Sports stats

NAHL North American Hockey League

Home Sweep Home

November 14, 2006 - North American Hockey League (NAHL) News Release


There's no place like home. Just ask the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, who opened the season playing 20 of their first 21 games away from the spirited confines of Big Dipper Arena only to return last weekend with two wins over the Bismarck Bobcats.

"It's just such a relief to get back home," said Ice Dogs assistant coach Josh Hauge, whose team improved to 9-13-1. "The fans here are great, so having them behind us just gave us a little more energy than we had on the road."

Fairbanks opened with a 4-1 win over the Bobcats in front of 2,348 fans on Friday. Craig Dakins scored the first two goals of the game, with Kyle Schmidt and Nick Haddad adding the other Ice Dog markers. Between the pipes, Shane Madolora turned aside 36 shots.

The next night, 2,289 in attendance watched the Ice Dogs double up Bismarck, 4-2. Alex McRae struck for two goals, including the game-winner, with Dakins adding two assists. Joe Shean and Schmidt scored the other goals for Fairbanks. Madolora was again solid in net, making 28 saves.

"The biggest thing for us was to get back [to Fairbanks], everybody was looking forward to it," said Hauge. "We feel it's the best rink in the league to play in; it's such a great atmosphere."

With 84 goals against - second most in the league behind Bismarck - the Ice Dogs tightened up defensively last weekend, keeping quality scoring chances to a minimum.

"We were able to cut down on odd-man rushes, which is something we struggled with on the road," said Hauge. "Our whole team defense was a lot better."

And Madolora was in top form, picking up his seventh and eighth wins of the season while pushing his goals-against average to the brink of .900.

"He was very solid," said Hauge of the 19-year-old from California. "He's a great a goaltender. When he goes, the team goes, and he made some saves this weekend that put us over the edge in tight situations."

Offensively, efforts from Dakins, whose four-point weekend doubled his total offensive output for the entire season, and McRae were a welcome compliment to the steady exploits of Schmidt, Haddad and Shean.

"We were moving the puck better and guys were moving their feet," said Hauge. "We were playing with a lot of energy, which is something we weren't doing on the road."

And the Ice Dogs can take a load off their feet for a little while. They have the week off before traveling south to Wasilla for a three-game set against Alaska over Thanksgiving weekend.

"Our team defense was a lot better, and we need to keep playing that way. And if we can get a couple other guys to put pucks in the net, we'll continue to be successful," said Hauge.

STANDINGS/LEADERS
North Division
TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA
Alpena 20 14-5-1 29 .725 77 63
Mahoning Valley 21 13-7-1 27 .643 87 72
Marquette 20 9-10-1 19 .475 62 67
USNTDP 17 8-8-1 17 .500 75 63
Traverse City 21 7-11-3 17 .405 64 79

South Division
TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA
St. Louis 18 16-1-1 33 .917 76 34
Santa Fe 20 14-3-3 31 .775 73 41
Texas 19 11-6-2 24 .632 63 57
Fairbanks 23 9-13-1 19 .413 77 84
Wichita Falls 20 8-10-2 18 .450 60 66
Alaska 21 7-12-2 16 .381 50 68

Central Division
TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA
Fargo-Moorhead 21 15-6-0 30 .714 75 57
Springfield 20 10-10-0 20 .500 64 65
Bismarck 22 9-11-2 20 .455 66 87
North Iowa 19 8-11-0 16 .421 56 79
So. Minnesota 18 7-10-1 15 .417 51 54
Alexandria 18 6-12-0 12 .333 44 61

LEADING SCORERS
PLAYER TEAM P GP G A PTS
Rudasill, Todd ALP F 20 14 22 36
Craner, Nolan ALP F 20 14 21 35
Echternach, Jesse FMH F 21 13 17 30
Maroon, Pat STL F 18 13 17 30
Schmidt, Kyle FBX F 23 16 11 27
Kretzer, Ryan SPI F 20 5 22 27
Pierson, Drew ALP F 20 10 16 26
Kutalek, Tibor SFE F 20 15 10 25
(four players tied with 23)

LEADING GOALTENDERS
PLAYER TEAM GPI MINS W-L-OTL GAA SPCT
Hopper, Nick SFE 18 1060:57 13-3-2 1.75 .920
Nagle, Pat STL 10 604:31 8-1-1 1.79 .939
Reiter, Kenny STL 8 454:59 7-0-1 1.98 .931
Lee, Austin FMH 12 717:25 10-2-0 2.09 .937
Tragust, Thomas TXS 13 792:57 7-4-2 2.42 .905

GOALS
PLAYER TEAM P GP G
Schmidt, Kyle FBX F 23 16
Kutalek, Tibor SFE F 20 15
(two players tied with 14)

ASSISTS
PLAYER TEAM P GP A
Rudasill, Todd ALP F 20 22
Kretzer, Ryan SPI F 20 22
Craner, Nolan ALP F 20 21

PENALTY MINUTES
PLAYER TEAM P GP PIM
Flink, Adam TXS F 19 100
Belanger, Neeco MAR F 20 92
Yovanic, Paul TXS F 18 88

Zapolski, Dakins, Clark named Sherwood Players of the Week

NORTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mahoning Valley goaltender Ryan Zapolski, 19, turned aside 79 of 82 shots last weekend backstopping the Phantoms to three wins over Marquette. On Friday, the Erie, Pa., native stopped all 17 shots as Mahoning Valley blanked the Rangers, 5-0. The next night, Zapolski made 27 saves in a 7-2 Phantoms triumph. On Sunday, the Mercyhurst College recruit stopped 34 shots - and added two assists - as the Phantoms cruised to a 6-1 win.

SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Fairbanks forward Craig Dakins, 20, rang up two goals and two assists last weekend as the Ice Dogs won two games over Bismarck. On Friday, the Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., native scored two goals, including the game-winner, as the Ice Dogs skated to a 4-1 win. The next night, Dakins registered two assists, including one on Alex McRae's game-winning goal, in Fairbanks' 4-2 victory.

CENTRAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
North Iowa goaltender Jay Clark, 19, won both of his starts last weekend, stopping 64 of 69 shots, as the Outlaws went 2-1. On Saturday, the Tulsa, Okla., native made 40 saves helping North Iowa knock off Central Division-leading Fargo-Moorhead, 5-2. The next day, Clark turned aside 24 shots in the Outlaws' 4-3 victory over Southern Minnesota.

LAST WEEK'S SCORES/HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, November 9
Alaska 0 @ Santa Fe 2 (SF: Hopper, 29 saves)

Friday, November 10
North Iowa 1 @ Fargo-Moorhead 5 (FM: Echternach, GWG, A)
Southern Minnesota 2 @ Alexandria 1 (SM: Ruff, GWG, G)
Bismarck 1 @ Fairbanks 4 (FBX: Dakins, G, GWG)
Wichita Falls 4 @ Springfield 2 (WF: Cardwell, G, 2A)
St. Louis 4 @ Texas 3 (SO) (STL: Maroon, 2G)
Alaska 3 @ Santa Fe 2 (SO) (ALA: Stevens, G, SOG)
Traverse City 5 @ Alpena 6 (OT): (ALP: Rudasill, 2G, 2A)
Marquette 0 @ Mahoning Valley 5 (MV: Zapolski, 17 saves)

Saturday, November 11
Bismarck 2 @ Fairbanks 4 (FBX: McRae, G, GWG, A)
St. Louis 5 @ Texas 1 (STL: Maroon, 2G)
North Iowa 5 @ Fargo-Moorhead 2 (NI: Mobley, 2G, A)
Alaska 0 @ Santa Fe 3 (SF: Krispel, G, A; Merriam, 18 saves)
Alexandria 4 @ So. Minnesota 3 (SO) (ALX: Lickteig, G, SOG, A)
Marquette 2 @ Mahoning Valley 7 (MV: Cloutier, G, GWG, A)
Wichita Falls 6 @ Springfield 1 (WF: Effinger, 2G, A)
Alpena 3 @ Traverse City 2 (SO) (ALP: Hunwick, 36 saves)

Sunday, November 12
North Iowa 4 @ Southern Minnesota 3 (NI: McLeod, 2G)
Fargo-Moorhead 3 @ Alexandria 1 (FM: Mihulka, 2G, GWG)
Marquette 1 @ Mahoning Valley 6 (MV: Bonnet, GWG, A)

AROUND THE NAHL

MORE THE MERRIAM: Santa Fe's recent acquisition of goaltender Bryce Merriam, 18, from Mahoning Valley paid immediate dividends last weekend, as the Pittsburgh native turned aside all 18 shots in his RoadRunners debut - a 3-0 win over Alaska on Sunday. Merriam's partner in crime between Santa Fe's pipes, Nick Hopper, picked up his league-leading fifth shutout of the season on Thursday with 29 saves in a 2-0 win over the Avalanche.

PHANTOMS ON FIRE: Mahoning Valley has won seven games in a row, thanks in part to the offensive exploits of forward Dustin Cloutier, 20, who struck for three goals and three assists in three Phantom wins over Marquette last weekend.

GET SHORTY: North Iowa forward Steve McLeod, 20, notched his second and third shorthanded goals of the season last weekend, tying him with St. Louis' Pat Maroon for the league lead. "Steve had a great weekend and showed what he can really do," said Outlaws coach Dave Boitz.

BUSINESS AS USUAL: Steady Texas forward Tom Brooks, 19, notched a goal and an assist in the Tornado's 4-2 shootout loss to South Division-leading St. Louis on Friday. "Tom is our best two-way player and comes to play every night," said Tornado coach Tony Curtale of the St. Louis native.

RUDASILL ROLLING: Alpena forward Todd Rudasill, 18, added two goals and two assists to NAHL-leading point total as the IceDiggers skated to a pair of wins over Traverse City. The Powell, Ohio, native has 10 points (four goals) in his last five games.

HEETIN' UP: Wichita Falls goaltender Cal Heeter, 18, registered two wins last weekend - his third and fourth of the season - stopping 43 of 46 shots as the Wildcats took two from Springfield.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Monday, November 13
Springfield @ St. Louis, 7:30 pm

Thursday, November 16
Bismarck @ Alaska, 7:30 pm
Southern Minnesota @ North Iowa, 7:05 pm

Friday, November 17
Alexandria @ Fargo-Moorhead, 7:35 pm
Bismarck @ Alaska, 7:30 pm
Springfield @ St. Louis, 7:30 pm
Wichita Falls @ Texas, 7:30 pm
Southern Minnesota @ North Iowa, 7:05 pm
Traverse City @ Mahoning Valley, 7:00 pm
Alpena @ Marquette, 7:00 pm

Saturday, November 18
Bismarck @ Alaska, 7:30 pm
USNTDP @ St. Louis, 7:30 pm
North Iowa @ Southern Minnesota, 7:05 pm
Fargo-Moorhead @ Alexandria, 7:00 pm
Traverse City @ Mahoning Valley, 7:00 pm
Alpena @ Marquette, 7:00 pm

Sunday, November 19
USNTDP @ St. Louis, 6:00 pm

Check out the North American Hockey League Statistics



North American Hockey League Stories from November 14, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central