The 2020–21 Alaska Nanooks men's ice hockey season would have been the 72nd season of play for the program, the 37th at the Division I level and the 8th in the WCHA conference. The Nanooks represented the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
| 2020–21 Alaska Nanooks men's ice hockey season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | WCHA |
| Home ice | Carlson Center |
| Rankings | |
| USCHO | NR |
| USA Today | NR |
| Record | |
| Coaches and captains | |
| Head coach | Erik Largen |
| Assistant coaches | Joe Howe Lenny Hoffman Josh Erickson Eric Yancey |
| Alaska Nanooks men's ice hockey seasons « 2019–20 2021–22 » | |
Season
editDue to health concerns as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Alaska notified the WCHA on December 11, shortly before it was scheduled to begin its season, that the university had decided to suspend its program for the season.[1] The NCAA had previously announced that all winter sports athletes would retain whatever eligibility they possessed through at least the following year.[2] Less than a week after Alaska's announcement, the NCAA approved a change in its transfer regulations that would allow players to transfer and play immediately rather than having to sit out a season, as the rules previously required.[3] Because of this, players who would have been members of Alaska for the 2021 season had a pathway to leave the program and immediately play for another university.
Departures
edit| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brennan Blaszczak | Forward |  United States |
Signed Professional Contract (Pensacola Ice Flyers) |
| Tyler Cline | Forward | United States |
Graduation |
| Logan Coomes | Forward | United States |
Graduation (signed with Marseille) |
| James LaDouce | Defenseman | United States |
Graduation |
| Emil Gransøe | Goaltender |  Denmark |
Retired |
| Kylar Hope | Forward |  Canada |
Graduation |
| Steven Jandric | Forward | Canada |
Transfer (Denver) |
| Colton Leiter | Forward/Defenseman | Canada |
Graduation (signed with Visby/Roma HK) |
| Kyle Marino | Forward | Canada |
Graduation |
| Anton Martinsson | Goaltender |  Sweden |
Graduate Transfer (Providence) |
| Max Newton | Forward | Canada |
Transfer (Merrimack) |
| Tristan Thompson | Defenseman | Canada |
Graduation (signed with Marseille) |
| Troy Van Tetering | Forward | Canada |
Graduation |
| Jack Weiss | Defenseman | United States |
Graduation |
| Justin Young | Forward | Canada |
Transfer (American International) |
Recruiting
edit| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Allin† | Goaltender | Canada |
20 | Edmonton, AB |
| Roberts Bļugers | Forward |  Latvia |
22 | Riga, LAT; transfer from Lake Superior State |
| Jakob Breault | Forward | Canada |
20 | Acton Vale, PQ |
| Antonio Di Paolo | Defenseman | Canada |
21 | La Ronge, SK |
| Harrison Israels | Forward | Canada |
21 | Mississauga, ON |
| Matt Koethe | Forward | United States |
21 | Minnetonka, MN |
| Riley Murphy | Forward | United States |
20 | Rockford, MI |
| Brayden Nicholetts | Forward | Canada |
21 | Spruce Grove, AB |
| Brady Risk | Forward | Canada |
21 | Spruce Grove, AB |
| Anton Rubtsov | Forward |  Russia |
21 | St. Petersburg, RUS |
| Austin Ryman† | Forward | United States |
19 | Fairbanks, AK |
† played junior hockey or equivalent during 2020–21 season.
Roster
editAs of January 31, 2021.[4]
| No. | S/P/C | Player | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | DoB | Hometown | Previous team | NHL rights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Daniel Allin | Freshman | G | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 2000-02-11 | Edmonton, Alberta | Drumheller (AJHL) | — |
| 4 |
|
Kristaps Jākobsons | Sophomore | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 202 lb (92 kg) | 1996-12-25 | Tukums, Latvia | Zemgale (LHL) | — |
| 5 |
|
Markuss Komuls | Sophomore | D | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 187 lb (85 kg) | 1998-01-04 | Talsi, Latvia | Kenai River (NAHL) | — |
| 6 |
|
Didrik Henbrandt | Sophomore | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 169 lb (77 kg) | 1998-04-10 | Linköping, Sweden | Minot (NAHL) | — |
| 7 | 
|
Garrett Pyke | Sophomore | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1999-08-01 | Toronto, Ontario | Oakville (OJHL) | — |
| 8 | 
|
Jordan Muzzillo | Junior | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1997-03-24 | Capron, Illinois | Springfield (NAHL) | — |
| 10 |
|
Ēriks Žohovs | Sophomore | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 196 lb (89 kg) | 1997-11-26 | Riga, Latvia | Zemgale (LHL) | — |
| 11 |
|
Brady Risk | Freshman | F | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 1999-03-16 | Medicine Hat, Alebrta | Drumheller (AJHL) | — |
| 12 | 
|
Caleb Hite | Junior | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1997-02-11 | Grand Blanc, Michigan | Fairbanks (NAHL) | — |
| 13 |
|
Filip Fornåå Svensson | Sophomore | F | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 1999-01-05 | Linköping, Sweden | Linköpings J20 (J20 SuperElit) | — |
| 14 |
|
Anton Rubtsov | Freshman | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | 1999-03-06 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | Shreveport (NAHL) | — |
| 15 | 
|
Antonio DiPaolo | Freshman | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1999-01-14 | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | Aberdeen (NAHL) | — |
| 16 | 
|
Chase Dubois | Sophomore | F | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | 1998-03-12 | Williams Lake, British Columbia | West Kelowna (BCHL) | — |
| 17 |
|
Colin Doyle | Junior | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1998-05-12 | Campbellford, Ontario | Wellington (OJHL) | — |
| 18 |
|
Riley Murphy | Freshman | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | 1999-10-29 | Rockford, Michigan | Aberdeen (NAHL) | — |
| 23 |
|
Roberts Kaļķis | Sophomore | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 1998-12-22 | Riga, Latvia | Rīga (MHL) | — |
| 24 |
|
Harrison Israels | Freshman | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 1999-09-01 | Mississauga, Ontario | Oakville (OJHL) | — |
| 25 | 
|
Antti Virtanen | Junior | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1998-03-14 | Kittilä, Finland | Sioux Falls (USHL) | — |
| 27 |
|
Roberts Bļugers | Sophomore | F | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1998-08-03 | Riga, Latvia | Lake Superior State (WCHA) | — |
| 28 |
|
Brayden Nicholetts | Freshman | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 1999-08-27 | Spruce Grove, Alberta | Spruce Grove (AJHL) | — |
| 29 |
|
Chris Jandric | Junior | D | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 179 lb (81 kg) | 1998-10-03 | Prince George, British Columbia | Vernon (BCHL) | — |
| 30 |
|
Gustavs Dāvis Grigals | Junior | G | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 189 lb (86 kg) | 1998-07-22 | Riga, Latvia | Shreveport (NAHL) | — |
| 31 | 
|
Austin Ryman | Freshman | G | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 2000-11-20 | Fairbanks, Alaska | Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL) | — |
| 37 | 
|
Jakob Breault | Freshman | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 1999-10-04 | Acton Vale, Quebec | Aberdeen (NAHL) | — |
| 40 | 
|
Matt Koethe | Freshman | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1999-09-28 | Minnetonka, Minnesota | Fairbanks (NAHL) | — |
Standings
edit| Conference record | Overall record | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | 3/SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| #4 Minnesota State † | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 56 | 15 | 27 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 100 | 46 | |
| #14 Lake Superior State * | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 39 | 34 | 29 | 19 | 7 | 3 | 86 | 63 | |
| #18 Bowling Green | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 46 | 34 | 31 | 20 | 10 | 1 | 108 | 67 | |
| #10 Bemidji State | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 42 | 34 | 29 | 16 | 10 | 3 | 82 | 70 | |
| Michigan Tech | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 38 | 35 | 30 | 17 | 12 | 1 | 78 | 63 | |
| Northern Michigan | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 40 | 47 | 29 | 11 | 17 | 1 | 79 | 103 | |
| Alabama–Huntsville | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 18 | 49 | 22 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 31 | 80 | |
| Ferris State | 14 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 28 | 59 | 25 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 55 | 103 | |
| Alaska | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Alaska Anchorage | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Championship: March 20, 2021 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll | |||||||||||||||||
Schedule and Results
editSeason Cancelled
References
edit- ^ "Alaska opts out of 2020-21 hockey season, citing health concerns". USCHO.com. December 11, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
- ^ "NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility". CBS Sports. August 21, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "DI Council grants waiver to allow transfer student-athletes to compete immediately". NCAA. December 16, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "2020–21 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics. Retrieved July 3, 2017.