Nanooks fell behind early in the first set 5-0 but responded with a 5-point run of their own to tie the set at five all. The Nanooks out hit the Wildcats .235-.143 but could not close out the set as Central Washington went on a 4-1 run after the score was deadlocked at 21.

Alaska continued their strong play in the second set as they raced out to a 17-11 lead and never looked back. The Nanooks used six kills by Megan Thigpen and seven digs from Jennifer Holland to win the set 25-18, and tie the match heading into the intermission. They out hit the Wildcats .250-.047 in the tying set.

Not to be outdone, the Wildcats responded and took set three by the score of 25-19. The Nanooks committed ten hitting errors in the set as the Wildcats regained the lead 2-1.

The fourth set looked to be a fight to the finish, until Alaska fell behind mid-way through the third set 17-14; however, the fight was note done as the Blue and Gold ran off eight of the next nine points to win the set 25-18 and force the deciding fifth set. Heather Lyons led the way offensively for the Nanooks with six kills and only one of the Nanooks five errors. Erica Gage also had a very strong set as she contributed three blocks and two kills.

With the Wildcats holding a 9-6 advantage in the final frame the Nanooks reeled off four straight points capped off by a double-block from Megan Thigpen and Heather Lyons, to take their first lead of the set. Central Washington regained the lead late at 14-12 before the Nanooks would make their final stand. With the score tied at 14 back-to-back blocks by Thigpen and Jessica Hill clinched the Nanooks victory 16-14.

Lyons led the Nanooks with a double-double (17 kills and 15 digs) and added five block assists teams 13 blocks. Thigpen (16) and Melissa Refuerzo (12) also registered double-figure kills, helping the Nanooks out hit the Wildcats .203-.094.

Alexa Sherman posted a double-double with match-highs in assists (53) and digs (20). Jennifer Holland had 18 digs in the backcourt, while Thigpen chipped in 14. Four different Nanooks had five or more blocks led by junior Erica Gage with a match-high 8. Thigpen, Hill and Lyons each had five blocks in the win.

Central Washington was led by Kady Try who posted 18 kills and 12 digs, while Meg Ryan and Erin Norris had 14 and 10 kills, respectively. Brandie Vea added 18 digs and Carlee Marble had 42 assists in the loss.

Great win for the ladies. They have been on the verge and just came up short in the recent past and it was good for them to go out and close a game.

Video Roster

You can now check out the Nanooks roster via video online!

All you need to do is go to the Alaska Nanooks website, go to the hockey page and click on the roster and you can watch all of the players introduce themselves.

Enjoy!

2009 Brice Alaska Goal Rush Champions

Last night the Alaska Nanooks won the Brice Alaska Goal Rush with Alaska Anchorage finishing runner up. Here is a video from Jamie Schwartzwald:

Video Highlights

Here are some video highlights from last nights 4-2 Nanook victory over Robert Morris University in the Brice Alaska Goal Rush. Special thanks to Jamie Schwartzwald for putting this together and sharing it. Enjoy.




Also fans remember that if you have pictures that you would like to share from games or events you can send them into alaskananooksblog@gmail.com and we will try to get some up from time to time.

Robert Morris @ Alaska Live Game Blog

Welcome to the Carlson Center for tonight's matchup as well see Robert Morris (0-0-0) go up against the Nanooks of Alaska (2-0-0). Alaska is coming off a steller performance last weekend beating #3 Michigan 2-0 and Mercyhurst 5-1 to win the tournament down in Anchorage.

Sorry for the late start to things, would have been some sweet pictures but I forgot my cable at home, so you will have to wait until next home game.

Click the jump for the action!

Greenham earns POW

The Central Collegiate Hockey Association announced today that Alaska sophomore Scott Greenham (Addison, ON) has been selected as the conference’s goalie of the week, for the week ending October 11.

Greenham stopped 43 of the 44 shots he faced in wins over Michigan and Mercyhurst to help his team capture the Kendall Hockey Classic title for the second straight year. He made 23 stops in a 2-0 shutout victory over Michigan on Friday night and rebounded with a 20 save performance in a 5-1 victory over Mercyhusrt on Saturday night.

Greenham started the season without letting up a goal in over 116 minutes of play before Mercyhurst scored a lone goal in the third period on Saturday. Greenham improved his career record to 5-0-1 while assisting on a goal in the Nanooks win over Mighigan.

On Friday, the Nanooks used goals from Joe Sova and Chad Gehon to capture a non-conference victory. Justin Filzen, Ron Meyers and Greenham all picked up assists while Greenham turned away all 23 shots for his first career shutout.

Saturday’s game saw the Blue and Gold jump out to a 4-0 lead through two period to cruise to a 5-1 victory. The Nanooks shut down the Mercyhurst power play allowing no goals on four attempts and limiting the Lakers to only four shots. Dion Knelsen tallied four points (2g, 2a) and Cody Butcher netted the eventual game winner.

This is Greenham’s second CCHA player of the week award. Last season he earned CCHA Goalie of the Week for the week of October 14-20.

The Blue and Gold return to Fairbanks to host the second annual Brice Alaska Goal Rush on Oct. 16-17, when Alaska Anchorage, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Robert Morris join the Nanooks at the Carlson Center. Friday UAA opens tournament play against RPI at 4:05 p.m. and the Nanooks take on RMU at 7:35 p.m. Saturday the Seawolves meet RMU at 3:05 p.m. and Alaska faces RPI in the final game at 6:35 p.m.

Nanooks Claim Title

The Alaska Nanooks won their second game in as many days and captured the Kendall Hockey Classic crown by defeating the Mercyhurst Lakers by the score of 5-1. Classic Most Outstanding Player Scott Greenham made 20 saves for his second win of the weekend.

The Nanooks scored the first four goals of the game before finally surrendering their first goal of the Classic at the 3:11 mark of the third period. Dion Knelsen and Cody Butcher each scored power-play goals on an extended power play in the second period to give the Nanooks all they needed for the victory. Knelsen added the Nanooks third goal of the period at the 12:31 mark for his second of the night before Ron Meyers finished off the scoring with two seconds left in the second period for the 4-0 lead. Scott Enders finished off the scoring in the third period for Alaska.

Knelsen led the way with four points on the night (2g, 2a each) while Andy Taranto chipped in a pair of assists and Joe Sova and Dustin Sather each picked up assists for the Nanooks.

Goaltender Scott Greenham was named the tournaments most valuable player while Dion Knelsen and Joe Sova each earned all-tournament honors for Alaska.

The Blue and Gold return to Fairbanks to host the second annual Brice Alaska Goal Rush on Oct. 16-17, when Alaska Anchorage, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Robert Morris join the Nanooks at the Carlson Center. Friday UAA opens tournament play against RPI at 4:05 p.m. and the Nanooks take on RMU at 7:35 p.m. Saturday the Seawolves meet RMU at 3:05 p.m. and Alaska faces RPI in the final game at 6:35 p.m.
All tournament action will be videostreamed live on the B2 Networks. Live coverage links via video, audio and statistics are housed in the multimedia section of alaskananooks.com.

SAIT @ Alaska

Welcome to the Carlson Center for beginning of the 2009-2010 hockey season. We have just started with the whole blogging thing so we are going to try and bring you live game updates of your Alaska Nanooks throughout this season when it is possible.

We are a little late to the show here today as we had other obligations but we will try and be here to serve you for the second and third period of this hockey game.

After one we have a 2-0 lead for your Nanooks. Cody Butcher got Alaska on the board first with a power play goal and Derek Klassen found the back of the net for the second Nanook goal.

Hit the jump for the game

Mt. McKinley Bank Renews NSI Sponsorship Through 2011

Mt. McKinley Bank has agreed to renew its title sponsorship of the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational women’s basketball tournament hosted by the Alaska Nanooks through the year 2011. University of Alaska Fairbanks Director of Athletics Forest Karr made the announcement Thursday.

Mt. McKinley’s sponsorship will give the Invitational $60,000 over the three years of the agreement. This allotted money will provide opportunities for the student-athletes to play against a variety of quality opponents from all over the country.

"We greatly appreciate Mt. McKinley Bank’s unyielding support of women’s athletics at the University,” said Karr. “At a time when universities are being asked to do more with less funding, Nanook Athletics needs community support more than ever. Mt. McKinley's generous sponsorship will help keep the tournament fiscally responsible in the near future."

Mt. McKinley Bank has been the title sponsor for the North Star Invitational since its inception in 2001.

“Mt. McKinley Bank is pleased to continue as the original title sponsor of the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational basketball tournament in its 8th year,” said Bart Lebon, Executive Vice President for Commercial Lending. “We welcome this opportunity to support Nanook Athletics and look forward to many more years as the title sponsor.””

The round-robin formatted tournament includes the Gannon Golden Knight of Erie, Pennsylvania, the Henderson State Reddies of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, the West Florida Argonauts of Pensacola, Florida, and the host Alaska Nanooks.

Invitational action tips off on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26), when Henderson State takes on West Florida at 5:30 p.m. followed by a tilt that pairs the Golden Knights and the Nanooks at 8:30 p.m.