Ice Dogs Continue Club 49 Cup Play
January 23, 2022 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Fairbanks Ice Dogs News Release
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA- The Fairbanks Ice Dogs head back to the the Interior following a tough trip to South Central Alaska, where the Anchorage Wolverines took two from the NAHL Midwest Division leaders. Anchorage posted an 8-1 win on Friday and escaped with a 4-3 win in OT on Saturday. Despite the setback, the Dogs maintain a 2-point lead in both the division and Club 49 Cup, presented by Alaska Airlines.
Billy Renfrew tied Friday's game at one midway through the first period. It was all Anchorage from there as the Wolverines would score seven unanswered goals to route the Dogs 8-1 in the series opener. Insult to injury as the Wolverines tallied the 8 goals off just 24 shots on Kayden Hargraves (starter) and Tyler Krivtsov.
The teams entered the second period of Saturdays game in tied at zero. Talon Sigurdson opened the scoring with an even strength tally four and a half minutes into the stanza. Goals from Alexander Malinowski, Cameron Ricotta and Brady Welsch put the dogs up 3-2 after 40 minutes of play. Bohdan Panasenko knotted the game at 3 at the 13:10 mark of the third period, sending the game into overtime. Colton Friesen struck two minutes and 47 seconds into the extra frame to give the Wolverines their first sweep of the Ice Dogs. The Woverines controlled the action, outshooting Fairbanks 41-14 in the game.
"You can now call this a rivalry," said Ice Dogs' GM Rob Proffitt. "There's the Fairbanks/Anchorage thing from the get go, but once each team smacks the other around a bit, that distain grows. We got smacked around a bit this weekend."
By taking Saturday's game to overtime, the Ice Dogs salvage a Club-49 point out of the series, while the Wolverines crept to wishing two points of the Ice Dogs in Club 49 Cup standings. The Club 49 cup, presented by Alaska Airlines, is an intrastate, in-season, tournament between the Ice Dogs, Wolverines and Kenai River Brown Bears. The battle for hockey supremacy in the 49th State continues this weekend, as the Brown Bears are back in the 'Banks for a 2- game series this weekend.
While the Ice Dogs' lead in the Club 49 Cup was trimmed to two points over the weekend, so too was their lead in the NAHL Midwest Division. The Springfield Jr. Blues swept the Chippewa Steel over the weekend, and are now just two points back of the Dogs, who lead the division with 52 points. Anchorage is 5 points back of Springfield, and both teams have games in hand over Fairbanks. The Minnesota Wilderness swept the Minnesota Magicians in Cloquet over the weekend to jump into fourth place in the division. The Wilderness, Magicians, Steel and Janesville Jets are locked in a close battle for that fourth and final playoff position. With 22 games remaining on their schedule, the Brown Bears are not out of playoff contention, but it's an uphill battle for the bruins of the Kenai Peninsula as they trail the Wilderness by 18 points.
DOG BITES
Alexander Malinowski leads Dogs with 46 points (18-28-46)
Ranks third on NAHL scoring list
Billy Renfrew lead Ice Dogs with 21 goals
Ranks fifth on NAHL goal scoring list
Tyler Stewart leads (t) NAHL with 6 game winning goals
Ice Dogs currently on 7-game home winning streak
Ice Dogs own 5th best winning percentage in NAHL
Ice Dogs tied with New Jersey for most points this season (52)
The Ice Dogs return to the Big Dipper Ice Arena, hosting the Brown Bears this weekend in Club 49 Cup play. Mac Federal Credit Union sponsors Friday's game, while Alaska Airlines will be on hand Saturday night, where fans will have the chance to win roundtrip airfare for two anywhere Alaska Airlines flies.Early purchase tickets are available at Gene's Chrysler, Play It Again Sports, Ft Wainwright ASYMCA, Eielson Community Center, Ice Dogs Office or online.
North American Hockey League Stories from January 23, 2022
- Ice Dogs Continue Club 49 Cup Play - Fairbanks Ice Dogs
- Jacks Win in OT, 6-5. Split Weekend Series with Warriors - Odessa Jackalopes
- St. Cloud Earns Road Sweep with 6-1 Win at Minot - St. Cloud Norsemen
- Nords Fall to Tomahawks on Night 2 - Maine Nordiques
- DeYoung, Generals Defeat Titans 3-1 - New Jersey Titans
- Late Push Not Enough for Wings Saturday - Aberdeen Wings
- Bulls Slip into Saturday Night Win Column Again, 4-3 at Bismarck - North Iowa Bulls
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.
