While the junior players, from both Alaska and elsewhere, have enjoyed immense success with the Anchorage franchise 20-plus games into the North American Hockey League season, two former, local Wolverines who graduated to the NCAA Division I ranks took small, but meaningful steps in their college careers last weekend.

Defenseman Trent Powell of Soldotna picked up his second assist in Long Island’s 5-1 win at Stonehill (Mass.) on Friday. Powell earned the apple on the Sharks’ fourth goal and fourth power-play tally of the evening. LIU (5-4-1) welcomes UAA (Feb. 14-15) and UAF (Feb. 28-March 1) to East Meadow, N.Y. for games near the tail end of the NCAA season.

Speaking of the Seawolves and Nanooks, the rival programs split the first two of the six-game Alaska Airlines’ Governor’s Cup series in Anchorage. UAF (4-6-2) scored a 3-2 overtime win Friday at the Avis Alaska Sports Complex. UAA (2-8-0) returned the favor with its finest performance of the season Saturday, erupting for a 6-1 victory. Nanooks freshman Bryce Monrean of Anchorage played his second game of the season in the series finale. He’s still chasing his first collegiate point but has won six of the eight draws he’s taken.

Last season, before Monrean and Powell advanced on to the DI level to which most NAHL players aspire, the duo played integral leadership roles as captain and assistant captain. Monrean posted 62 points in 59 regular-season games for the 2023-24 Wolverines. Powell played 110 games in two seasons and amassed 81 points from the blueline. The Wolverines are currently doing quite well for themselves without the pair this season. Anchorage ranks second in the 35-team circuit with a 16-4-1 record.

ONE-TIMERS

• Anchorage’s Tanner Edwards tops UAA with a plus-6 rating. Eagle River’s Brandon Lajoie scored in first game action of the season for the Seawolves, scoring on a nifty snipe from the right circle in Saturday’s win. The Seawolves welcome Lake Superior State (Mich.) for games at the AASC on Saturday and Sunday.
• Looking ahead to 2025-26, UAA and coach Matt Shasby welcomed three new recruits in an announcement Monday. Forward Ben Campeau currently skates with the NAHL’s Northeast (Canton, Mass.) franchise. Forward Grady Logue and defenseman Tanner Fennell will make their way to Anchorage from the BCHL (British Columbia).
• Anchorage’s Hunter Strand had one of those weekends we’d all like to forget as Notre Dame dropped a pair to No. 2 Michigan State. Strand went minus-6 in the series, including a minus-4 hurting in Saturday’s 4-3 loss.
• Eagle River’s Grace Cantebury recently surpassed 100 NCAA DI games played with St. Michael’s College. She’s now totaled 7 goals and 18 assists in 103 career games with the Purple Knights.
• Wasilla’s Raeley Carney helped power the Bemidji State women to their first WCHA win of the season Friday versus St. Thomas (Minn.). Carney scored twice and added an assist. Linemates Tayla Hendrickson and Kate Johnson also enjoyed three-point nights. A junior forward, Carney’s now fashioned 11 points in 78 career games.

NCAA Division I
Alaska Player Updates
(Through Tuesday Night)
Men
Bemidji St.
Raythan Robbins, G, So., Anchorage: 1 GP, 1-0-0 W-L-T, 4.12 GAA, 9.17 Save %
Colorado College
Bret Link, F, So., Anchorage: 10 GP, 2 goal-5 assist—7 points +/- +8
Cornell
Sullivan Mack, F, Sr., Anchorage: 4 1-1—2 +1
Long Island
Trent Powell, D, Fr., Soldotna: 9 0-2—2 -1
Minnesota State
Zach Krajnik, F, Gr., Eagle River: 13 0-2—2 +2
North Dakota
Mac Swanson, F, Fr., Anchorage: 11 2-4—6 -1
Notre Dame
Zach Plucinski, D, Gr., Eagle River: 12 0-0—0 -3
Hunter Strand, F, Sr., Anchorage: 12 2-3—5 -8
RIT
Trent Burnham, G, Jr., Eagle River: 4 0-4-0, 3.85, .870
UAA
Tanner Edwards, F, Gr., Anchorage: 9 1-4—5 +6
Max Helgeson, F, Sr., Anchorage: 10 0-1—1 0
Brandon Lajoie, F, Jr., Eagle River: 1 1-0—1 +1
Bryant Marks, G, Fr., Wasilla: 0 0-0—0 No GAA or Save %
Porter Schachle, F, Sr., Wasilla: 9 3-1—4 +1
Aiden Westin, F, So., Anchorage: 10 1-3—4 +1
UAF
Bryce Monrean, F, Fr., Anchorage: 2 0-0—0 0
Vermont
Colin Kessler, F, Fr., Anchorage: 10 4-3—7 +1

Women
Bemidji St.
Raeley Carney, F, Jr. Wasilla: 9 3-1—4 +1
Brown
Anna Shelden, F, Sr., Kenai: 10 0-5—4 +3
Maine
Sophia Johnson, D, Sr., Palmer: 6 0-0—0 -5
Sacred Heart
Lake Bethard, D, Fr., Anchorage: 4 0-0—0 +2
St. Michael’s
Grace Canterbury, F, Sr., Eagle River: 14 0-0—0 -8
Isabel Goolie, F, So., Anchorage: 12 0-0—0 -11
Angelina Ruiz, F, Sr., Anchorage: 14 0-1—1 -13