Anchorage Daily News

Assistant UAF hockey coach Dallas Ferguson today was promoted to head the program as the eighth head coach in the program's 28-year history at the NCAA level.

"Dallas has the plan, passion and broad support necessary to provide a foundation that Nanook hockey has been missing," said UAF athletic director Forrest Karr. "There is simply no convincing reason to not hire an emerging leader that bleeds blue and gold, especially a leader that people have already demonstrated they are ready to follow.

"Dallas brings integrity, trust, stability and great coaching ability to the job, and I cannot imagine a better candidate."

UAF finished 9-21-5 overall last season.

Ferguson was interim head coach after Doc DelCastillo resigned April 10 after one season as head coach of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association program.

"It's obviously a great honor," Ferguson said in a news conference this morning at the Patty Center.

"This program is very special to me for obvious reasons,'' he said. "I want everyone to know that every last ounce of energy will be put toward this program to make it successful, and make, again, the university, the community and its alumni proud.''

Ferguson was a Nanooks defenseman from 1992 to 1996 and ranks 21st among leading scorers in UAF history. He compiled 17 goals and 87 assists for 104 points in 138 games.

After four seasons of playing at the minor professional level, Ferguson served as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Fairbanks Ice Dogs of the North American Hockey League from 2002 to 2004. Later in 2004, he was named as a Nanooks assistant coach for Tavis MacMillan, his former Alaska teammate who replaced Guy Gadowsky as head coach.

Gadowsky is now the head coach at Princeton University, and MacMillan is a U.S. amateur scout for the National Hockey League's Atlanta Thrashers.

As an assistant coach, Ferguson worked with the Nanooks defensemen and on the team's penalty kill, which in 2005-06 had the third-best efficiency among the 58 teams in NCAA Division I.

Ferguson and Kevin Patrick, a University of Wisconsin assistant coach, were the two finalists among 16 applicants for the head coaching vacancy.

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