2020–21 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey season
The 2020-21 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey season would have been the 42nd season of play for the program, the 37th at the Division I level and the 28th in the WCHA conference. The Seawolves represent the University of Alaska Anchorage.
| 2020–21 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey season | |
|---|---|
| Conference | WCHA |
| Home ice | Wells Fargo Sports Complex |
| Rankings | |
| USCHO.com | NR |
| USA Today/ US Hockey Magazine | NR |
| Record | |
| Coaches and Captains | |
| Head Coach | Matt Curley |
| Assistant Coaches | Matt Bruneteau P. D. Melgoza |
| Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey seasons « 2019–20 | |
Season
In the summer of 2020, the university announced that the men's ice hockey program would be terminated following the 2020–21 season.[1] The move came as a result from many years of poor attendance and the announcement by 7 members of the 10-team WCHA to leave the conference. A year earlier, due to the decline in revenue for the state, there were rumors that the Seawolves would merge their program with the one in Fairbanks, but nothing came to fruition.[2] The end result was that Alaska Anchorage could no longer support several of its programs and, despite once being the cornerstone of the athletic department, the expensive ice hockey team was scheduled for a swan song in 2021.
Before a single game could be played, however, the COVID-19 pandemic made playing the season untenable. In November, Alaska Anchorage suspended all of its indoor sports due to the increased likelihood of spreading the virus.[3] The cancellation effectively ended the program on the same day, however, since the August announcement a group of alumni, boosters and residents had been attempting to put together a large donation to keep the team running for at least two years. By mid-December, more than $1 million had been raised with a goal of securing $1.5 million and an additional $1.5 million in pledges by February 21st.[4] While the possibility of reviving the program remains, an influx of money will not save the program outright. For Seawolves hockey to survive the problems that caused the program's demise must be solved or any potential donation will only delay the inevitable.
Departures
| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Luc Brown | Forward | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada | Graduation (Signed with Greenville Swamp Rabbits) |
| Carmine Buono | Defenseman | Canada | Left Program |
| Trey deGraaf | Forward | Canada | Left Program |
| Dante Fantauzzi | Defenseman | Canada | Returned to Juniors (Sioux Falls Stampede) |
| Alex Frye | Forward |  United States | Transfer (Northern Michigan) |
| Drake Glover | Forward | United States | Signed Professional Contract (Fayetteville Marksmen) |
| Tomi Hiekkavirta | Defenseman |  Finland | Graduation |
| Taylor Lantz | Forward | United States | Left Program |
| Marcus Mitchell | Forward | Canada | Transfer (SUNY Plattsburgh) |
| Zack Nazzarett | Forward | United States | Returned to Juniors (New Jersey Junior Titans) |
| Nolan Nicholas | Defenseman | Canada | Graduation |
| Brandon Perrone | Goaltender | United States | Transfer (Long Island) |
| Cory Renwick | Forward | Canada | Graduation |
| Tanner Schachle | Forward | United States | Transfer (Long Island) |
| Eric Sinclair | Defenseman | Canada | Left Program |
| Rylee St. Onge | Forward | Canada | Transfer (Mercyhurst) |
| David Trinkberger | Defenseman |  Germany | Graduation (Signed with Nürnberg Ice Tigers) |
| Nick Wicks | Forward | Canada | Transfer (Clarkson) |
Recruiting
| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Tyrell Boucher | Defenseman | Canada | 20 | Grande Prairie, AB; transferred to Northern Michigan |
| Ethan Gauer | Defenseman |  Latvia | 20 | Farmington, MN; transferred to Bemidji State |
| Olivier Gauthier | Forward | Canada | 21 | Ferme-Neuve, PQ |
| Wyatt Head | Defenseman | Canada | 21 | Kelowna, BC; transferred to Mercyhurst |
| Zach Krajnik | Forward | United States | 21 | Eagle River, AK; transferred to Minnesota State |
| Chong-min Lee | Forward |  South Korea | 21 | Seoul, KOR; Left Program |
| Josh Martin | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Brownstown, MI; transferred to Alabama–Huntsville |
| Michael Muschitiello | Forward | United States | 21 | St. James, NY; Left Program |
| Devon Mussio | Defenseman | Canada | 21 | Vancouver, BC; transferred to Mercyhurst |
| Daniel Rybarik | Forward | Canada | 21 | Calgary, AB |
| Porter Schachle | Forward | United States | 19 | Wasilla, AK; Returned to Juniors |
| Preston Weeks | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Soldotna, AK |
Roster
As of February 2, 2021.[5]
| No. | S/P/C | Player | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | DoB | Hometown | Previous team | NHL rights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 |  |
Andrew Lane | Junior | D | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | 1997-02-19 | Howell, Michigan | Shreveport (NAHL) | — |
| 4 |  |
Troy Robillard | Sophomore | D | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 208 lb (94 kg) | 1998-10-12 | Coquitlam, British Columbia | Coquitlam (BCHL) | — |
| 8 | |
Drayson Pears | Junior | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1998-03-09 | Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia | Victoria (BCHL) | — |
| 11 |  |
Joe Sofo | Senior | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1996-08-07 | Sylvania, Ohio | Coulee Region (NAHL) | — |
| 14 |  |
Jared Nash | Junior | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 1998-01-16 | Stratford, Ontario | Penticton (SJHL) | — |
| 16 |  |
Zach Court | Junior | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 186 lb (84 kg) | 1997-01-04 | Winnipeg, Manitoba | Merritt (BCHL) | — |
| 17 | |
Zac Masson | Senior | F | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 1996-02-06 | Newmarket, Ontario | Langley (BCHL) | — |
| 18 |  |
Daniel Rybarik | Freshman | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 1999-02-20 | Calgary, Alberta | Salmon Arm (BCHL) | — |
| 22 |  |
Olivier Gauthier | Freshman | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1999-04-09 | Mont-Tremblant, Quebec | Cowichan Valley (BCHL) | — |
| 26 |  |
Aaron McPheters | Senior | D | 5' 8" (1.73 m) | 164 lb (74 kg) | 1997-03-25 | Anchorage, Alaska | Fairbanks (NAHL) | — |
| 29 | |
Preston Weeks | Freshman | D | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 1999-04-05 | Soldotna, Alaska | Kenai River (NAHL) | — |
| 30 |  |
Kris Carlson | Senior | G | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 196 lb (89 kg) | 1997-08-19 | Centreville, Virginia | New Jersey (USPHL) | — |
| 39 | |
Kristian Stead | Senior | G | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | 1996-10-17 | Merritt, British Columbia | Nipawin (SJHL) | — |
| 40 |  |
Brayden Camrud | Sophomore | F | 5' 8" (1.73 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 1998-07-24 | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | Humboldt (SJHL) | — |
Standings
2020–21 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Standings | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference record | Overall record | ||||||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | 3/SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| #3 Minnesota State | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 26 | 3 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 41 | 15 | |
| #8 Bowling Green | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 27 | 14 | 20 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 80 | 38 | |
| #18 Michigan Tech | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 34 | 30 | |
| Northern Michigan | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 32 | 56 | |
| Alabama–Huntsville | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 24 | |
| Bemidji State | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 32 | 29 | |
| Ferris State | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 35 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 35 | 55 | |
| Lake Superior State | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 27 | |
| Alaska | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Alaska Anchorage | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Championship: March 20, 2021 † indicates conference regular season champion; * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated January 31, 2020 | |||||||||||||||||
Schedule and Results
Season Cancelled
References
- "Once the toast of the town, UAA hockey is toast, and it's sad but not surprising". Anchorage Daily News. August 25, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
- "Frederick column: Alaska hockey teams get reprieve — for one year anyway". The Free Press. August 15, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
- "Alaska Anchorage, already cutting hockey program in 2021, opts out of 2020-21 season due to COVID concerns". USCHO.com. November 13, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
- "Boosters Fight to Save Alaska-Anchorage Hockey". College Hockey News. December 11, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
- "UAA Hockey – 2020–21 Roster". GoSeawolves.com. Retrieved October 31, 2018.