Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey

The Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Alaska Anchorage. The Seawolves were an original member of the now defunct men's division in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). They played at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska, and moved to the Seawolf Sports Complex on campus at the start of the 2019–20 season.[2]

Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey
Current season
Alaska Anchorage Seawolves athletic logo
UniversityUniversity of Alaska Anchorage
ConferenceIndependent
First season1979–80
Head coachMatt Shasby
2nd season, 8–19–1 (.304)
Assistant coaches
  • Trevor Stewart
  • Aaron McPheters
ArenaAvis Alaska Sports Complex
Anchorage, Alaska
ColorsGreen and gold[1]
   
NCAA Tournament appearances
1990, 1991, 1992
Conference regular season championships
1987
Current uniform

History

UAA began its ice hockey program in 1979, playing 8 of its 31 games against Division II Alaska–Fairbanks (winning all) before beginning a full D-II schedule the following season. The Seawolves rose quickly in the Division II ranks, narrowly missing out on the NCAA tournament in 1984 but promoted the team to Division I that summer when the entire D-II division collapsed.[3]

Anchorage played as an independent for a year before being a founding member of the first west coast conference, the Great West Hockey Conference. The league was very short-lived, lasting only three seasons before the two non-Alaska schools dropped hockey entirely, but it did provide UAA with its first league title in 1987.[4] The Seawolves were once again without a conference in 1988–89, but a year later they posted their first 20-win season at the D-I level and were selected to the NCAA Tournament.

The Seawolves dropped both games to Lake Superior State but returned the following year after another 20-win campaign and this time they were able to win their first NCAA round, defeating the Boston College Eagles. 1991–92 provided UAA with its best record, with the team going 27–8–1 and garnering a third consecutive NCAA berth (the last such for UAA as of 2019). After one more winning season the Seawolves joined the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

The stability of their new conference came as a double-edged sword, however, as the Seawolves would spend the next 20 years finishing with losing records. To make matters worse the team would lose both games in the opening round of the WCHA tournament most of the time and only twice could manage a First Round series win.

The college hockey world changed in 2013 when the Central Collegiate Hockey Association collapsed due to the formation of the Big Ten and the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.[5] This caused the WCHA to replace many of its departing members with weaker teams but even in the new WCHA UAA was still a bottom-half team. After making the conference semifinals the first season the Seawolves missed the playoffs each of the next five years.

In 2020, the university announced plans to cut the hockey program, along with skiing and gymnastics, due to sharp reductions in state funding. The University of Alaska Board of Regents offered the hockey team a chance at reinstatement in September if they could raise 2 seasons worth of expenses, approximately $3 million by February 2021, so the hockey program as a whole went on hiatus and did not compete for both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons as its future was being determined. The fundraising was divided into 2 parts: $1.5 million in cash and the remainder in firm pledges. As of December 2020, the team began fundraising for the needed money.[6] On August 31, 2021, the university announced that enough donations had been received to save the program. The team is expected to return for the 2022–23 season.[7]

Season-by-season results
Main article: List of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey seasons

[8]

Head coaches
Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1979–1996Brush Christiansen17287–229–30.553
1996–2001Dean Talafous550–108–22.339
2001–2005John Hill439–89–21.332
2005–2013Dave Shyiak880–177–33.333
2013–2018Matt Thomas548–105–21.336
2018–2021Matt Curley27–53–10.171
2022–presentMatt Shasby18–19–1.304
Totals 7 coaches 42 seasons 519–780–138 .409

As of completion of 2022–23 season. Records includes regular season and playoffs games.[9]

Statistical leaders

[8]

Career points leaders
Player Years GP G A Pts PIM
Dean Larson 1989–1992 63 137 200
Dennis Sorenson 1981–1984 70 127 197
Joey Hayse 1984–1987 76 93 169
Derek Donald 1989–1992 74 91 165
Peter McEnaney 1985–1988 54 107 161
Doug Spooner 1988–1991 75 73 148
Steve Bogoyevac 1989–1992 50 96 146
Rob Conn 1989–1991 76 70 146
Keith Morris 1990–1994 73 61 134
Mark Stitt 1992–1995 45 88 133

Career goaltending leaders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Minimum 30 games

Player Years GP Min W L T GA SO SV% GAA
Gregg Naumenko1998–199930169211135651.9202.31
Olivier Mantha2014–201812269732877143503.9083.01
Chris Kamal2010–2014713850213921985.8883.09
Rob Gunderson2010–20148244992441102361.8863.15
Shaun Gravistin1990–1993482688291161422.8833.17

Statistics current through the start of the 2018-19 season.

Roster

As of September 20, 2023.[10]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2 Alaska Max Osborne Senior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-02-01 Anchorage, Alaska Saint John's (MIAC) —
4 Georgia (U.S. state) Davis Goulker Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-04-22 Atlanta, Georgia Shreveport (NAHL) —
6 Alaska Brandon Lajoie Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-10-18 Eagle River, Alaska St. Cloud (NAHL) —
7 Minnesota Carson Kosobud Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 1999-06-04 Moorhead, Minnesota Arizona State (NCAA) —
8 Connecticut William Gilson Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-06-28 Old Greenwich, Connecticut Aberdeen (NAHL) —
9 Newfoundland and Labrador Conor Cole Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2001-10-28 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Maryland (NAHL) —
10 Ontario Riley Thompson Sophomore F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-08-17 Orleans, Ontario Smiths Falls (CCHL) —
11 Minnesota Ben Almquist Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-10-01 Victoria, Minnesota Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) —
12 Ontario Mitch Lafay Freshman F 6' 6" (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2002-08-06 Stratford, Ontario Trenton (OJHL) —
13 Alberta Matt Kinash Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-12-15 Edmonton, Alberta UMass Lowell (HEA) —
14 British Columbia Connor Marritt Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1999-03-14 Kelowna, British Columbia Northern Michigan (CCHA) —
17 New York (state) Gunnar VanDamme Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 2002-12-08 Pittsford, New York Maryland (NAHL) —
19 Arizona Rowan Miller Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2001-10-07 Phoenix, Arizona Prince George (BCHL) —
20 Oklahoma Matt Allen Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 168 lb (76 kg) 2000-05-13 Minco, Oklahoma UMass Lowell (HEA) —
21 Minnesota Ben Anderson Freshman F 6' 5" (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2002-03-01 Crystal, Minnesota Wisconsin (NAHL) —
22 Alaska Aiden Westin Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-02-06 Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage (NAHL) —
23 Alaska Maximilion Helgeson Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-12-05 Anchorage, Alaska Lindenwood (ACHA) —
25 Alaska Caleb Huffman Sophomore D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 2002-01-31 Fairbanks, Alaska Kenai River (NAHL) —
26 Quebec Dylan Finlay Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2001-10-24 L'Île-Bizard, Quebec Powell River (BCHL) —
28 Alberta Matt Johnson Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-11-25 Calgary, Alberta Anchorage (NAHL) —
29 Alberta Adam Tisdale Graduate F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 171 lb (78 kg) 1998-11-09 Cochrane, Alberta Sacred Heart (AHA) —
30 Alberta Jared Whale Sophomore G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-11-01 Calgary, Alberta Olds (AJHL) —
32 Wisconsin Joey Lamoreaux Graduate G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1999-02-01 Shorewood, Wisconsin St. Cloud State (NCHC) —
33 Hungary Greg Orosz Freshman G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-08-28 Győr, Hungary Odessa (NAHL) —
37 Saskatchewan Carter Belitski Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-01-13 Regina, Saskatchewan Drumheller (AJHL) —
43 British Columbia Karter McNarland Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2003-02-10 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Powell River (BCHL) —
74 Colorado Alex Gomez Sophomore F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-07-18 Parker, Colorado New Mexico (NAHL) —
77 Alberta Brett Bamber Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2001-11-07 St. Albert, Alberta Drayton Valley (AJHL) —
79 Alaska Porter Schachle Junior F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2000-11-22 Wasilla, Alaska Danbury (NAHL) —
86 Alberta Jarred White Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-05-21 Edmonton, Alberta Western Michigan (NCHC) —

Olympians

This is a list of Alaska Anchorage alumni were a part of an Olympic team.

Name Position Alaska Anchorage Tenure Team Year Finish
Mat RobinsonDefenseman2005–2009Canada CAN2018, 2022 Bronze, 6th

Seawolves in the NHL

As of July 1, 2022.

Player Position Team(s) Years Games Stanley Cups
Jeff Batters Defense STL 1993–1994 16 0
Jay Beagle Center WSH, VAN, ARI 2008–2022 646 1
Rob Conn Right wing CHI, BUF 1991–1996 30 0
Curtis Glencross Left wing ANA, CBJ, EDM, CGY, WSH 2006–2015 507 0
Justin Johnson Right wing NYI 2013–2014 2 0
Nathan Lawson Goaltender NYI, OTT 2010–2014 11 0
Gregg Naumenko Goaltender ANA 2000–2001 2 0
Mike Peluso Left wing CHI, OTT, NJD, STL, CGY 1989–1998 458 1
Duvie Westcott Defense CBJ 2001–2008 201 0

Source:[11]

References
  1. The Official UAA Brand Book (PDF). Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  2. "Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves Men's Hockey". U.S. College Hockey Online. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  3. "NCAA page for men's ice hockey". NCAA.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
  4. "History of the Great West Hockey Conference". College Hockey Historical Archives. Archived from the original on June 26, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  5. "The CCHA is going away, but its history will have a final resting place". USCHO. March 6, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  6. Bragg, Beth (October 19, 2020). "UAA hockey supporters launch Save Seawolf Hockey fundraising campaign". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  7. "College Hockey Returns to Anchorage; Kraken Get an Assist". si.com. August 31, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  8. "Alaska Anchorage Hockey Media Guide". Go Seawolves.com. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  9. "Alaska-Anchorage Men's Hockey Team History". United States College Hockey Online. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  10. "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  11. "Alumni report for . of Alaska-Anchorage". Hockey DB. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
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