The Cooper boys from Anchorage are pretty good at hockey.
Brian, a standout senior defenseman, is one of two captains at Nebraska-Omaha, ranked No. 6 in Division I. He's an Anaheim Ducks draft pick and last season helped the Mavericks to the Frozen Four for the first time in program history.
Erik, a senior winger, is captain at St. Norbert, which is ranked No. 1 in Division III. He won a national championship with the Green Knights in 2014 – he delivered the game-winning goal in the title game -- and has averaged nearly a point per game in his college career.
The Coopers are one of several pairs of Alaska siblings in college hockey, and among dozens of Alaskans – 75 in all – playing on either Division I or Division III teams this season.
Brad Schierhorn, a senior winger from Anchorage, is captain at Dartmouth, and his younger brother, Eric, is carrying the goaltending load as a freshman at Minnesota. The Cole brothers from Anchorage, Ryan and Brandon, helped Trinity to the Division III national championship last season.
Bailey Wright of Anchorage is a sophomore winger at Bemidji State, ranked No. 5 in women's Division I, and her brother, Connor, is a junior forward at UAA. Anchorage's Taylor Schwalbe is a freshman center at Rensselaer, and her brother, Ryan, is a freshman pivot who has also been versatile enough to fill in on defense at Minnesota State-Mankato, ranked No. 18 in Division I.
And brothers Colton and Jacob Wolters of Fairbanks are sophomore forwards at Wisconsin-Eau Claire, ranked No. 10 in Division III.
Alaskans dot rosters on several other ranked teams.
Anchorage's Kaitlyn Harding is a senior center at Wisconsin, ranked No. 2 among Division I women. Bailey Wright's teammates at No. 5 Bemidji State include senior winger Whitney Wivoda and freshman defenseman Lisa Laiti, both from Fairbanks. Anchorage's Tori Hickel is a senior defenseman at Northeastern, ranked No. 8 in Division I.
Mackenzie Millen of Anchorage is a freshman forward at Plattsburgh, ranked No. 1 among Division III women.
And Trace Strahle of Anchorage is a junior defenseman at Wisconsin-Stevens Point, which is ranked No. 6 in Division III and was national runner-up in each of Strahle's first two seasons.
In all, the 75 Alaskans playing college hockey this season are scattered across 58 teams.
That means there's at least one Alaskan on nearly 25 percent of the 240 Division I and Division III men's and women's teams nationally.
Thirty-two Alaskans – 17 men and 15 women play in Division I. Forty-three Alaskans – 17 men and 26 women – play in Division III.
Not surprisingly, the vast majority of Alaskans in college hockey come from Anchorage and Fairbanks, the state's two largest cities – 45 of the 75 players (60 percent) are from Anchorage and 17 (22.7 percent) are from Fairbanks. There are two players each from Eagle River, Wasilla, Palmer and Soldotna, and one each from North Pole, Kenai, Kasilof, Juneau and Copper Center.
The Cooper brothers are both enjoying strong seasons. Brian is Nebraska-Omaha's top-scoring blueliner, with 3-5--8 totals and a plus-7 rating in 16 games. Erik owns 4-9--13 totals in 13 games and 85 points in 97 career games.
Among Division I women, Dayna Colang, a senior center from Fairbanks, leads Vermont in all scoring categories with 6-7--13 totals in 19 games. She led the Catamounts in points as a junior and has generated 82 points in 122 career games.
Notable Alaska scorers in Division III include Ryan Cole. He owns 4-4--8 totals in eight games this season and has racked 95 points in 63 career games.
Among Alaskans in Division III women's hockey, Palmer's Marisa Ketterman is a prolific scorer. Ketterman, a junior forward, has furnished Franklin Pierce with 7-6--13 totals in nine games and 68 points in 60 career games.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockeyblog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr
DIVISION I MEN
Atlantic Hockey
Sacred Heart – Alec Butcher, So. F, Anchorage.
Big Ten
Minnesota – Eric Schierhorn, Fr. G, Anchorage.
Eastern College Athletic Conference
Clarkson – Bryan Sinz, Jr. D, Anchorage.
Dartmouth – Brad Schierhorn, Sr. F, Anchorage.
Hockey East
Merrimack – Alex Carle, Fr. D, Anchorage.
Providence – Truman Reed, So. D, Anchorage.
National Collegiate Hockey Conference
Colorado College – Hunter Fejes, Sr. F, Anchorage.
Nebraska-Omaha – Brian Cooper, Sr. D, Anchorage.
Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Alabama-Huntsville – John Teets, Fr. D, Fairbanks.
UAA – Chase Van Allen, Jr. D, Anchorage; Connor Wright, Jr. F, Anchorage; Brad Duwe, Jr. F, Soldotna; Alex Jackstadt, Fr. F, Anchorage.
UAF – Justin Woods, So. D, Fairbanks; Alec Hajdukovich, Sr. F, Fairbanks; Tayler Munson, So. F, Fairbanks.
Minnesota State-Mankato – Ryan Schwalbe, Fr. F, Anchorage.
DIVISION I WOMEN
College Hockey America
Lindenwood – Katie Nokelby, Jr. D, Anchorage.
Robert Morris – Leah Carlson, Sr. D, Copper Center.
Eastern College Athletic Conference
Colgate – Kayla Haus, Jr. F, Kasilof.
Rensselaer – Taylor Schwalbe, Fr. F, Anchorage.
Yale – Abby Gahm, Jr. D-F, Eagle River.
Hockey East
Merrimack – Felila Manu, Fr. D, Anchorage; Madison Morey, Fr. F, Fairbanks.
New Hampshire – Ashley Wilkes, Jr. G, North Pole.
Northeastern – Tori Hickel, Sr. D-F, Anchorage.
Vermont – Dayna Colang, Sr. F, Fairbanks.
Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Bemidji State – Whitney Wivoda, Sr. F, Fairbanks; Lisa Laiti, Fr. D, Fairbanks; Bailey Wright, So. F, Anchorage.
St. Cloud State – Jenna Redford, Jr. D-F, Soldotna.
Wisconsin – Kaitlyn Harding, Sr. F, Anchorage.
DIVISION III MEN
Eastern College Athletic Conference West
Neumann – Ryan Luiten, Jr. F, Anchorage; Shane Topf, Jr. F, Eagle River.
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Saint Mary's – Austin Arnold, Fr. D, Anchorage.
St. Thomas – Bobby Murphy, Sr. F, Anchorage.
Northern Collegiate Hockey Association
Milwaukee School of Engineering – Gage Christianson, Jr. F, Anchorage.
St. Norbert – Tyler Andrews, Fr. D, Anchorage; Erik Cooper, Sr. F, Anchorage.
New England Hockey Conference
UMass-Boston – John Regnart, Fr. D, Anchorage.
University of New England – Tony Crow, Fr. D, Anchorage.
Skidmore – Max Hegge, Fr. F, Anchorage.
New England Small College Athletic Conference
Trinity – Ryan Cole, Jr. F, Anchorage; Brandon Cole, Jr. F, Anchorage.
State University of New York Athletic Conference
Buffalo State – Ryan Lund, So. G, Anchorage.
Potsdam – Matt Thompson, Sr. F, Anchorage.
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Wisconsin-Eau Claire – Colton Wolter, So. F, Fairbanks; Jacob Wolter, So. F, Fairbanks.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point – Trace Strahle, Jr. D, Anchorage.
DIVISION III WOMEN
Colonial Hockey Conference
Daniel Webster – Kathryn Noreen, So. D, Juneau.
Endicott – Dynnea Bezona, Fr. F, Fairbanks.
Johnson & Wales – Summer Britton, Fr. F, Fairbanks; Madisan Millar, Fr. D, Anchorage.
Morrisville – Kali Rutka, Fr. D, Anchorage.
Eastern College Athletic Conference West
Chatham – Erika Martin, Jr. F, Fairbanks; McKenzie Haskins, Jr. F, Anchorage.
Cortland – Josie Fletcher, Jr. F, Wasilla.
Plattsburgh – Mackenzie Millen, Fr. F, Anchorage.
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Augsburg – Taral Clayton, So. D, Anchorage.
Bethel – Karly Vohden, Jr. D, Fairbanks.
Hamline – Melanie Bartenstein, So. F, Anchorage.
Saint Mary's – Madison Thomas, So. D, Anchorage; Miryea Herman, Fr. D, Anchorage.
Northern Collegiate Hockey Association
Concordia (Wisconsin) – Brandi Muller, Jr. F, Anchorage.
St. Scholastica – Zahn Thompson, So. F, Fairbanks; Lindsey Wright, So. F, Anchorage.
New England Hockey Conference
Franklin Pierce – Sara Diltz, So. F, Palmer; Marisa Ketterman, Jr. F, Palmer.
Holy Cross – Mackenzie Boardman, Sr. F, Anchorage.
Plymouth State – Courtney Evans, So. D, Fairbanks.
Saint Anselm – Marianne Kristiansen, Sr. F, Anchorage.
New England Small College Athletic Conference
Hamilton – Gillian Roberts, Fr. D, Fairbanks.
Middlebury – Kiana Verplancke, Fr. G, Wasilla.
Wesleyan – Lottie Barton, Sr. D, Kenai.
Williams – Annie Rush, Fr. F, Anchorage.