The Nanooks, which had traveled more than 4,000 miles to get to this village, swept the invite after defeating the St. Lawrence Saints 2-0 on Friday. The two-game effort helped improve Fairbanks’ overall record to 4-8-1.

While the tournament is determined based on a point system — rather than a single-elimination tournament — Saturday’s contest was essentially a championship game as both the Nanooks and Golden Knights earned wins over their opponents during Friday’s game. Clarkson (5-11-0 overall) defeated the defending tournament champion, University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks, 2-0 on Friday.

Alaska-Fairbanks got off to a quick start Saturday, when Michael Citara netted a goal less than three minutes into the first period, following assists from Peyton Platter and Noah Barlage. However, the Golden Knights responded with a goal just four minutes later, when Matthew Mayich sent a shot over the shoulder of the Nanooks’ goalie, Lassi Lehti.

Right before the end of the first period, Clarkson claimed a 2-1 lead as Jace Letourneau redirected the puck past Lehti. Fairbanks evened the game in the second period when Citara buried his second goal of the contest.

UMass Lowell’s Luke Shipley passes the puck during Friday’s Adirondack Winter Invitational game against Clarkson. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

With the game tied 2-2, Roersma connected on a rebound to win the title. The Nanooks joined Arizona State (2023) and UMass Lowell (2024) as the third team to win this tournament championship.

Clarkson finished with a 23-21 advantage in shots, while its goalie, Shane Soderwall, had 18 saves. Fairbanks’ Lehti recorded 21 stops.

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UMass Lowell 7, St. Lawrence 3

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In the other contest on Saturday, UMass Lowell freshman Dalyn Wakely netted a hat trick as the River Hawks earned a 7-3 victory against St. Lawrence.

Dillan Bentley added two goals for the River Hawks, which improved to 6-8-0 overall, while Jay Ahearn and Chris Delaney also scored. Sophomore Libor Nemec chipped in with three assists for UMass Lowell.

The River Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening period, before the Saints connected on three straight goals to close out the period. St. Lawrence’s Cayden Casey, Rasmus Svartstrom and Sam Frandina each found the back of the net once during that stretch.

However, UMass Lowell scored five straight to close out the contest — two in the second period and three in the third.

The River Hawks finished with a 47-12 advantage in shots as the team’s goalie, Austin Elliott, had nine saves. The Saints’ netminder, Colin Winn, recorded 40 stops. St. Lawrence drops to 2-13-1 overall.