Sports

UAA's hockey schedule includes newbie Arizona State

UAA, which three decades ago was a college hockey outlier that elevated to NCAA Division I, will entertain the newest Division I program when it opens its Kendall Hockey Classic against Arizona State on Oct. 9 at Sullivan Arena.

The Seawolves will be the first NCAA opponent for the independent Sun Devils in their inaugural season of varsity play after transitioning from club status.

"Pretty cool thing,'' said UAA's Matt Thomas, the third-year bench boss.

The Kendall Hockey Classic also includes St. Cloud State, UAA's other opponent in that tournament, and UAF.

UAA in the 1984-85 season, its sixth as a varsity program, jumped to Division I, the highest level of NCAA sports, from Division III.

The upcoming, 34-game regular season will mark UAA's eighth straight in which it opens with its own tournament and then heads to Fairbanks for UAF's Brice Alaska Goal Rush tournament. UAA will play Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and American International University at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks.

UAA will play its customary Western Collegiate Hockey Association schedule of 28 games, 14 at home and 14 on the road.

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The Seawolves will play eight of those 14 league road games on just two trips in an effort to mitigate the wear-and-tear of travel in a league that stretches from Fairbanks and Anchorage in the Alaska time zone to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the Eastern time zone. The running joke, Thomas said, is the WCHA is also known as The Fatigue League.

In any event, UAA in one trip in late November and early January will visit Minnesota State Mankato and Michigan Tech, and in a January trip visit Lake Superior State in Michigan and Bowling Green in Ohio. UAA's other league road trips Outside are to Alabama Huntsville in October and Northern Michigan in February. By UAA's travel standards, its trip to Fairbanks in March hardly registers as a journey.

"In our mind, we've got four trips,'' Thomas said. "It cuts down on the travel. (The WCHA's) geographic footprint in huge.

"It's really tough to sugarcoat the amount of travel required. We feel like we've done everything we can.''

UAA's travel schedule late in the season, when fatigue can become an issue, is relatively light. Of UAA's last five series, three are at home, one is at Northern Michigan and one is to Fairbanks.

Included on the league docket is the annual Governor's Cup against UAF. The four games, which also serve as WCHA games, include two at Sullivan Arena on Dec. 11-12 to close out the Seawolves' schedule before the holiday break, and the final two games of the regular season in Fairbanks on March 4-5. The Nanooks have seized six consecutive Governor's Cups, though they vacated three of those titles because of NCAA violations.

For the third straight season, the top eight finishers in the 10-team WCHA will qualify for the league playoffs.

UAA last season went 8-22-4 overall and 5-21-2 in league, finished last in the WCHA and failed to make the playoffs.

UAA in league action will play home-and-home series with five opponents – UAF, Alabama Huntsville, Bowling Green, Lake Superior State and Minnesota State Mankato. UAA will play two league games each against Ferris State, Michigan Tech, Bemidji State and Northern Michigan.

The Seawolves' nonconference home opponent is Penn State, which before Arizona State was the last program to make the jump to Division I. The Nittany Lions, who transitioned to Division I from club status in 2012 and play in the Big Ten, are coached by former UAF bench boss Guy Gadowsky.

Reach reporter Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockey-blog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr

UAA 2015-16 Hockey Schedule

HOME GAMES AT SULLIVAN ARENA IN CAPS

* Denotes WCHA series

OCT. 9 – KENDALL HOCKEY CLASSIC: VS. ARIZONA STATE. OCT. 10 – KENDEALL HOCKEY CLASSIC: VS. ST. CLOUD STATE. Oct. 16 – UAF's Brice Alaska Goal Rush, vs. RPI. Oct. 17 – UAF's Brice Alaska Goal Rush, vs. American International. Oct. 23-24 – at Alabama-Huntsville*.

OCT. 31-NOV. 1 – BOWLING GREEN*. NOV. 13-14 – FERRIS STATE*. NOV. 20-21 – PENN STATE. Nov. 27-28 – at Minnesota State Mankato*.

Dec. 4-5 – at Michigan Tech*. DEC. 11-12 – UAF*.

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JAN. 8-9 – BEMIDJI STATE*. Jan. 15-16 – at Lake Superior State*. Jan. 21-22 – at Bowling Green*. Jan. 29-30 – ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE*.

Feb. 5-6 – at Northern Michigan*. FEB. 19-20 – LAKE SUPERIOR STATE*. FEB. 26-27 – MINNESOTA STATE MANKATO*.

March 4-5 – at UAF*.

Doyle Woody

Doyle Woody covered hockey and other sports for the Anchorage Daily News for 34 years.

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