Fairbanks excursion a Michigan ritual

Fairbanks, Alaska. Population: 31,601. Distance from the Arctic Circle: 70 miles. Current weather conditions: "It's snowing and very white," Alaska-Fairbanks head coach Guy Gadowsky said.

All right, so maybe Fairbanks isn't your idea of an ideal college town. Perhaps it isn't even close. But to some people, including the Alaska-Fairbanks hockey team, Fairbanks is the greatest place in the world.

"Alaska has a lot of positives on its own," Gadowsky said. "It's some of the most beautiful country in the world. Hockey players are many different types of personalities and you have to look for the type of players that you'd want to come to Alaska."

There are those people who could make a life in Alaska adhering to the 'live for summer, bear through the winter' rule. Then there are those, like the Michigan hockey team, who make a yearly journey to the 'land of the midnight sun.'

DAVID KATZ/Daily Junior Scott Matzka will likely join Michigan coach Red Berenson on his historical tour of Fairbanks this weekend. The Wolverines leave today for Alaska.

The trip from Ann Arbor to Fairbanks takes nearly twelve hours and makes for some quality bonding time.

"Bonding is something that just happens on trips like these," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "They'll spend a lot of time together over the next few days. It's good, there's no parents, no distractions, no girlfriends and no school. It's a good time for our team."

Though the flights can be entertaining, the fun begins once the team gets to Fairbanks. It has become ritual for the team to stay at Captain Bartlett's Inn, situated right on the Yukon River. The charm of the inn is not in the tiny rooms where you can change channels from bed without a remote, but lies in the proximity of the hotel to the Carlson Center.

Usually prior to the game, the team will hike over to the arena after going through its pre-game routines.

Hockey, however, is only part of the Alaska experience. The team also makes a yearly trip to the University of Alaska museum that houses an extensive natural history collection, including the Alaska Frozen Tissue exhibit. The exhibit contains samples from over 23,000 animals.

Last year, Michigan center Mike Comrie and several others couldn't make it to the museum because they were taking exams. But Comrie said that the trip, his first, was enjoyable anyway.

"It's a pretty fun trip," Comrie said. "It helps you bond as a team and really pull together. You learn a lot about each other because you're together 24 hours a day."

Michigan captain Sean Peach who is making his fourth trip to America's northernmost state, has fond memories of random daytrips and practical jokes.

"My first year we went there, I was kind of excited," Peach said. "We were supposed to go see the history of Fairbanks. And (Berenson) took us to a pipeline. We drove 50 miles out of town and there was just a big round pipe.

"We were like, 'What do we do here?' So we just took pictures around it and that was our day. We also go to the museum, which is really tiny, but it's pretty neat. It talks about their culture, but there's not a lot to do up there."

Another expedition that the coaches have planned involve a day trip up to a musk ox farm. The players had mixed reactions to the unusual oxen.

Regardless, through all the snowball fights and pranks, the focus is still hockey. Though the Nanooks finished last season ranked at the bottom of the CCHA, this year they are off to a better start, having split series with Ohio State and Alaska-Anchorage to start the season. Now, they are eagerly awaiting the Wolverines.

"It's a great opportunity for us to play arguably the best team in the country right now," Gadowsky said. "It's a good measuring stick. Our win over Ohio State gave us some momentum, but you never know how good you are until you play Michigan."

This weekend, the Wolverines will once again be shorthanded defensively without junior Bob Gassoff, who will remain in Ann Arbor due to the concussion he suffered last Saturday against Massachusetts-Lowell. Junior Dave Huntzicker, who separated his shoulder in that same contest, will play.

Though the team left early this morning, Peach had a few words of advice for his younger teammates.

"You don't want to fall asleep on the airplane," Peach said. "That's a word to the wise. But I have to be mature on this trip. I'll probably be the one falling asleep and getting shaving cream on my head."

Freshman Mike Cammalleri has heard all the rumors, but he's still looking forward to the trip.

"I expect it to be fun," Cammalleri said. "It's the same thing you go through on road trips in juniors. I do expect to wake up with toothpaste on an eyebrow or shaving cream in my hair, one of the two.

"You keep an eye peeled. You go with it, roll with it and have fun with it because you can't do anything about it. You take memories and just get guys back when it's your turn."

10-20-99