Alaska Nanooks Win United Collegiate Hockey Cup, Finish Season With Overtime Championship Victory
The Alaska Nanooks captured the 2026 United Collegiate Hockey Cup championship Saturday, defeating Lindenwood Lions men’s ice hockey 4–3 in overtime to close the 2025–26 season.
The championship game took place in St. Charles, Missouri, where Alaska Fairbanks entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Nanooks finished the season with a 15-15-3 record after securing the overtime win against Lindenwood in the final of the inaugural tournament.
Alaska opened the scoring late in the first period when Peyton Platter netted his eighth goal of the season. Lindenwood tied the game early in the second period, but Alaska responded with back-to-back goals from Michael Citara and Dean Spak to build a two-goal advantage heading into the third period.
Lindenwood rallied in the third period to tie the score and force overtime. Alaska eventually secured the championship in the extra period to claim the United Collegiate Hockey Cup title.
The United Collegiate Hockey Cup is a postseason tournament created for NCAA Division I independent hockey programs. The event features teams that are not part of a traditional conference and provides them with a championship competition at the end of the season.
The inaugural tournament was held March 5–7, 2026, at the Centene Community Ice Center in Missouri and included five Division I programs: Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska Anchorage, Lindenwood, Long Island University, and Stonehill.
The Nanooks represent the University of Alaska Fairbanks and compete as an NCAA Division I independent program, playing home games at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks. The program has been part of collegiate hockey since the 1925–26 season and remains one of Alaska’s most prominent college sports teams.
The championship win provides a major postseason achievement for Alaska hockey programs and highlights the competitive presence of Fairbanks on the national college hockey stage.
With the tournament concluded, the Nanooks close the 2025–26 campaign and will now shift focus to offseason preparations before returning to NCAA Division I play next season.
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