“I just traded you to Fairbanks, good luck.”
The message UAA defenseman Joey Potter received from his coach on the morning of Oct. 7, 2022, brought the then-19-year-old junior hockey player into a new world of the unexpected. That same day, he’d boarded a plane to Alaska for the first time, not knowing it would be where he’d spend the next three years.
“I remember the captain preparing for landing and I looked out the window. I’m thinking, ‘I haven’t seen any lights,’” Potter said, describing his first impression of the Last Frontier. “I know we’re going down because I can feel it, but I don’t see anything. That was the first thing that really surprised me.”
With only 24-hours’ notice, he’d been released from the North Iowa Bulls in the NAHL and moved his entire life more than 3,300 miles away. His next time stepping on the ice was as a Fairbanks Ice Dog. Potter’s first experience on Alaskan ice took place during a match against the Anchorage Wolverines at Big Dipper Ice Arena.
“We played that night and we lost, but I thought I’d played great. After everything I’d been through, hockey was the easy part.”
Now a junior, Potter is one of several current Seawolf players who have experienced the notorious hockey rivalry between Anchorage and Fairbanks from both sides. This is one of many reasons he looks forward to the upcoming Alaska Airlines Governor’s Cup in February, referring to the matchup as his “favorite hockey ever.”
“I’ll never forget one of my first shifts. It’s 3,000 fans in Fairbanks, the atmosphere is insane. I’m backing down the wall, and one of their best forwards is coming up the neutral zone. He has a step on me, I know he does, so my only chance is to hit him. I take one big crossover, and I throw a classic hip check, and I lay him out. It was like the best hit I’d ever thrown, the crowd went nuts.”
Potter recalls the player he’d checked during his first NAHL shift in Fairbanks is now a leading forward for the Seawolves, his now teammate, roommate and best friend, Aiden Westin.
Potter’s decision to come back to Alaska for his college career was highly influenced by his time with the Ice Dogs, where he first encountered the community within the 49th state.
“Anchorage and Fairbanks are different, but the community of hockey within is tight,” he said.
Potter was recently recognized as the NCAA Division I Independent Schools Defender of the Month for October 2025. This accomplishment comes at the beginning of his second season with UAA, and his third year playing for an Alaskan team. Through the Seawolves’ current conquest of a multiple-week road trip through the Northeast, he remains ranked within the top 10 defensive players among the NCAA’s Independent teams.
Alaska Airlines Governor’s Cup
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