Spartans heading to Alaska for weekend series with Nanooks

By Stefan Kubus –

EAST LANSING – For many of the Michigan State Spartans, this is their first trip to the arctic tundra of Fairbanks, Alaska to face the Nanooks in a CCHA battle.

And the advice for the long trip from the upperclassmen, especially Anchorage native Tanner Sorenson, has been the same: dress warm.

“They said it’s very long,” freshman forward Ryan Keller said with a laugh. “Looking at the weather actually the other day, it’s negative-35 there right now, so pack some heavy clothes and try to stay warm I guess.”

Last weekend

This past weekend, Michigan State split with Northern Michigan, losing Friday’s game, 5-3, and taking Saturday’s contest, 4-2.

Keller (Farmington Hills) had his first collegiate multiple-point outing on Saturday, doubling his season point total in the process with a pair of assists. Keller ran into the net early in the third period, badly bruising his knee, one that he has already injured twice. But Keller returned with a bang to record those two helpers.

“I thought I played well this weekend,” Keller said. “I had a little struggle with the injuries early in the year. Obviously coming out, getting two assists and helping produce some goals was a huge confidence booster for myself.”

Sophomore Matt Berry (Canton) picked up his first goal of the new year (last goal was Dec. 30 vs. Michigan) Friday night and said Tuesday that it came as a huge relief after starting the year so strongly.

“It was nice for me to get back on the board here since it’s the first goal I’ve scored in all of 2013,” Berry said. “I think I was right along those lines, too. I was definitely gripping the stick tighter, trying to find ways to score and it just wasn’t going in for me, but I found a goal Friday night.”

Alaska-bound

This weekend, the Spartans head west to Fairbanks to take on the CCHA’s sixth-place school in Alaska (11-12-3-1 CCHA). All-time, the Spartans hold an overwhelming 41-15-3 advantage over Alaska, including a sweep last season at Munn Ice Arena.

While February hasn’t gone as well as they had hoped, Alaska had a lights-out January, going 6-0 after sweeping Michigan, Notre Dame and Northern Michigan in consecutive weekends.

On the year, the Nanooks have scored the second-most goals in the conference (69; Notre Dame has 78), while also giving up the second-most goals (76; Michigan has allowed 88).

Additionally, the Nanooks’ Carlson Center sports an Olympic-size ice surface. Michigan State head coach Tom Anastos said that it won’t change his plan of attack, but also that those two factors could certainly lead to a more wide-open game.

“It could be for sure, and for us… I thought Saturday night’s game, in particular, we defended really hard,” Anastos said. “We tried to really contest the shot. We track second and third chances… By our count, we gave up zero on Saturday. We’ve got to defend well. To me, offense is a very unpredictable thing when you don’t have a lot of offensively-oriented players. It affects your team that way and defense, as long as you can really commit to it and work hard at it, you can be pretty good at it.”

Anastos said defending the Nanooks will be crucial to the Spartans’ success, especially with that open-ice factor.

“They’re a very good offensive team,” Anastos said. “I thought they were very good last year. They have some pretty dynamic offensive players you have to be very aware of. I think during parts of the season so far, their power play has been pretty good. They’re going to be at home. It’s their last league, home regular season games, so I would expect them to be really ready to play.”

Homecoming for Sorenson

Although his hometown of Anchorage is still a hefty trip through the mountains to Fairbanks, Sorenson said the upcoming weekend will be a chance to revisit with family and friends.

“I think I’m a little bit more excited to travel now than I am usually,” Sorenson said. “I’ve got a lot of family going, they’re all making the trip and a lot of family and friends that live in Fairbanks, too, so it’ll be a nice little reunion because I haven’t seen a lot of people in a while.

“I know a lot of people wanted to come, but driving is too much and flying is a hassle. I think it’s on TV down there, so it’ll be cool. My brother, who I haven’t seen in a year-and-a-half is going, so it’ll be a nice little reunion.”

Notes: Alaska forward Adam Henderson actually played for Michigan State back in 2008-09 as a freshman, recording a goal and an assist in 27 games. The next year, he returned to the Alberta Junior Hockey League where he previously played before coming to East Lansing. Henderson, now a senior with 10 points in 30 contests, then transferred to Alaska-Fairbanks in 2010-11 to pick up with the rest of his collegiate career.