The Alaska Nanooks men’s ice hockey team secured a 2-0 victory over the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Seawolves on Friday, Feb. 27, at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks. This win marks the third consecutive victory for the Nanooks, improving their season record to 13-15-2.
The game opened with UAA narrowly outshooting Alaska 10-8 in the first period. Despite this, Alaska scored first when Tommy Cronin connected with Dean Spak during a breakout play. Spak then passed to Alexander Malinowski, who scored past UAA goaltender Tyler Krivtsov at 12:35 into the period. This goal would prove to be the game-winner and was the only score until late in the third period.
In the second period, Alaska increased its offensive efforts with 13 shots on goal compared to UAA’s five, but neither team managed to score. The Nanooks maintained their pressure into the third period, registering 19 shots while limiting UAA to seven. With just 1:31 left in regulation, Chase Dafoe sealed the win by scoring into an empty net after receiving a pass from Braden Birnie; Jackson Anderson also assisted on this play.
Rookie goaltender Calvin Vachon recorded his second career win and his first shutout with a total of 22 saves. “Calvin Vachon becomes the first Nanooks rookie goalie to post a shutout victory since Scott Greenham shut out Mercyhurst 5-0 on Oct. 17, 2008,” according to team records.
Special teams played a significant role as neither side converted on power plays; Alaska successfully killed all six penalties while going zero-for-two themselves. The Nanooks’ defense contributed with 20 blocked shots—matching their second-highest total of blocks in a single game this season.
This shutout is Alaska’s second of the year and their first since Nov. 28, when they defeated St. Lawrence at the Adirondack Winter Invitational.
Six different players earned points during Friday’s contest. Malinowski has now tallied eleven points in his last twelve games following his goal tonight. Dafoe extended his point streak to seven games and has nine points during that span; Birnie pushed his own streak to three games with five points over that stretch. Cronin picked up another assist for his seventh of the season and now has eleven points in his last nine outings.
The two teams will meet again tomorrow for their final regular-season matchup as part of the Alaska Airlines Governor’s Cup series before both travel to St. Louis for participation in the inaugural United Collegiate Hockey Cup scheduled from March 5-7.
