The University of Alaska Fairbanks ice hockey team has made several schedule changes for the upcoming season, announcing a change in the venue for the game against Michigan Tech and an opponent for the opening game of the Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff.
The Nanooks were originally scheduled to play a home series at Michigan Tech on Oct. 11 and 12, but will now travel to Houghton, Michigan to play the Huskies on the road.
This brings the total number of home games for the regular season this year to nine. Other home games include the traditional Blue/Gold scrimmage and an exhibition match against Grand Canyon University before the opening series against Penn State.
UAF and MTU met three times last year, two of which were at Michigan Tech, with the Nanooks winning 4-2 and drawing 2-2 in those matchups. They then met at the Great Lakes Invitational, with the Huskies winning 3-2, bringing the season series between the two teams to 1-1-1 and 1-tie.
Due to the rescheduled series with Michigan Tech, the Nanooks will be on the road for 12 consecutive games from Oct. 11 to Nov. 30. They will return home for a two-game series against Augustana University on Dec. 6 and 7, then have a day off before traveling for the Quick Trip Holiday Faceoff just before the new year.
The Nanooks' opening opponent in the Quick Trip Holiday Faceoff will be the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies. The invitational, which features four teams from UAF, UConn, University of Wisconsin and Ferris State University, will take place at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from December 28-29.
UConn finished last season with a 15-19-2 overall record and 9-14-1 in the Hockey East Conference. This will be the first time the two teams have met. Depending on the result, the Nanooks will face either Wisconsin or Ferris State in the finals or consolation game the following day.
Wisconsin won the tournament last year with wins over Air Force College and Northeastern University, finishing with a career record of 25 wins, 9 losses and 2 ties. This is Wisconsin's second victory since the tournament was first held in 2021.
