2014-15 Overall Record: 8-22-4
2014-15 WCHA Record: 5-21-2 (10th of 10)
Head Coach: Matt Thomas – 3rd Season (26-38-8)

The 2014-15 season was Seawolves head coach Matt Thomas’ first losing season of his career. After eleven straight playoff seasons, including his ECHL days, Thomas’ 2014-15 Anchorage squad finished at the bottom of the WCHA and with the fifth fewest wins in the NCAA. Considering that in 2013, the Seawolves finished above .500 for the first time in over twenty years, last season was a major let down for the squad. Thomas did manage to put together a fairly respectable, if not necessarily flashy recruiting class for the 2015-16 season, plus a pair of small, speedy twins with scoring power transferring from Quinnipiac. In the short term, however, it probably won’t get much better for UAA this season as they will likely be battling Lake Superior State to stay out of the WCHA cellar.

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Key Returning Players

Blake Tatchell, F, Senior
Tatchell was one of the few bright spots for the Seawolves last season, ending the season as the team’s only postseason honoree, taking home Third Team All-WCHA honors. As a junior, Tatchell led Anchorage in scoring with 22 points (7  – 15) in 34 games. No other returning player this season scored more than 15 points last season. He was also Anchorage’s leading scorer on the power play with 11 tallies and finished sixth in the WCHA with 10 power play assists.

Olivier Mantha, G, Sophomore
As a freshman, Mantha earned seven of UAA’s eight wins last season. He faced the fifth most shots in the WCHA while playing over 500 fewer minutes than three of the four goaltenders he trailed. Mantha faced over 33 shots per game, finishing the season with a fairly respectable (considering how dismal the Seawolves were) .914 save percentage. He did not light the world up, but he faced 40-shots or more on five separate occasions, including seeing 53 shots in a 4-0 loss to Minnesota State in February. Like his team, the only place he can really go at this point is up.
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Newcomers

Cam Amantea, F, Victoria, British Columbia
The 21-year-old forward spent three seasons in the BCHL with the Penticton Vees, winning the 2014-15 BCHL championship while playing alongside such players as 2015 New York Rangers draft pick Ryan Gropp and 2013 Nashville Predators draft pick Wade Murphy, as well as future teammates Anthony Conti and Olivier Mantha. Not a scoring threat, racking up 58 points (30 – 28) in 174 BCHL games, Amantea has a reputation as a hard-worker and will likely spend most of his time at Anchorage doing the grind-work.

Wyatt Ege, D, Elk River, Minnesota
Ege spent two seasons in the United States junior system, spending the first with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs of the NAHL, while spending the second with the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints. In his season with the Ice Dogs, Ege helped Fairbanks to the league title while also garnering All-Rookie honors. An offensive-defenseman, Ege put up fairly decent numbers from the blue line in his two junior seasons, scoring 56 points (10 – 46) in 140 games. Described as a player with “All-American potential”, he seems destined for Anchorage’s top pair.

Nicolas Erb-Ekholm, F, Malmo, Sweden
The Swedish Erb-Ekholm played the majority of his junior hockey career with his hometown Malmo Redhawks. Last season, he had a brief stint with the NAHL’s Janesville Jets before returning to finish off the season with Malmo. At 6’2”, he is on the taller end of the spectrum, but the 20-year-old has never had a scoring touch at any level on record. After playing the last two seasons in the highest tier of Swedish junior hockey – SuperElit – it will be interesting to see what he does on the smaller North American rinks.

Jeremiah Luedtke, F, Lynnwood, Washington
One of the BCHL’s top scorers over the past two years, Luedtke – who will be 21 when the season begins – could be one of Anchorage’s biggest “gets” in this class. In 185 games over three seasons with the Prince George Spruce Kings, Luedtke scored 160 points (45 G – 115 A), culminating with a ninth-place finish in BCHL scoring in 2014-15. Given linemates who can finish and time to grow, Luedtke could become a legitimate threat.

Luke McColgan, C, Manhattan Beach, California
McColgan was actually drafted by the WHL’s Vancouver Giants in the tenth round in 2009, but spent all of his time in Canada in Junior A. A product of the Los Angeles Kings youth program, McColgan spent two seasons in Saskatchewan with the Battlefords North Stars before playing last season with the Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL. In three Junior A seasons, McColgan registered 97 points (35 – 62) in 161 games, but his major skill is in his size – 6’1”, 185 – and his faceoff ability. UAA was miserable in the dot last season with exactly one player finishing above .500 (by two faceoff wins) and can use all the help they can get in this area.

Mason Mitchell, F, Edmonton, Alberta
Like McColgan, Mitchell spent three years in Junior A, starting with two years with the Nanaimo Clippers of the BCHL before moving to the Calgary Mustangs of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). He scored 75 points (43 – 32) in Junior A in 129 games. More importantly to his future role with the Seawolves, the huge 6’3” forward had 428 penalty minutes in his Junior A career, including the third most in the AJHL last season.

Jonah Renouf, LW, Mississauga, Ontario
A transfer from Quinnipiac with his twin brother Nathan, Jonah Renouf may be the most intriguing newcomer on the team. In 2009, Renouf scored 88 points in 58 games of minor midget hockey, finishing with just two fewer points than Sean Monahan. Yes, that Sean Monahan.  He played three years of Junior A hockey – two in the OJHL with the Milton Icehawks and the Oakville Blades and one in the BCHL with the Surrey Eagles – racking up 230 (76 – 154) points in 168 games, leading the OJHL in assists in 2012-13. Nominated to the OJHL’s Second All Prospect Team in 2012 and to the Second All Star Team in 2013, Renouf brings a scoring element to the Seawolves that they have been severely lacking.

Nathan Renouf, LW, Mississauga, Ontario
Like his twin brother, Nathan Renouf brings a scoring presence to UAA that the team has been severely lacking. He has played with his brother every step of the way and the two transfer to Anchorage this season as redshirt freshmen. In his three Junior A seasons, he finished with 188 points (52 -136) in 157 games. While he did not earn the honors his brother did, Renouf still has a definite scoring touch. Both of the twins are quite small at 5’7”, but are reportedly quite speedy.

Eric Roberts, D, Abbotsford, British Columbia
The 6’2” Roberts captained the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs to a division title last season. With just 46 points (6 – 40) in 156 games with the Chiefs – 31 of which were scored last season – Roberts likely will not be a power-play anchor for the Seawolves, but UAA has to be hoping that he can figure out a way to use his larger frame to limit the number of shots that come Mantha’s way.
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Schedule

Date	Opponent
Friday, October 9	Arizona State
Saturday, October 10	St. Cloud State
Friday, October 16	RPI (at Fairbanks)
Saturday, October 17	American International (at Fairbanks)
Friday, October 23	@ Alabama-Huntsville*
Saturday, October 24	@ Alabama-Huntsville*
Saturday, October 31	Bowling Green*
Sunday, November 1	Bowling Green*
Friday, November 13	Ferris State*
Saturday, November 14	Ferris State*
Friday, November 20	Penn State
Saturday, November 21	Penn State
Friday, November 27	@ Minnesota State*
Saturday, November 28	@ Minnesota State*
Friday, December 4	@ Michigan Tech*
Saturday, December 5	@ Michigan Tech*
Friday, December 11	Alaska*
Saturday, December 12	Alaska*
Friday, January 8	Bemidji State*
Saturday, January 9	Bemidji State*
Friday, January 15	@ Lake Superior State*
Saturday, January 16	@ Lake Superior State*
Thursday, January 21	@ Bowling Green*
Friday, January 22	@ Bowling Green*
Friday, January 29	Alabama-Huntsville*
Saturday, January 30	Alabama-Huntsville*
Friday, February 5	@ Northern Michigan*
Saturday, February 6	@ Northern Michigan*
Friday, February 19	Lake Superior State *
Saturday, February 20	Lake Superior State*
Friday, February 26	Minnesota State*
Saturday February 27	Minnesota State*
Friday, March 4	@ Alaska*
Saturday, March 5	@ Alaska*

*WCHA Conference Game