March 1, 2007

By Danny Martin, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Staff Writer
Published March 1, 2007

Alaska Nanooks head coach Tavis MacMillan waited for Wylie Rogers at the team bench in the Carlson Center after pulling the junior goaltender early in the second period Saturday night. When Rogers was replaced by freshman Erik Largen at 4:07 of the second, the Nanooks trailed 3-0 to the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks and were on the way to a 5-3 loss in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season finale.

"He (MacMillan) was waiting for me when I hit the bench, and he said `Get ready for next weekend,'" Rogers said.

Next weekend is actually this weekend's first-round, best-of-three playoff series against the Western Michigan Broncos, starting Friday in Kalamazoo, Mich., and Rogers has been ready for a long time.

Since the first time Rogers wore a blue and gold Nanooks jersey, the team has gone on the road for the playoffs, and the 5-foot-10, 192-pound homegrown junior is a big reason for a 7-3 postseason record that includes a 4-0 mark in first-round action.

"Anything can happen in playoff hockey. That's what so exciting about the playoffs in any sport," Rogers reflected after Tuesday morning's practice in the Patty Center. "It's a do or die situation for us; but our track record shows we're not a team that's just going to lie down when it comes to the playoffs, no matter that we didn't get home ice for the (first round) playoffs or things aren't going our way. We're still going to battle through it."

The Nanooks lost their last six games in a row, finishing the regular season in 11th place at 7-16-5 league and 9-19-6 overall. Alaska fell three places short in the standings of gaining home ice in the first round for the first time since 2004.

Rogers said he and his teammates are excited about the playoffs, though they're not occurring at the Carlson Center for the third straight year. The Nanooks' seven juniors and eight sophomores have not experienced a home-ice atmosphere in the postseason, but they're accustomed to being road warriors.

"When we're on the road for the playoffs, there's no distractions. You're with your family (team) the whole time," Rogers said. "You're in your element -- you're playing hockey with the guys on the road."

The camaraderie is evident in team meetings prior to the playoffs.

"They're emotional meetings, where a guys says, `I'll take a bullet for this guy next to me.' They just don't say it, they go out and do it. That's what makes us successful out there on the road -- guys go into battle every single night for each other."

Rogers is a ferocious battler when it comes to the playoffs. His career postseason mark is 7-3 in 10 games with a .922 saves percentage, a 2.80 goals against average and one shutout. He's allowed 27 goals, including 10 power-play tallies and one short-handed marker, and has faced 339 shots in 579 minutes, 6 seconds between the pipes.

The former West Valley High School netminder, whose overall career record is 31-33-9 with a 2.83 GAA, .907 saves percentage and a Nanooks record six shutouts, has never seen the CCHA playoffs as a pressure-filled experience.

"I wouldn't consider it more of a pressure," said Rogers. "It's more of a drive, more of an ambition to really go out there and just play great."

Last Saturday night's early exit reminded him that playing goaltender can be likewise.

"We weren't playing really good and it was chance to get Erik in and give him some ice time," Rogers said. "That was such a good move to put him in; obviously, I didn't want to be in there getting peppered and shelled and giving up goal after goal.

"I got so much satisfaction out of sitting there and watching Erik play. He said `Man, this is fun!,' and I said, `Yeah! It is fun!' Just looking at him from that aspect, I get so excited every time I play."

Including for Friday night's playoff series opener in the Lawson Ice Arena on the Western Michigan campus.

The Nanooks were swept there on Feb. 9-10, falling 2-1 and 3-1, respectively.

"They worked extremely hard, they're very transitional," Rogers said of the sixth-place Broncos (14-13-1, 17-16-1). "They get the puck and they want to come down and shoot it. They like rushes and their goaltender, (freshman) Riley Gill has been playing out of his mind lately."

Gill completed his first regular season at 12-6-1 with a .909 saves percentage, 2.87 GAA and four shutouts. He had 59 saves against the Nanooks three weeks ago.

"For us to beat them, we're going to need to get pucks to the net, get traffic in front of him and get goals," Rogers said.

If they're successful in Kalamazoo, the Nanooks and Rogers would continue a tradition.

"The playoffs are contagious because everyone gets to go out and play their best," said Rogers, "because they know this could be their last games (for the season)."