Friday night, at Sullivan Arena, Anchorage, Alaska — No. 1 Minnesota Duluth (17-5-4) vs. Alaska Anchorage (6-16-2)

Referees: Derek Shepherd, Marco Hunt

Score: UMD 4, Anchorage 1, about 1 minute left in second period

First period: 1. UMD, J.T. Brown 12 (Adam Krause, Travis Oleksuk), from slot, 2:30; 2. UMD, Brown 13 (Oleksuk), from faceoff, 11:36; 3. UMD, Brown 14 (Scott Kishel), bad angle, 19:10.

Second period — 4. Anchorage, Mitch Bruijsten 8 (Matt Bailey, Scott Warner), 13:31 (pp); 5. UMD, Brown 15 (Oleksuk, Jack Connolly), 15:34 (pp).

SOG: 19-12 UMD

Goalies: Kenny Reiter, UMD; Chris Kamal, Anchorage (first period); Rob Gunderson (second period)

The Minnesota Duluth sports information announced Friday that the school’s four Hobey Baker Memorial Award winners — Tom Kurvers (1984), Bill Watson (1985), Chris Marinucci (1994) and Junior Lessard (2004) — will be honored Friday, Feb. 10 at Amsoil Arena as UMD faces North Dakota.

It will mark the first time the quartet has been together at a Bulldog game and a short tribute is planned during the first intermission. New banners for each of the four and a Hobey Baker Award display will be completed for public display.

Also, streaming video of the UMD at Alaska Anchorage games Friday and Saturday (10:07 p.m.) is on the Anchorage web site here.

A couple of late starts for those of us in the Lower 48 on Friday and Saturday as Minnesota Duluth faces Alaska Anchorage at 10:07 p.m. at Sullivan Arena. The News Tribune will not be on site, but will provide updates through the conclusion of each game right here with the help of Bruce Ciskie’s vivid play-by-play description on 94.1 FM.

The News Tribune has a UMD update in light of last weekend’s tie and loss against Michigan Tech here and some series notes here.

An Anchorage Daily News series preview story is here.

Ciskie’s look this week at the Bulldogs is right here.

Series notes from the sports information offices of UMD here and Alaska Anchorage here.

Shane Frederick of the Mankato Free Press takes you around the WCHA right here.

Joe Paisley of Colorado Springs also has WCHA notes here.

Denver frershman winger Ty Loney has been suspended for Friday’s game against Colorado College, and maybe longer, according to a report from Mike Chambers of the Denver Post here.

Dan Myers of College Hockey News ranks the WCHA here.

WCHA series picks from U.S. College Hockey Online here.

Roman Augustoviz of the Minneapolis Star Tribune has WCHA series picks here.

USCHO also looks back on last weekend, especially at Michigan Tech’s impressive play against UMD, here.

College Hockey News also has some praise for the Michigan Tech Huskies here.

USCHO also has a new Bracketology, a projection of NCAA tournament pairings, here.

And USCHO reviews its criteria for serious Hobey Baker Memorial Award candidates here.

Minnesota Duluth practices at Amsoil Arena on Wednesday morning then starts its 2,400-mile trip to Anchorage, Alaska, for Friday and Saturday games vs. Alaska Anchorage at Sullivan Arena (10:07 p.m. starts).

Coach Scott Sandelin said Monday’s practice was, as expected, a tiring day for the Bulldogs, but pucks were used. On Tuesday, he said if UMD plays like it practiced, he’ll be happy. He said he liked the effort.

Senior assistant captain Travis Oleksuk said UMD’s practices last week weren’t that great heading into a home series with Michigan Tech which ended in a tie and loss. He said the Bulldogs appeared to be back on track.

Jack Connolly has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2012 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award for excelling in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. Connolly is the only candidate from the WCHA. A release on the award is here.

Stephen Anderson of the Houghton (Mich.) Daily Mining Gazette looks at what Michigan Tech’s weekend against No. 1 UMD may mean for the Huskies in a story here.

As you may have guessed, Michigan Tech senior goalie Josh Robinson was named WCHA defensive player of the week in a league release here.

Roman Augustoviz of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, who a few weeks ago was convinced UMD would win the WCHA’s MacNaughton Cup, has now changed his tune in a posting here.

St. Cloud State lost yet another player to injury, center Jordy Christian. A St. Cloud Times story is here.

Kenya’s Sammy Malakwen, third in the 2011 Grandma’s Marathon and winner of the 2011 Twin Cities Marathon, won Sunday’s Miami Marathon in a photo finish. A story from the Miami Herald is here.

Goon’s World offers its weekly WCHA power rankings right here.

Alex Stalock is returning to form as he recovers from an injury one year ago. His first games back, with Stockton (Calif.) in the East Coast Hockey League, have provided four wins and some highlights. One short video clip has him making a save Sunday in a 2-1 home win over the Alaska Aces here.

This is a few weeks old, but Mike Moran of Colorado Springs, Colo., a former USOC communications director, provided a good, in-depth look at Jim Scherr, the first commissioner of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. Moran, now a media consultant, provided the piece through the Colorado Spring Sports Corporation here.

FloTrack has a video interview with Kara Goucher from earlier this month after qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team in the women’s marathon here.

Minnesota Duluth remained No. 1 in U.S. College Hockey Online poll (for an eighth straight week), just ahead of Minnesota, here, and is No. 2 in the USA Today-USA Hockey Magazine poll (behind Minnesota) here, and remained No. 1 in the Inside College Hockey Power Rankings here.

U.S. College Hockey Online looks back at the weekend that was in the WCHA here.

Stephen Anderson of the Houghton Daily Mining Gazette takes a look back on Michigan Tech’s impressive performance in a tie and win over UMD at Amsoil Arena in a story here.

Bruce Ciskie takes a look at what’s next for UMD, which heads to Alaska Anchorage this weekend, in a post here.

Alex Stalock has had a busy, winning week in his rehab assignment with the Stockton Thunder of the East Coast Hockey League, with four victories in four games with a goals-against mark of 2.50 and save percentage of .920. In Sunday’s victory, the winning goal was scored by former UMD teammate Jordan Fulton. The Stockton (Calif.) Record has a here.

Mike Montgomery, UMD’s captain last season, was part of a rough-and-tumble moment Saturday night as the Ontario Reign and the Bakersfield Condors of the East Coast Hockey League got involved in a number of fights. Montgomery got paired up with an opposing player. Video is here.

U.S. College Hockey Online also has an update on National Collegiate Hockey Conference  commissioner Jim Scherr here.