Alaska has named Nebraska-Omaha assistant coach Doc DelCastillo as the seventh head coach in Alaska history. “I have spoken with hundreds of people during the search process,” said UAF athletics director Forrest Karr. “Everyone has different opinions, but everyone that knows hockey agrees on one thing – Doc DelCastillo is an excellent role model and … Read more
Alaska Nanooks’ head hockey coach Tavis MacMillan announced in a press conference Thursday that he is stepping down from his post for family reasons. “We have been presented an opportunity as a family that I am excited about; however, I am not at liberty to discuss just yet,” said MacMillan. “This decision was made with … Read more
The Alaska Nanooks’ leading scorer for the last three seasons has played his final game in Blue and Gold. Junior left wing Kyle Greentree signed a two-way contract with the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers this week. “This is everything that I wanted and more,” said Greentree, a native of Victoria, B.C. “They followed me … Read more
Kyle Greentree, the star shooter for the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, was no exception to team traditions: when his teammates lined up in two rows on the ice facing each other, Greentree, or “Greener” as he’s called, knew he was looking at an alleyway of pain.
Second-year head coach Dave Shyiak knows where the Seawolves have to improve to move up in the WCHA ranks; it’s just a matter of getting them there. Alaska-Anchorage has a capable goaltender in Nathan Lawson, but got absolutely no help last year as his teammates were last in the league in scoring and second-to-last in … Read more
The Alaska Nanooks, poster boys for why defense doesn’t win games. With the best penalty kill in the league and the third-best in the nation, and two goaltenders with a combined save percentage of .917, the Nanooks still managed to finish the 2005-06 season tied for eighth in the league. I know, I know. The … Read more
Alaska-Anchorage head coach Dave Shyiak announced today that Damon Whitten has been hired as an assistant coach. A native of Brighton, Mich., Whitten comes to UAA after a two-year assistant stint at Wayne State, and one year at his alma mater, Michigan State. At both schools he assisted with all facets of practices and games, … Read more
Alaska-Anchorage assistant coaches Jack Kowal and Keith Morris resigned this week after UAA head coach Dave Shyiak called them into his office this past week and told them that their contracts were not going to be renewed per a report in the Anchorage Daily News. Shyiak just completed his first season as the head coach … Read more
In a conversation months and miles in the making, UAF sophomore Kyle Greentree tells Paula C. Weston all about Nanook hockey, Fairbanks, and goalie fashion.
This road trip has had a little more to offer Alaska-Fairbanks than its typical 3,500 mile treks. In all the Nanooks will have dealt with two consecutive weekends of cutthroat hockey, nearly two weeks in a South Bend hotel, a majority of the team falling ill and even the supernatural. Hunkering down After splitting last … Read more
Leonard W. Brumm, Jr, or “Oakie” to those who knew him, a former University of Alaska Fairbanks hockey coach, athletic director, and men’s basketball coach, passed away on January 17, 2006, in Racine, Wisconsin, after battling an aggressive form of cancer. Brumm coached hockey and basketball and served as UAF Director of Athletics from 1951-1953. … Read more
Alaska-Fairbanks, which has seen a strong start to 2005-06 soften in recent weeks, will start the remainder of the season with another challenge: the absence of its leading scorer. On Tuesday, the school announced that sophomore center Ryan McLeod would sign a pro contract within the East Coast Hockey League. He was scheduled to leave … Read more
History teaches everything, including the future. — Lamartine The UAF Nanooks will look to their most recent history, namely last year, to learn what’s necessary to take them to their immediate future. “We got older in age marginally, but by class and experience we’re younger,” says head coach Tavis MacMillan. Just how young is this … Read more
Four years ago, Dave Shyiak and John Hill were the finalists for the open head coaching position at Alaska-Anchorage. Hill got the job then, with his tight connections to the city and the school — his alma mater — the big reasons why. The Hill era was tumultuous, with off-ice issues and a one-win season … Read more
Dave Shyiak has been hired as the fourth head coach of Alaska-Anchorage in the 26-year history of the program. Shyiak replaces John Hill, who resigned last week to take the assistant coaching position at Minnesota. “My family and I are extremely excited to have this opportunity. We can’t wait to get to Anchorage to begin … Read more
Alaska-Anchorage head coach John Hill has resigned his position to become an assistant coach at Minnesota, ending a tenure that saw a modest turnaround after the Seawolves hit rock bottom with a one-win season in 2002-03. On Friday it was announced that Hill, 44, has accepted the Gopher assistant’s position which opened up when Bob … Read more
Alaska-Anchorage sophomore forward Brett Arcand-Kootenay, a lightning rod for controversy the last two years, has been dismissed from the team by coach John Hill. Arcand-Kootenay made news just before the season when he suffered a broken jaw during training camp after being on the receiving end of a punch by teammate Lee Green. Green is … Read more
Minnesota-Duluth is the coaches’ preseason pick to win the WCHA, while Wisconsin goaltender Bernd Brückler topped voting for preseason player of the year honors. The coaches poll, conducted by the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald, put the Bulldogs atop the rankings for the first time. UMD, which returns 73.5 percent of its scoring from last year’s … Read more
“Youth is the strength of our hockey program.” So says first-year head coach Tavis MacMillan, and he’d better be right. The Nanooks welcome 11 rookies this season — almost half the team — after saying goodbye to a senior class that twice engineered home ice in the first round of the CCHA playoffs and brought … Read more
John Hill is no stranger to adversity with his Alaska-Anchorage team. Two years ago, an NCAA violation in the usage of textbook scholarship money leading to the suspension of a number of players was only one rough patch in a 1-28-7 season. But the Anchorage native and former Seawolves captain is also familiar with what … Read more