After hosting its first hockey game in five years during the CIC Tournament, Sullivan Arena will be home for the Wolverines for the upcoming season. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
The Anchorage Wolverines made the most of nearly every go at Ben Boeke Arena in three seasons of existence, winning almost 70% percent of their games in the 50-year-old barn.
On Monday, the North American Hockey League junior organization officially announced it is moving next door to the Sullivan Arena for the 2024-25 season. Only nine years younger than neighboring Boeke, the Sullivan has historically housed Anchorage’s hockey happenings at the highest levels.
The arena reopened its ice surface in early 2024 after a four-plus year hiatus because of the pandemic and politics. Yet, it’s always where the Wolverines wanted to play, and now’s the time.
“It’s been a long journey, I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” Wolverines general manager Keith Morris said. “But everyone in the organization is happy we’re going to be there. We know the direction we’re going in; we know it’s happening and it’s time to get prepared.”
Morris said many of the game-night specifics will be ironed out in the next several weeks – seating capacity, ticket pricing and other details.
The Wolverines played at Boeke last season with a 963-spectator capacity. If the chatter throughout the hockey community proves accurate, look for fans to sit in Sullivan’s lower bowl with a capacity of about 3,000. There’s a good chance the arena’s upper-seating area will be curtained off completely.
“We’re going to make sure we do everything we can to offer affordable hockey entertainment for the entire community,” Morris said.
The Sullivan opened in 1983 and was Anchorage’s sports and entertainment epicenter for more than 35 years.
It hosted the 1989 World Junior Hockey Championships, featuring the likes of Hall of Famers Pavel Bure, Sergei Fedorov and Mike Modano. The University of Alaska Anchorage program competed against the best college hockey had to offer for years, and the Alaska Aces won three ECHL (Double A-level professional) national championships before folding in 2017.
South and West had their CIC tournament game moved from Ben Boeke to Sullivan Arena on Feb. 2. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
On Feb. 2, the 55th Cook Inlet Conference Tournament semifinal between South and West was moved into the Sullivan after a carbon monoxide alarm scare at Boeke. That marked the first game of note in five years, and first meaningful high school game played at Sullivan since 1997.
The Aces played their final Sullivan game and last game in existence back on April 8, 2017 – a 3-2 loss to Idaho. UAA lost a 2-1 on-ice decision to UAF on March 2, 2019, marking the last time high-level hockey was played at 1600 Gambell Street.
According to the NAHL, the Wolverines will welcome the Kenai River Brown Bears to Sullivan for their first home game on Friday, Oct. 11. – 2,050 days since that Nanooks-Seawolves tilt.
“The Sully is an iconic building that’s hosted so many unbelievable events,” Morris said. “The one thing it’s always had is hockey. So, it’s time for us to get to work.”
