SOMEWHERE THAT IS NOT FAIRBANKS — Greetings from mission control in downtown Duluth, where we’ll be chronicling the events unfolding at Carlson Center in Fairbanks, Alaska, some 3,023 miles and 51 hours of drive time away.
Studio Hockey is back, in a decision that was not made lightly. With the NCHC going to a fully on-campus conference tournament, I looked at the potential costs of short-notice trips to places like Tempe (based on actual experience doing it last year), Denver, Colorado Springs, and Oxford. With those numbers in mind, I decided not to press the issue on this trip. Having both games starting at 7pm Alaska time (10pm Duluth time) only emboldened me, and I’ve had very little doubt along the way that the right call was made, no matter how much fun it appears to potentially be up there.
(UMD coach Scott Sandelin has openly labeled this a “bucket list” trip for him. Can’t blame him, Fairbanks seems like a really cool place to visit for hockey-related purposes.)
(Oh, and if anyone asks, my bucket list at this point would probably include Air Force, because the Academy is so cool, Michigan, Princeton, and the Bostons, both College and University. Just off the top of my head. But the reality is that, as things around us get more expensive, and as long as the NCHC tourney remains fully on campus, it’s going to be more and more difficult to justify the expenses involved in early-season non-conference road trips. That’s me talking, not anyone in management. Just trying to be realistic.)
Alaska has been in Duluth a couple times since COVID, and the common thread is that Eric Largen’s teams play their tails off. The Nanooks play an intense in-your-face style of hockey, something Largen has preached to his players and and identity the Alaska coaching staff has recruited to.
“We have to be a team that’s tough to play against,” Largen said this week, “and be a team that’s going to be in people’s faces.”
Sandelin thinks highly of Largen and the work he’s done with the Nanooks program. The feeling is mutual.
“He’s an ambassador to the game,” Largen said of his bench adversary this weekend. “The fact that they’re up here playing us. They’ve given us games in the past. We went to Amsoil right out of COVID, played two games there, obviously played them last year.
“Not only wins but just doing things the right way. He’s not a guy that’s gonna grab guys or steal guys or do any of that type of stuff. He’s just always done things the right way, and I have a ton of respect for him. He’s built a heck of a program in Duluth. I think his character and the way that he conducts himself every single day is something that I try to emulate. I just appreciate that and have a lot of respect for it.”
Sandelin knows his group will be challenged this weekend.
“I just go back to all the games we’ve played against them and how hard those games have been,” he said. “And it has nothing to do with us taking them lightly. It’s just they come to work. And I think they put a good game plan in place. And they know how they want to play. They’re an aggressive team. And I think even last year, their goalie was very good.”
Sandelin noted that Alaska has a bit of a leg up on UMD, having played UNLV (3-0 win) and Briercrest (8-0 win) in exhibitions last weekend in Fairbanks.
“I tried to watch a little bit. They played UNLV, just to get a little feel for what they’re doing this year. Could be a lot different when we play them, but they’ve got a game under their belt. They’re going to come at us. It’s a big anniversary year for them (they’re celebrating their 100th anniversary). So they’re going to be fired up to play.”
With 23 freshmen and sophomores on the roster, many of them asked to play significant roles, you’d think exhibition games would be immensely helpful, but Largen isn’t convinced.
“I don’t always love the exhibitions,” he said. “The pace is just so different. We go from playing teams that are not even close to that Division I level. And then all of sudden you’re playing an NCHC team that I think is much improved and going to be fighting for the top of the league standings this year in Duluth.”
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One more note on Alaska before we get to the game. I asked Largen about the growing diversity in college hockey. Alaska’s roster has players from the U.S. and Canada, obviously, but also Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Belarus, and Ukraine.
I wanted to share Largen’s answer, because I think there is a lesson here for everyone to learn.
“Well, it’s a couple of things. One, it’s opened my eyes a lot, right? You look at players that we have. We have Misha Danylov (from Ukraine) and then, you know, in (Fyodor) Nikolayenya (Belarus), what they’re going through just as people, it puts things into perspective. (Fyodor) is in asylum right now, he can’t go back to Belarus. Misha’s family is dealing with the war in Ukraine and all their families back there, so just puts things in perspective. We’re so fortunate to be able to play a sport and for me, having a job. Diversity in the group’s a good thing. We all come together for a common goal. And I think it teaches the guys a lot of different things that they’ll take with them, myself included, for the rest of my life.”
It reminded me of comments former NFL player Adrian Clayborn made that became pretty well-known. Basically, he talked about the diversity of background and thought in a locker room, but everyone comes together for the common good. He said he wished the world could be like his team’s locker room.
Ain’t that the truth?
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Anyway, we’ve got a game. For UMD, everyone made it through fall camp healthy. All four of the scratches — forwards Harper Bentz, Luke Bibby, and Trevor Stachowiak, and defenseman Jake Toll — are considered healthy scratches.
Adam Gajan vs Lassi Lehti.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD forwards
Plante (Max) – Plante (Zam) – Shaugabay
Truman – Gaffney – Arnott
Zaremba – Shlaine – Anderson
Fischer – Kovich – Bechen
UMD defense
Hanson – Kleber
Pionk – Siepmann
Cleveland – Pierce
Bodnarchuk
UMD goalies
Gajan – Dahlmeir – Sheffield
Alaska forwards
Birnie – Dafoe – Sydor
Larson – Platter – Citara
Malinowski – Roersma – Borozinskis
Spak – Danylov – Nikolayenya
Alaska defense
Reed – Anderson
Miller – Cardona
Rickey – Fleet
Barlage
Alaska goalies
Lehti – Vachon
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