Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey

Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey
Current season
University	University of Alaska Anchorage
Conference	Independent
First season	1979–80
Head coach	Matt Shasby 2nd season, 8–19–1 (.304)
Assistant coaches	Trevor Stewart Aaron McPheters
Arena	Avis Alaska Sports Complex Anchorage, Alaska
Colors	Green and gold [1]
NCAA Tournament appearances
1990, 1991, 1992
Conference regular season championships
1987
Current uniform

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]

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 returned to the ice for the 2022–23 season. ^[7]

A Seawolves player (left) chases the puck during a 2023 game against Air Force at Avis Alaska Sports Complex

Season-by-season results

Main article: List of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey seasons

^[8]

Head coaches

Tenure	Coach	Years	Record	Pct.
1979–1996	Brush Christiansen	17	287–229–30	.553
1996–2001	Dean Talafous	5	50–108–22	.339
2001–2005	John Hill	4	39–89–21	.332
2005–2013	Dave Shyiak	8	80–177–33	.333
2013–2018	Matt Thomas	5	48–105–21	.336
2018–2021	Matt Curley	2	7–53–10	.171
2022–present	Matt Shasby	1	8–19–1	.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 Naumenko	1998–1999	30	1692	11	13	5	65	1	.920	2.31
Olivier Mantha	2014–2018	122	6973	28	77	14	350	3	.908	3.01
Chris Kamal	2010–2014	71	3850	21	39	2	198	5	.888	3.09
Rob Gunderson	2010–2014	82	4499	24	41	10	236	1	.886	3.15
Shaun Gravistin	1990–1993	48	2688	29	11	6	142	2	.883	3.17

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		Max Osborne	Senior	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-02-01	Anchorage, Alaska	Saint John's  (MIAC)	—
4		Davis Goulker	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-04-22	Atlanta, Georgia	Shreveport  ( NAHL )	—
6		Brandon Lajoie	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2001-10-18	Eagle River, Alaska	St. Cloud  ( NAHL )	—
7		Carson Kosobud	Junior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	1999-06-04	Moorhead, Minnesota	Arizona State  ( NCAA )	—
8		William Gilson	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2001-06-28	Old Greenwich, Connecticut	Aberdeen  ( NAHL )	—
9		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		Riley Thompson	Sophomore	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2002-08-17	Orleans, Ontario	Smiths Falls  ( CCHL )	—
11		Ben Almquist	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-10-01	Victoria, Minnesota	Minnesota Duluth  ( NCHC )	—
12		Mitch Lafay	Freshman	F	6' 6" (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	2002-08-06	Stratford, Ontario	Trenton  ( OJHL )	—
13		Matt Kinash	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-12-15	Edmonton, Alberta	UMass Lowell  ( HEA )	—
14		Connor Marritt	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	1999-03-14	Kelowna, British Columbia	Northern Michigan  ( CCHA )	—
17		Gunnar VanDamme	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	2002-12-08	Pittsford, New York	Maryland  ( NAHL )	—
19		Rowan Miller	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	2001-10-07	Phoenix, Arizona	Prince George  ( BCHL )	—
20		Matt Allen	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	168 lb (76 kg)	2000-05-13	Minco, Oklahoma	UMass Lowell  ( HEA )	—
21		Ben Anderson	Freshman	F	6' 5" (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2002-03-01	Crystal, Minnesota	Wisconsin  ( NAHL )	—
22		Aiden Westin	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-02-06	Anchorage, Alaska	Anchorage  ( NAHL )	—
23		Maximilion Helgeson	Junior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-12-05	Anchorage, Alaska	Lindenwood  ( ACHA )	—
25		Caleb Huffman	Sophomore	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	201 lb (91 kg)	2002-01-31	Fairbanks, Alaska	Kenai River  ( NAHL )	—
26		Dylan Finlay	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	178 lb (81 kg)	2001-10-24	L'Île-Bizard, Quebec	Powell River  ( BCHL )	—
28		Matt Johnson	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-11-25	Calgary, Alberta	Anchorage ( NAHL )	—
29		Adam Tisdale	Graduate	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	171 lb (78 kg)	1998-11-09	Cochrane, Alberta	Sacred Heart  ( AHA )	—
30		Jared Whale	Sophomore	G	5' 11" (1.8 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2002-11-01	Calgary, Alberta	Olds  ( AJHL )	—
32		Joey Lamoreaux	Graduate	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	1999-02-01	Shorewood, Wisconsin	St. Cloud State  ( NCHC )	—
33		Greg Orosz	Freshman	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2002-08-28	Győr, Hungary	Odessa  ( NAHL )	—
37		Carter Belitski	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2001-01-13	Regina, Saskatchewan	Drumheller  ( AJHL )	—
43		Karter McNarland	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2003-02-10	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	Powell River  ( BCHL )	—
74		Alex Gomez	Sophomore	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-07-18	Parker, Colorado	New Mexico  ( NAHL )	—
77		Brett Bamber	Sophomore	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2001-11-07	St. Albert, Alberta	Drayton Valley  ( AJHL )	—
79		Porter Schachle	Junior	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	2000-11-22	Wasilla, Alaska	Danbury  ( NAHL )	—
86		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 Robinson	Defenseman	2005–2009	CAN	2018, 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

• 
  Jay Beagle
• 
  Curtis Glencross
• 
  Mike Peluso

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.

External links

• Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey