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2011 Alaska Nanook Offseason: Wake Me Up When September Ends

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  • 2011 Alaska Nanook Offseason: Wake Me Up When September Ends

    And so it begins. I don't think it's news to anybody, especially our fans, that there were high hopes for this season, but for whatever reason we were never able to get in a groove. We didn't have the consistency that had brought us a fair amount of success in 2009 and 2010.

    Home losses to NMU, WMU, and Ferris were backbreakers. Also, the early season loss to North Dakota seemed to put a damper of sorts on getting our usual strong start. Not that it mattered, but it also really hurt us in the PWR.

    Good things? Gut check wins on the road at Miami and Notre Dame. A great home shutout of Michigan. The playoff sweep of Michigan State despite Comleygate. And keeping the Cup, even through dubious shootout measures.

    All things considered, I'd say there are glimmers of hope for 2011-2012. The thing this year's team lacked the most, IMO, was a Knelson-ish playmaker. Andy Taranto in particular seemed to suffer from the lack of a setup man, especially early in the season. As we went into the second half, Cody Kunyk really seemed to step up into that playmaker role. I'm hopeful he will continue to grow into that role next season; if he does it will really help the team to get back into being a conference contender.

    We will be a veteran-heavy team next year, most notably Greenham and Sova. Our seniors will have a lot of big game experience under their belts. If our guys keep working in the summer and start fresh in the fall, there are good reasons to be optimistic for next year. I am absolutely convinced that Coach Ferguson has us on the right path despite a minor blip this year. We all probably recall that until he was promoted, home playoff games were an extreme rarity.

    Already looking forward to next year.
    “We offer no apology for our location at 64 51’21’’ north latitude. We are building for the future and we are confident that well directed effort and education are the forces which make progress possible”

    —UA President Charles E. Bunnell, 1925

  • #2
    Re: 2011 Alaska Nanook Offseason: Wake Me Up When September Ends

    Nice summation of the season by Danny Martin in today's DNM: http://newsminer.com/view/full_story...sports_bullets
    “We offer no apology for our location at 64 51’21’’ north latitude. We are building for the future and we are confident that well directed effort and education are the forces which make progress possible”

    —UA President Charles E. Bunnell, 1925

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: 2011 Alaska Nanook Offseason: Wake Me Up When September Ends

      Kevin Petovello won the CCHA's Flanagan award for basically playing on one leg most of the season. He tore his ACL and MCL against Ohio State back in November, and is going under the knife next week.

      http://newsminer.com/view/full_story...sports_bullets
      “We offer no apology for our location at 64 51’21’’ north latitude. We are building for the future and we are confident that well directed effort and education are the forces which make progress possible”

      —UA President Charles E. Bunnell, 1925

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: 2011 Alaska Nanook Offseason: Wake Me Up When September Ends

        Just announced about an hour ago that defenseman Joe Sova (would have been a senior next season) has signed with the New Jersey Devils. Definitely happy for Joe and wish him all the best, but man oh man does this put a dent in our defenseman corps for next season.

        Here's the link:

        http://www.alaskananooks.com/news/20...319112926.aspx
        “We offer no apology for our location at 64 51’21’’ north latitude. We are building for the future and we are confident that well directed effort and education are the forces which make progress possible”

        —UA President Charles E. Bunnell, 1925

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: 2011 Alaska Nanook Offseason: Wake Me Up When September Ends

          Originally posted by Squarebanks View Post
          Just announced about an hour ago that defenseman Joe Sova (would have been a senior next season) has signed with the New Jersey Devils. Definitely happy for Joe and wish him all the best, but man oh man does this put a dent in our defenseman corps for next season.

          Here's the link:

          http://www.alaskananooks.com/news/20...319112926.aspx
          I was going to ask last week if any of the Alaska players were going to receive free agent interest or consider that route given the age of some of the players....

          Greenham turns 24 as a Sr.
          Taranto turns 23 as a Jr.
          Gens is 24/25 next season as a Sr.
          Sova turns 23 and has signed.

          Comment


          • #6
            Of the remaining 3, I'd say Taranto is the most likely, but I'd be surprised if any of those listed leave now.

            Originally posted by alnike View Post
            I was going to ask last week if any of the Alaska players were going to receive free agent interest or consider that route given the age of some of the players....

            Greenham turns 24 as a Sr.
            Taranto turns 23 as a Jr.
            Gens is 24/25 next season as a Sr.
            Sova turns 23 and has signed.
            “We offer no apology for our location at 64 51’21’’ north latitude. We are building for the future and we are confident that well directed effort and education are the forces which make progress possible”

            —UA President Charles E. Bunnell, 1925

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: 2011 Alaska Nanook Offseason: Wake Me Up When September Ends

              We played with a ton of injuries this year, that’s why we were never able to get into a groove. We beat some very good teams such as; Union, CC, Mich, ND, Miami. Overall the season wasn't as good as I wanted, but with no offense, it wasn't as bad as it could have been either. Sova......happy for him, and sucks he is leaving. He logged a ton of ice, and was a good O minded D-man. I think we will be perfectly fine without him. We have a deep D, and honestly I think he turned the puck over a number of times this year in key situations. Maybe because he was on the ice a ton, but there were games he was good, and games when he wasn't that great. Our D can lose a guy and still be good. Our O is non-existent, and cannot afford to lose anyone! Toranto played through a ton of injuries this year, more than the casual fan knows! He said he is coming back next year. I think he will be healed up, and will have a great year. We have some good young guys, and really aren’t losing anyone that was that great (other than Sova). I think we will be a better team next year than this year!
              All that was left, then, was for the Nanooks to celebrate with their fans. And for the Seawolves to get one last earful of the rowdies from Fairbanks.

              "I've got a lot of expletives I'd like to use,'' Fournier said, slumped in his locker room stall. "It's very embarrassing when you're playing on your home ice and they have more fans and they're louder.

              "We might as well have played the games in Fairbanks.''

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: 2011 Alaska Nanook Offseason: Wake Me Up When September Ends

                Other guys will step up in Sova's place but it still hurts to lose him. Looking forward to seeing him in the NHL eventually though.

                I definitely don't doubt Taranto's injuries, and I was happy to see him start to get back to his old self in the last third of the season. If he has a year like his freshman year next year, I'd be surprised to see him back in a Nanook sweater after next season.

                We have the ability, and if Kunyk continues his playmaker role we have the potential to have a good year next year. I know our offensive woes wore heavily on the staff and players; I'm sure they will be working hard over the summer.

                Originally posted by Rms123 View Post
                We played with a ton of injuries this year, that’s why we were never able to get into a groove. We beat some very good teams such as; Union, CC, Mich, ND, Miami. Overall the season wasn't as good as I wanted, but with no offense, it wasn't as bad as it could have been either. Sova......happy for him, and sucks he is leaving. He logged a ton of ice, and was a good O minded D-man. I think we will be perfectly fine without him. We have a deep D, and honestly I think he turned the puck over a number of times this year in key situations. Maybe because he was on the ice a ton, but there were games he was good, and games when he wasn't that great. Our D can lose a guy and still be good. Our O is non-existent, and cannot afford to lose anyone! Toranto played through a ton of injuries this year, more than the casual fan knows! He said he is coming back next year. I think he will be healed up, and will have a great year. We have some good young guys, and really aren’t losing anyone that was that great (other than Sova). I think we will be a better team next year than this year!
                “We offer no apology for our location at 64 51’21’’ north latitude. We are building for the future and we are confident that well directed effort and education are the forces which make progress possible”

                —UA President Charles E. Bunnell, 1925

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: 2011 Alaska Nanook Offseason: Wake Me Up When September Ends

                  Bryant Molle headed to the Alaska Aces:

                  http://newsminer.com/view/full_story...sports_bullets
                  “We offer no apology for our location at 64 51’21’’ north latitude. We are building for the future and we are confident that well directed effort and education are the forces which make progress possible”

                  —UA President Charles E. Bunnell, 1925

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: 2011 Alaska Nanook Offseason: Wake Me Up When September Ends

                    2011-2012 schedule released...

                    http://www.alaskananooks.com/schedul...ey&schedule=66
                    LSSU hockey-3 time NCAA champs 1988, 1992, 1994

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: 2011 Alaska Nanook Offseason: Wake Me Up When September Ends

                      Looks like we're not the only school to lose Guy, new head coach at PSU.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by birdman View Post
                        Looks like we're not the only school to lose Guy, new head coach at PSU.
                        Good for Gadz, sounds like a heck of an opportunity.
                        “We offer no apology for our location at 64 51’21’’ north latitude. We are building for the future and we are confident that well directed effort and education are the forces which make progress possible”

                        —UA President Charles E. Bunnell, 1925

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: 2011 Alaska Nanook Offseason: Wake Me Up When September Ends

                          Not hockey related, but Clem Johnson appears to be headed to Florida A&M. Probably a blessing in disguise for our basketball program.
                          “We offer no apology for our location at 64 51’21’’ north latitude. We are building for the future and we are confident that well directed effort and education are the forces which make progress possible”

                          —UA President Charles E. Bunnell, 1925

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: 2011 Alaska Nanook Offseason: Wake Me Up When September Ends

                            Looks like the 'Nooks have another commit, this time from NAHL Bismarck:

                            http://www.americanjuniorhockey.com/...?news_id=73266
                            “We offer no apology for our location at 64 51’21’’ north latitude. We are building for the future and we are confident that well directed effort and education are the forces which make progress possible”

                            —UA President Charles E. Bunnell, 1925

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: 2011 Alaska Nanook Offseason: Wake Me Up When September Ends

                              F Nolan Youngmun, originally from Anchorage, is headed to UAF by way of USHL Sioux City. As seen on Doyle Woody's Alaska Aces (ha!) blog, as well as a couple other sources.
                              “We offer no apology for our location at 64 51’21’’ north latitude. We are building for the future and we are confident that well directed effort and education are the forces which make progress possible”

                              —UA President Charles E. Bunnell, 1925

                              Comment

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