{"id":53417,"date":"2013-10-11T06:31:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-11T11:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=53417"},"modified":"2020-08-24T20:48:33","modified_gmt":"2020-08-25T01:48:33","slug":"established-players-give-alaska-firm-footing-chance-to-contend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2013\/10\/11\/established-players-give-alaska-firm-footing-chance-to-contend\/","title":{"rendered":"Established players give Alaska firm footing, chance to contend"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Alaska’s Michael Quinn is part of a solid returning corps of defensemen (photo: Rachel Lewis).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other than league-favorite Minnesota State, only one team in the new WCHA finished last season with a winning record, and that was Alaska.<\/p>\n

The Nanooks were in the mix for a possible NCAA tournament berth until they were bumped down in the PairWise Rankings at the very end of the season.<\/p>\n

Alaska lost its top scorer, Andy Taranto, and four other regular forwards from last season’s team, but it returns a strong group of veterans who should again keep the team in contention until, if not through, the last days of the season.<\/p>\n

“I like our character; I like our enthusiasm,” coach Dallas Ferguson said. “I like our attitude at the rink.”<\/p>\n

The Nanooks bring back three of their top four scorers from a season ago, including seniors Cody Kunyk (11 goals, 28 points) and Colton Beck (11 goals, 21 points) and sophomore Tyler Morley (10 goals, 21 points).<\/p>\n

“[Kunyk and Beck] are established Division I players that produce consistently for us,” Ferguson said. “They’re two guys, but we’re going to need it from everywhere. …<\/p>\n

“We’ll have three to five freshmen in the lineup who will be in some key situations. We have some areas where we lost some guys and need guys to step up.”<\/p>\n

Defense will be a strength, Ferguson said, despite the loss of last season’s captain, Kaare Odegard, a player the coach called one of the greatest leaders in program history.<\/p>\n

Still, sophomore defenseman Colton Parayko, a third-round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues in 2012, and three others — senior Michael Quinn, junior Trevor Campbell and sophomore Josh Atkinson — are back on the blue line.<\/p>\n

“We’re excited to have that core back,” Ferguson said. “That will be the strength of our team at the start because we have so many returning guys.”<\/p>\n

One area that Ferguson expects will be more stable at the start of the season is in goal, where sophomore John Keeney resumes his role after a solid rookie season. Keeney had 13 wins a season ago with a .909 save percentage and a 2.31 GAA.<\/p>\n

“Last year was a unique situation,” Ferguson said. “We didn’t have an established starter last year, and after Christmas, John went on a little run with six in a row. He was solid.<\/p>\n

“He put us in a pretty good position heading into the home stretch. John learned a lot about what it takes to be successful at the level. …<\/p>\n

“But we need John to elevate his game, and we need [the others] to push John.”<\/p>\n

The Nanooks’ freshman class includes Brandon Morley, Tyler’s brother, and Fairbanks-area natives Jared Linnell and Justin Woods.<\/p>\n

About the Nanooks<\/h4>\n

2012-13 overall record:<\/b> 17-16-4<\/p>\n

2012-13 CCHA record:<\/b> 12-13-3 (sixth)<\/p>\n

2013-14 predicted finish:<\/b> Fifth<\/p>\n

Key losses:<\/b> F Andy Taranto, F Jarret Granberg, D Kaare Odegard<\/p>\n

Players to watch:<\/b> F Cody Kunyk, F Colton Beck, D Colton Parayko, G John Keeney<\/p>\n

Impact rookies:<\/b> F Brandon Morley, D Justin Woods<\/p>\n

Why the Nanooks will finish higher than predicted:<\/b> Kunyk, Beck and Keeney take their games to the next level.<\/p>\n

Why the Nanooks will finish lower than predicted:<\/b> They’re unable to replace Odegard’s and Taranto’s leadership and the offensive production of five graduated forwards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nanooks return three of their top four forwards from a team that was in the hunt for an NCAA tournament spot until late last season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":121191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[322],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEstablished players give Alaska firm footing, chance to contend - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Nanooks return three of their top four forwards from a team that was in the hunt for an NCAA tournament spot until late last season.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53417\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Established players give Alaska firm footing, chance to contend - 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