Last year the University of Alaska Anchorage hockey team took the Alaska Governor’s Cup from the Alaska Nanooks for the first time in five years. After the first half of this year’s series, reclaim­ing that title will be more difficult than the Nanooks had hoped.

The Seawolves swept the Nanooks in the weekend’s two-game se­ries; 4-3 and 5-3.

Friday night’s game was a back-and-forth game on the score­board. The Nanooks put a tally on the board just under four min­utes into the contest when a shot from junior Adam Naglich re­bounded to junior defender Tyler Eckford, who put the puck past Anchorage’s sophomore goaltender with a quick one-time shot.The Seawolves responded four minutes later with a goal from sopho­more Josh Lunden. The period ended tied.

The Seawolves started off the scoring in the second period, al­though it took them a while to do it. Junior Mat Robinson put the puck past Alaska goaltender Chad Johnson almost 13 minutes into the period. The goal didn’t hamper the Nanooks’ drive; Senior Aaron Lee put the puck past Anchorage’s Jon Olthius three min­utes later, with another assist from Naglich, and Braden Walls’ first point of the season.

In third period action, the Seawolves again started out the score line with a goal from Craig Parkinson eight minutes into the peri­od. Nanook freshman Landon Novotney responded. A three-on-one got him the puck from fellow freshman Dustin Sather and he put it past Olthius for his third career goal in just two games.

With just over four minutes to go, Seawolf freshman Tommy Grant skated circles below the blue-line before putting the puck just under Johnson’s pads. In an attempt to swing the momen­tum back into their favor, the Nanooks pulled Johnson with only 46 seconds to go. It almost reversed on them when a Seawolf shot seemed to be right on target with the empty net, but was blocked by freshman Jeff Penner. The Nanooks were unable to capitalize on the one-man advantage, and the game closed out 4-3.

“It was a good hockey game,” Alaska coach Doc DelCastillo said after the game, “I was proud of our guys as far as the way they competed.”

Although in Seawolf territory, fans of the Blue and Gold were certainly present. From alumni in Nanook jerseys to groups of stu­dents who made the long drive, chants for the Nanooks were abundant. After one Na­nook goal, an Anchorage fan turned circles in her seat, seemingly surprised at how many Fairbanks fans were in the arena.

Saturday’s game started out with a bang for the Nanooks and it looked like they might tip the scales in their favor. Just 22 seconds into the game, freshman Landon Novotney scored his sec­ond goal of the series off of a misplayed puck by rookie Seawolf goalie Matthew Gordon. The Seawolves tied the game up with just 25 seconds to go in the period, leading into a flurry of scoring by the Seawolves in the second session.

DelCastillo said that the Seawolves’ second goal caused the Na­nooks to start scrambling and let their emotions get the best of them. Adding to that, in the first period freshman Dustin Sather was ejected from the game for checking from behind. As a first line player, his removal jumbled the team around as well.

The Seawolves scored three goals in the second period, two from freshman Winston DayChief and the other from freshman Luka Vidmar. “Anchorage played a better game than they did a night be­fore,” DelCastillo said, “We’re just not generating enough offense.”

DelCastillo said that the team strayed from their game plan in the second period. “We weren’t functioning the way we needed to be functioning,” he said.

Alaska’s offense did get back up onto their feet in the third pe­riod, but it wasn’t quite enough. Sophomore Dion Knelsen put in a one-time shot off of a pass from his brother Brandon. Freshman Jeff Penner then put in a puck thanks to a pass from junior Trevor Hyatt with just over two minutes remaining in the period. The Na­nooks won the period 2-1, but it wasn’t enough to give them a vic­tory.