Weekend Preview: Ice Miners Begin Nine Game Road Trip with Alaska Series
February 17, 2015 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Keystone Ice Miners News Release
CONNELLSVILLE, PA - After a frustrating week that saw them gain only one of six available points against Johnstown and Janesville, the Ice Miners are set to embark on a journey to Alaska to start a nine game road swing that will ultimately take them Fairbanks, Kenai River, Flint, and Sault Ste. Marie. The most strenuous of travel though begins tomorrow morning at 6:00AM, when the team will leave Connellsville for the Pittsburgh airport and board a series of flights bound for Fairbanks and a date with the IceDogs Friday and Saturday night at Bigger Dipper Arena.
"The best thing for our guys is to get rest but you want to get their mind off of hockey," Michael Gershon said. "We're going to try to do some fun things up there in Alaska so they get to experience it. It will be a balancing act between getting enough rest and getting the guys out of their rooms and doing some things that will help them recover and get their legs ready for four more important games."
The Ice Miners are 1-1-0 against Fairbanks this season, splitting a series at the Ice Mine on January 2nd and 3rd. Nick Kossoff posted a 29 save shutout on January 2nd and Lordanthony Grissom netted his first NAHL goal for the game winner with only 1:30 left in the game, breaking a scoreless tie. The following day, the IceDogs claimed a 3-2 victory, propelled by a 28 shot first period. Jacob Hetz scored a pair of first period goals for Fairbanks while Brendan Jaquay and Michael Maiden had the Keystone goals. The Ice Dogs are 32-13-3, just one point behind the Minnesota Wilderness for first place in the Midwest Division. They have already clinched a playoff spot.
"Fairbanks is one of the top teams in the league and you're going to get a good hard battle with them," Gershon said. "From what I've heard their building is sold out most of the time and it's a crazy atmosphere so hopefully we can cope with that and come up with some points there." After Saturday's game, the Ice Miners will board another plane and fly nine hours to Kenai River who they will meet on February 27th and 28th at Soldotna Sports Center. The Brown Bears have only 13 wins and 28 points but are only four points behind the Minnesota Magicians for the fourth and final Midwest Division postseason bid.
"Kenai is battling for a playoff spot," said Gershon. "They're in the thick of things so we expect a good challenge with them. It will be a little bit easier with them because they've got an Olympic Sheet as well so I don't think the ice surface will be as much of an issue whereas other teams might have that problem." The Ice Miners swept the Brown Bears on their own Olympic Sheet in Connellsville on December 30th and 31st by 5-2 and 3-2 finals. A trio of Ice Miners (Keenan Sabatini, A.J. Coleman, and Robert Jaworski) scored their first NAHL goals on the 30th while a shootout commenced on New Year's Eve with Jacob Coleman scoring the game-winner.
Keystone has enjoyed success on the road this season, posting an 11-7-2 mark and points in 5 straight away contests. ""Any time you can be over .500 on the road is good. It's hard to win on the road especially in this league," Gershon said. "For whatever reason, we like to be on the road. It could be because of the NHL buildings. It's hard to go from one [size rink] to the other but it's nice to get on the road - you kind of have less pressure to perform in front of your own building. But when you get down to the nitty gritty you have to win every game now."
The winless weekend closed the margin between Keystone and third place Soo to just two points, with Johnstown three behind the Eagles and three up on Michigan for the fourth and final North Division playoff spot. "Every game's a battle," Gershon said. "We've made it closer with this past weekend with the bounces not going our way so we need to make sure we're ready to go every game regardless if it's home or on the road."
All four Alaska games begin at 11:30 PM ET and will be broadcast on FASTHockey.com via the home feed only. The Ice Miners broadcast network will be available again beginning Friday, March 6th against the Michigan Warriors. Keystone's next home game is March 18th at 7:30 against the Johnstown Tomahawks. Fans can purchase two tickets to each of the four March games for just $40 through the end of February as part of a "Final Four Pack". Tickets to all home games are available at keystoneiceminershockey.com or by calling 724-628-4847.
North American Hockey League Stories from February 17, 2015
- Amarillo Bulls Alumni Notebook - Amarillo Bulls
- IceRays Alumni Report - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Minnesota Magicians Weekly - Minnesota Magicians
- Weekend Preview: Ice Miners Begin Nine Game Road Trip with Alaska Series - Keystone Ice Miners
- Lehtimaki Named Easton Hockey Midwest Division Star of the Week - Minnesota Wilderness
- Two Wings Receive Weekly Honors - Aberdeen Wings
- Bitsakis Lands Third Weekly Award - Bismarck Bobcats
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