The Alaska Nanooks hockey team heads to North Easton, Massachusetts this week for a two-game series against the Stonehill Skyhawks at the Bridgewater Ice Arena, looking to break out of a five-game losing skid.
Friday’s opening puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m. Alaska time, with the second game following at the same time on Saturday. The road trip comes on the heels of a tough weekend in Hanover, New Hampshire, where the Nanooks dropped a pair of shutout matches to Dartmouth, falling 6-0 on Saturday, October 31, and 4-0 on Sunday, November 1.
The host Skyhawks enter the weekend facing their own momentum hurdles. Stonehill holds a 3-4-0 record as an Independent program and is currently mired in a three-game losing streak. Despite the recent skid, Stonehill has demonstrated early-season resilience, highlighted by overtime victories against Colgate and Northern Michigan.
On-ice production for the Skyhawks runs through JJ Grainda, who leads the team with five points across seven games, including a team-high three goals, one power-play marker, two game-winners, and an overtime goal.
For Alaska, the statistical profile points to notable strengths in faceoffs and defensive grit. Rylen Roersma ranks 15th nationally and third among Independent skaters by winning 82 faceoffs this season. Meanwhile, the blue line features heavy defensive shot blocking. Nathan Rickey ranks 13th in NCAA Division I with 15 blocked shots, and William Fleet sits 25th nationally with 14 blocks. As a team, the Nanooks rank 12th in the country with 115 total blocks, backed by Tyler Shea’s Independent-leading .910 save percentage.
Following this weekend’s series in Massachusetts, the Nanooks enjoy a weekend off before returning home to host the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves on November 20-21 to open the home portion of the Alaska Airlines Governor’s Cup.
