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One thing that will happen this season with Dion Knelsen is that his brother, Brandon, and he will finish their collegiate hockey careers together for the Alaska Nanooks.

Another likelihood for Dion is he’ll finish as the 28th player in the 30-year history of the program to amass 100 or more career points. If the achievement occurs, the 5-foot-9, 185-pound senior center will keep it in perspective.

“Honestly, I think that when you think about points, they become a lot harder,” Knelsen said recently following a practice in the Patty Center.

“I think from just playing the game, you learn that focusing on the little details and doing things right is how points come,” said the native of Three Hills, Alberta. “If I can contribute to the team by scoring goals, that’s obviously what I’m going to want to do; but I just want to help the team in any way possible.”

Knelsen is the Nanooks’ leading scorer heading into the second annual Brice Alaska Goal Rush on Friday and Saturday at the Carlson Center.

He reached the 80-point career mark — 27 goals and 53 assists in 111 games — with a goal and two assists in Saturday’s 6-1 win over the Mercyhurst Lakers. His contribution against the Atlantic Hockey squad helped seal the title for the Nanooks for the second straight year in the season-opening Kendall Hockey Classic at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.

For the second straight year, Knelsen was named to the all-tournament team. He received the most outstanding player honor last year.

“We really enjoy this tournament because it’s a good opportunity to play in nonconference games, get our feet wet and start our season off on a good note,” Knelsen said after the Mercyhurst win. “We come into this tournament prepared every year, and I think we had a good showing this year.”

Knelsen has been well prepared when he’s come into each of his four seasons for the Nanooks.

He was the team’s fourth-leading scorer as a freshman. As a sophomore, he led the Nanooks in scoring and he repeated the accomplishment as a junior in a 2008-09 season that was highlighted by Alaska advancing to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association Championship Tournament in Detroit for the first time in four years.

“He’s one of the more complete players that we’ll see all year,” Alaska Anchorage assistant coach Regg Simon said by telephone recently.

Alaska head coach Dallas Ferguson still sees the skills from Knelsen that were evident when the center first laced on the skates for the Nanooks as a rookie. Ferguson sees maturity, too, in the team’s youngest player — and perhaps, the youngest senior in NCAA Division I hockey — as Knelsen doesn’t turn 20 until Jan. 4.

“I think he’s a little more patient,” Ferguson said recently. “He still has that tremendous speed and puck skills and a great shot, but I think you’re starting to see him be a little more patient in how he plays.

“I think he’s learned, too, to play well away from the puck.”

Red Berenson, in his 26th season as Michigan’s head coach, has also been impressed by Knelsen.

“He’s smart,” Berenson said by phone before the Kendall Classic, during which the Nanooks beat the Wolverines 2-0. “He knows where to go, when to go, where to be and when to be there, and then he’s got that competitive spirit that all good players have.”

Berenson knows plenty about good players. There were 51 former CCHA players on National Hockey League opening-day rosters, and 20 were Wolverines alumni whom Berenson had tutored.

“He’s (Knelsen) got three years under his belt; so last year was probably the best year for him and the team,” Berenson said. “I think he’s ready to have another tremendous year.”

CAMPUS TRAILS: Junior wide receiver and Wasilla graduate Matt Crane had two catches for 43 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown, helping Valley City State (N.D.) to a 19-3 win over Dakota State in Saturday’s football game in Madison, S.D. Sophomore tight end and West Valley grad Garrett Jackson had two catches for nine yards and made two tackles in Valley City’s first win of the year after five straight losses. Junior linebacker Coty Beck from Seward recorded nine tackles for Valley City ... The seven field goals this season by Humboldt State senior kicker and Chugiak grad Kyle Schierholt ranks him in a five-way tie for 17th in NCAA Division II.

• Sophomore forward and South Anchorage grad Amanda Hall scored two goals to lead the Francis Marion (S.C.) women’s soccer team to a 3-0 win at Eastern Kentucky. It was Francis Marion’s second win in 13 games this season under first-year head coach and West Valley alumnus Joel Person .... Freshman forward and West Valley grad Asa Seymour scored two goals for the Clark College men in a 5-1 win over South Puget Sound College in an Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges game on Oct. 7 in Vancouver, Wash.

• Lathrop alumna and freshman setter Frana Burtness-Adams had a match-high 17 assists for host Massachusetts Boston in Tuesday’s 25-8, 25-5, 25-15 sweep of Framingham State (Mass.) ... Redshirt freshman middle blocker and West Valley grad Cashaana Renfro leads Southern Utah in attack percentage (.270) and is third in kills (130) for the first-year Division I program.

PRO NOTES: Fairbanks-born forward and Colony graduate Jessica Moore contributed two rebounds and a steal in a 5-minute, 16-second stint for the Indiana Fever in Friday’s 94-86 loss to the host Phoenix Mercury in the fifth and deciding game of the WNBA Finals. Moore finished the series with 13 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, two blocks and a block assist ... Green Bay Packers left guard/tackle Daryn Colledge from North Pole fully participated in Wednesday’s practice while wearing a knee brace. He was injured during the fourth quarter of a 23-20 loss at Minnesota on Oct. 5.

Contact staff writer Danny Martin at 459-7586 or dmartin@newsminer.com.