Alaska-Anchorage Stuck in Minneapolis

Minnesota State is scheduled to play against Alaska-Anchorage this weekend in Anchorage. As with any series in Alaska, a big part of the home ice advantage is one team getting to rest during the week, while the other has to face the sometimes arduous travel and fickle nature of airlines. This week is no exception, with one team settled in Anchorage all week, while the other team finds themselves stuck in Minneapolis. What makes this story strange is that this week, it's the exact opposite of what you might expect.

Minnesota State played a series in Fairbanks last weekend, and on Sunday took a bus down to Anchorage, arriving in time for a nice dinner at Crossbar restaurant to watch former teammate Eriah Hayes make his NHL debut with the San Jose Sharks. On Monday, they got to enjoy 31 degree temperatures--50 degrees warmer than the temperature at home--and see some of the local wildlife.

Alaska-Anchorage, meanwhile, played at Wisconsin last weekend. The team was scheduled to fly from Madison to Minneapolis before heading home, but weather delayed their departure from Madison, which caused them to miss their connecting flight in Minneapolis. The Seawolves are still working to find a flight out of Minneapolis. In the meantime, they're spending the week practicing at  Richfield Arena, which is just a few miles away from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. There's no word yet on when UAA may be able to get out of Minneapolis, but it may not be until much later in the week.

Update: College Hockey News reported that Alaska-Anchorage was able to find a flight out of Minneapolis for Thursday, allowing the Seawolves to get home late Thursday evening, and being able to go through their regular game day routine on Friday.