2017–18 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey season

2017–18 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves
men's ice hockey season
2017–18 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves; men's ice hockey season
Conference	10th WCHA
Home ice	Sullivan Arena
Rankings
USCHO	NR
USA Today	NR
Record
Overall	4–26–4
Conference	4–21–3–3
Home	1–13–3
Road	3–13–1
Neutral	0–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Matt Thomas
Assistant coaches	Chris Kamal; Louis Mass
Captain(s)	Matt Anholt
Alternate captain(s)	Tad Kozun; Olivier Mantha; Nolan Nicholas
	Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey seasons; « 2016–17 2018–19 »

The 2017–18 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey season was the 39th season of play for the program, the 36th at the Division I level and the 25th in the WCHA conference. The Seawolves represented the University of Alaska Anchorage and were coached by Matt Thomas, in his 5th season.

Season

Alaska Anchorage entered the season trying to pull out of the tailspin that had begun after Matt Thomas' surprising first season. The team started well, pushing North Dakota into overtime twice, but couldn't get their offense on track over the next few weeks. After finally getting their first win over Lake Superior State, the Seawolves ran off three consecutive wins in mid-November and looked like they may have found a recipe for success.

Unfortunately, as soon as December rolled around, the offense dried up and Alaska Anchorage lost 19 of their next 20 games. During the run, senior netminder Olivier Mantha did what he could to keep the Seawolves within striking distance, be he was called upon to stop more than 40 shots on multiple occasions. While Brody Claeys got some starts in towards the end of the season, Mantha was in net for the season finale against Alaska and finally got some support when the Seawolves scored a season-high 5 goals. Mantha ended the season as well as his college career on a high note with a second win, salvaging an otherwise terrible season.

Departures

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Aleksi Ainali	Forward	Finland	Signed professional contract (Vaasan Sport)
Conor Deal	Forward	United States	Left program (retired)
Bradley Duwe	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)
Dylan Hubbs	Forward	Canada	Graduation (signed with Tulsa Oilers)
Sean MacTavish	Forward	Canada	Transferred to MacEwan
Mason Mitchell	Forward	Canada	Signed professional contract (Washington Capitals)
Rasmus Reijola	Goaltender	Finland	Graduation (signed with Rovaniemen Kiekko)
Eric Roberts	Defenseman	Canada	Left program (retired)
Chase Van Allen	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (signed with Alaska Aces)
Connor Wright	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)

Recruiting

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Alec Butcher	Forward	United States	23	Anchorage, AK; transferred from Sacred Heart
Brody Claeys	Goaltender	Canada	20	Dauphin, MB
Trey deGraaf	Forward	Canada	21	Red Deer, AB
Drake Glover	Forward	United States	21	Anchorage, AK
Zac Masson	Forward	Canada	21	Newmarket, ON
Aaron McPheters	Defenseman	United States	20	Anchorage, AK
Eric Sinclair	Defenseman	Canada	21	Kenora, ON
Joe Sofo	Forward	United States	21	Sylvania, OH
Kristian Stead	Goaltender	Canada	20	Merritt, BC
Brandon Switzer	Forward	Canada	21	Brandon, MB
Cameron Trott	Defenseman	Canada	20	Anmore, BC
Jordan Xavier	Forward	Canada	20	Calgary, AB

Roster

^[1]

No.	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1	Brody Claeys	Freshman	G	6' 4" (1.93 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	1996-10-02	Dauphin, Manitoba	Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL)	—
4	Tanner Johnson	Senior	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	1995-09-24	Castlegar, British Columbia	Langley Rivermen (BCHL)	—
6	Jarrett Brown	Senior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	1994-01-13	Beaumont, Alberta	Cowichan Valley Capitals (BCHL)	—
7	Nolan Nicholas (A)	Sophomore	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	1995-09-24	Thunder Bay, Ontario	Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)	—
8	Drake Glover	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1996-03-05	Anchorage, Alaska	Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)	—
9	Alec Butcher	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	1994-04-15	Anchorage, Alaska	Sacred Heart Pioneers (AHA)	—
10	Joe Sofo	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	1996-08-07	Sylvania, Ohio	Coulee Region Chill (NAHL)	—
11	Austin Azurdia	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1993-07-27	Wenatchee, Washington	Langley Rivermen (BCHL)	—
12	Nils Rygaard	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1995-04-11	Cheektowaga, New York	Janesville Jets (NAHL)	—
13	Brandon Switzer	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	1995-11-20	Brandon, Manitoba	Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL)	—
17	Matt Anholt (C)	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1994-05-15	Prince Albert, Saskatchewan	West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)	—
18	Tomi Hiekkavirta	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	1996-04-05	Helsinki, Finland	HIFK U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga)	—
19	Alex Jackstadt	Junior	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)	154 lb (70 kg)	1994-03-15	Anchorage, Alaska	Kenai River Brown Bears (NAHL)	—
20	Corey Renwick	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	1995-03-28	Nanoose Bay, British Columbia	Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL)	—
21	Tad Kozun (A)	Senior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1993-03-03	Nipawin, Saskatchewan	Nipawin Hawks (SJHL)	—
22	Cameron Trott	Freshman	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1997-04-19	Anmore, British Columbia	Vernon Vipers (BCHL)	—
23	Eric Sinclair	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1996-02-19	Kenora, Ontario	Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL)	—
27	Jeremiah Luedtke	Junior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	159 lb (72 kg)	1994-09-24	Seattle, Washington	Prince George Spruce Kings (BCHL)	—
28	Jordan Xavier	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	1997-08-05	Calgary, Alberta	Okotoks Oilers (AJHL)	—
29	Trey deGraaf	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1996-01-30	Red Deer, Alberta	Okotoks Oilers (AJHL)	—
33	Olivier Mantha (A)	Senior	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	1993-01-18	La Tuque, Quebec	Penticton Vees (BCHL)	—
37	David Trinkberger	Sophomore	D	6' 5" (1.96 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	1996-08-25	Landshut, Germany	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)	—
39	Kristian Stead	Freshman	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	1996-10-17	Merritt, British Columbia	Nipawin Hawks (SJHL)	—
41	Aaron McPheters	Freshman	D	5' 8" (1.73 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1997-03-25	Anchorage, Alaska	Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL)	—
67	Jonah Renouf	Junior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	154 lb (70 kg)	1994-05-11	Mississauga, Ontario	Quinnipiac Bobcats (ECAC)	—
71	Zac Masson	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1996-02-06	Newmarket, Ontario	Langley Rivermen (BCHL)	—
74	Cam Amantea	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	176 lb (80 kg)	1994-02-17	Calgary, Alberta	Penticton Vees (BCHL)	—
76	Nathan Renouf	Junior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	154 lb (70 kg)	1994-05-11	Mississauga, Ontario	Quinnipiac Bobcats (ECAC)	—
77	Mason Anderson	Sophomore	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	161 lb (73 kg)	1995-02-23	Anchorage, Alaska	Weyburn Red Wings (SJHL)	—
95	Nicolas Erb Ekholm	Junior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1995-06-07	Malmö, Sweden	Malmö Redhawks J20 (J20 SuperElit)	—

Standings

2017–18 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings v t e
	Conference record								Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	SOW	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#9 Minnesota State†	28	22	5	1	0	67	116	58	40	29	10	1	153	84
#20 Northern Michigan	28	19	7	2	2	61	85	64	43	25	15	3	130	108
Bowling Green	28	17	6	5	2	58	87	63	41	23	12	6	122	100
Bemidji State	28	13	9	6	4	49	77	63	38	16	14	8	103	95
#16 Michigan Tech*	28	12	11	5	2	43	82	75	44	22	17	5	134	117
Ferris State	28	11	16	1	0	34	68	86	38	14	23	1	87	122
Alabama–Huntsville	28	10	16	2	1	33	69	86	37	12	23	2	84	121
Alaska	28	9	17	2	1	30	74	85	36	11	22	3	97	118
Lake Superior State	28	8	17	3	0	27	59	90	36	10	22	4	76	121
Alaska Anchorage	28	4	21	3	3	18	55	102	34	4	26	4	65	124
Championship: March 17, 2018 † indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Broadmoor Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 5, 2018

Schedule and results

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Site	Decision	Result	Attendance	Record
Exhibition
September 30	7:07 PM	vs. Simon Fraser*	McDonald Center • Eagle River, Alaska (Exhibition)	Mantha	W 6–1	1,500
Regular Season
October 6	7:07 PM	vs. #7 North Dakota*	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Mantha	T 1–1 ^SOL	2,563	0–0–1
October 7	7:07 PM	vs. #7 North Dakota*	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Mantha	L 2–3 ^OT	2,506	0–1–1
October 13	5:37 PM	at Colorado College*	World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	Mantha	L 1–6	4,357	0–2–1
October 14	5:07 PM	at Colorado College*	World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	Mantha	L 2–3	4,764	0–3–1
October 20	7:07 PM	vs. Alaska*	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska (Governor's Cup)	Mantha	L 2–6	2,846	0–4–1
October 21	7:07 PM	at Alaska*	Carlson Center • Fairbanks, Alaska (Governor's Cup)	Mantha	L 2–3	3,128	0–5–1
November 3	3:07 PM	at Lake Superior State	Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	Mantha	L 2–3 ^OT	1,221	0–6–1 (0–1–0)
November 4	3:07 PM	at Lake Superior State	Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	Mantha	W 4–1	1,381	1–6–1 (1–1–0)
November 10	4:07 PM	at Alabama–Huntsville	Von Braun Center • Huntsville, Alabama	Mantha	L 1–5	3,128	1–7–1 (1–2–0)
November 11	4:07 PM	at Alabama–Huntsville	Von Braun Center • Huntsville, Alabama	Mantha	T 3–3 ^SOW	3,072	1–7–2 (1–2–1)
November 17	7:07 PM	vs. Michigan Tech	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Mantha	T 1–1 ^SOW	2,198	1–7–3 (1–2–2)
November 18	7:07 PM	vs. Michigan Tech	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Mantha	T 3–3 ^{3x3 OTW}	2,063	1–7–4 (1–2–3)
December 1	3:07 PM	at Ferris State	Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan	Mantha	L 0–2	1,550	1–8–4 (1–3–3)
December 2	3:37 PM	at Ferris State	Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan	Mantha	L 2–5	1,821	1–9–4 (1–4–3)
December 8	7:11 PM	vs. Alaska	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska (Governor's Cup)	Mantha	L 2–7	2,298	1–10–4 (1–5–3)
December 9	7:10 PM	vs. Alaska	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska (Governor's Cup)	Mantha	L 2–3	2,264	1–11–4 (1–6–3)
December 15	4:07 PM	at Bemidji State	Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota	Mantha	L 1–5	2,561	1–12–4 (1–7–3)
December 16	4:07 PM	at Bemidji State	Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota	Mantha	L 0–4	2,581	1–13–4 (1–8–3)
January 5	7:07 PM	vs. #7 Minnesota State	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Mantha	L 2–5	1,646	1–14–4 (1–9–3)
January 6	7:07 PM	vs. #7 Minnesota State	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Mantha	L 1–4	1,776	1–15–4 (1–10–3)
January 12	7:07 PM	vs. Alabama–Huntsville	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Mantha	L 2–4	1,866	1–16–4 (1–11–3)
January 13	7:07 PM	vs. Alabama–Huntsville	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Mantha	W 2–1	2,338	2–16–4 (2–11–3)
January 19	3:07 PM	at #17 Bowling Green	Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	Mantha	L 2–6	2,397	2–17–4 (2–12–3)
January 20	3:07 PM	at #17 Bowling Green	Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	Mantha	L 2–3	3,682	2–18–4 (2–13–3)
January 26	7:07 PM	vs. #20 Northern Michigan	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Mantha	L 2–4	1,483	2–19–4 (2–14–3)
January 27	7:07 PM	vs. #20 Northern Michigan	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Mantha	L 3–5	1,708	2–20–4 (2–15–3)
February 2	4:07 PM	at #7 Minnesota State	Verizon Wireless Center • Mankato, Minnesota	Mantha	L 1–7	1,708	2–21–4 (2–16–3)
February 3	4:07 PM	at #7 Minnesota State	Verizon Wireless Center • Mankato, Minnesota	Claeys	L 3–4	4,207	2–22–4 (2–17–3)
February 9	7:07 PM	vs. Lake Superior State	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Mantha	L 2–3 ^OT	1,640	2–23–4 (2–18–3)
February 10	7:07 PM	vs. Lake Superior State	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Claeys	L 1–2	1,558	2–24–4 (2–19–3)
February 15	7:07 PM	vs. #14 Bowling Green	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Claeys	L 2–5	1,276	2–25–4 (2–20–3)
February 16	7:07 PM	vs. #14 Bowling Green	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Mantha	L 2–5	1,929	2–26–4 (2–21–3)
February 23	7:07 PM	at Alaska	Carlson Center • Fairbanks, Alaska (Governor's Cup)	Mantha	W 5–3	2,696	3–26–4 (3–21–3)
February 24	7:07 PM	at Alaska	Carlson Center • Fairbanks, Alaska (Governor's Cup)	Mantha	W 3–2	2,876	4–26–4 (4–21–3)
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Alaska Time. Source:^[2]

Scoring statistics

Name	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	PIM
Austin Azurdia	F	29	13	6	19	33
Nicolas Erb Ekholm	C/RW	27	8	7	15	4
Tad Kozun	LW	33	5	10	15	50
Jonah Renouf	LW	26	3	11	14	8
Alec Butcher	LW/RW	16	8	5	13	6
Jarrett Brown	D	23	4	8	12	48
Jeremiah Luedtke	F	24	4	7	11	26
Jordan Xavier	F	29	4	7	11	12
Trey deGraaf	F	27	3	4	7	12
Nathan Renouf	LW	23	2	5	7	10
Tanner Johnson	D	24	1	6	7	13
Eric Sinclair	D	34	2	4	6	19
Tomi Hiekkavirta	D	23	1	5	6	16
Alex Jackstadt	F	32	1	5	6	26
Mason Anderson	D	19	2	3	5	24
Joe Sofo	F	21	0	5	5	27
Aaron McPheters	D	17	0	4	4	8
David Trinkberger	D	22	0	4	4	25
Cameron Trott	D	10	2	1	3	6
Nils Rygaard	C/RW	24	1	2	3	10
Brandon Switzer	RW	14	0	2	2	10
Zac Masson	RW	26	0	2	2	17
Corey Renwick	F	30	1	0	1	12
Cam Amantea	F	19	0	1	1	28
Olivier Mantha	G	31	0	1	1	0
Nolan Nicholas	D	32	0	1	1	24
Matt Anholt	LW	1	0	0	0	0
Brody Claeys	G	7	0	0	0	0
Drake Glover	C	7	0	0	0	4
Bench	-	-	-	-	-	6
Total			65	116	181	484

^[3]

Goaltending statistics

Name	Games	Minutes	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals Against	Saves	Shut Outs	SV %	GAA
Brody Claeys	7	269	0	3	0	15	132	0	.898	3.34
Olivier Mantha	31	1784	4	23	4	102	946	0	.903	3.43
Empty Net	-	14	-	-	-	7	-	-	-	-
Total	34	2067	4	26	4	124	1078	0	.897	3.60

Rankings

Poll	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25 (Final)
USCHO.com	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	-	NR
USA Today	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

USCHO did not release a poll in Week 24.^[4]

Awards and honors

Player	Award	Ref
Olivier Mantha	WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year	^[5]
Eric Sinclair	WCHA All-Rookie Team	^[6]

References

^ "Univ. of Alaska-Anchorage". Elite Prospects. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
^ "Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (Men) 2017-2018 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
^ "Univ. of Alaska-Anchorage 2017-2018 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
^ "WCHA Announces 2017–18 Individual Awards". WCHA.com. March 13, 2018.
^ "WCHA Announces 2017–18 All-League Teams". WCHA.com. March 8, 2018.

[1] "Univ. of Alaska-Anchorage". Elite Prospects. Retrieved February 11, 2018.

[2] "Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (Men) 2017-2018 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2019.

[3] "Univ. of Alaska-Anchorage 2017-2018 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.

[4] "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.

[5] "WCHA Announces 2017–18 Individual Awards". WCHA.com. March 13, 2018.

[6] "WCHA Announces 2017–18 All-League Teams". WCHA.com. March 8, 2018.

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v t e Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey
Playing venues	UAA Sports Center (1979–1983) Sullivan Arena (1983–2019) Avis Alaska Sports Complex (2019–present)
Head coaches	Brush Christiansen (1979–1996) Dean Talafous (1996–2001) John Hill (2001–2005) Dave Shyiak (2005–2013) Matt Thomas (2013–2018) Matt Curley (2018–2021) Matt Shasby (2022–present)
Seasons	1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 ~~2020–21~~ 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Conference affiliations	Great West (1985–1988) WCHA (1993–2021)
Rivalries	Alaska Nanooks
All-time leaders	Statistical leaders Dean Larson (200 Points) Rob Conn/Joey Hayse (76 Goals) Paul Krake (53 Wins)
Retired numbers	79 Brush Christiansen
NCAA Tournament appearances	1990 1991 1992
University of Alaska Anchorage Anchorage, AK