Kaufmann backstops Ice Dogs to playoffs
March 24, 2005 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Fairbanks Ice Dogs News Release
With their season in the balance, and a chance to clinch a playoff spot in their sights, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs reeled off three wins last week, all backstopped by Jerad Kaufmann, the Sher-wood NAHL Defensive Player of the Week for Week 24. Facing Central Texas March 12, on the final game of an extended road trip (the Ice Dogs had not played a home game for over a month), the native of Roseville, Minnesota, stopped 27 shots in a 5-3 win over Marshals -- just two days after his team had suffered an 8-0 shellacking by the Texas Tornado. Then, finally back at the Big Dipper in Fairbanks on March 18, his team sprinted out to and early lead against the Springfield Spirit and Kaufmann held it, stopping 36 of 38 in a 4-2 victory. A night later, with a playoff spot on the line, the Spirit scored a first period power play goal, but that was all Kaufmann allowed as he stopped 22 shots in a 4-1 win.
SHER-WOOD NAHL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK WHEELER'S SEVEN POINTS BOOSTS FAIRBANKS
With three goals and four assists in his team's final three games of the season, Fairbanks center and leading scorer Shane Wheeler played a major role in securing a playoff spot for the Ice Dogs and earned recognition as the Sher-wood NAHL Offensive Player of the Week. After falling hard twice to the Texas Tornado over the previous weekend, the Ice Dogs surrendered the first goal to Central Texas on March 12. But the Eagle River, Alaska native set up three straight second period goals to help right the ship, then scored one in the third as Fairbanks defeated the Marshals 5-3. On March 18, Wheeler set up linemate Matt Jolly for a big goal against the Springfield Spirit, giving the Ice Dogs a 2-0 first period lead in an eventual 4-2 win. The next night, with the Ice Dogs in a spot to clinch a playoff berth, and, in the words of the Fairbanks News-Miner, "playing in front of a packed house the likes of which has not been seen at the Big Dipper Ice Arena in years," Wheeler helped his team rebound from a shaky start by setting up the game tying goal late in the first period. He then scored a big goal of his own to make it 3-1 in an eventual 4-1 victory.
North American Hockey League Stories from March 24, 2005
- Kaufmann backstops Ice Dogs to playoffs - Fairbanks Ice Dogs
- Tornado await playoff opponent - Texas Tornado
- Bulls clinch second heading into playoffs - Billings Bulls
- IceDiggers move final home game to Alpena - Alpena IceDiggers
- Santa Fe Families Open Hearts and Homes to Roadrunners - Topeka Pilots
- Pros vs. Prospects: One Magical Night - Texas Tornado
- U.S. National Team weekly report - U.S. National Team
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