The Fairbanks Ice Dogs defeated the Kenai River Brown Bears 4-2 on Friday in North American Hockey League action at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex.
The Ice Dogs improve to 8-3-0-1 and are tied for second place in the Midwest Division with the Anchorage Wolverines with 17 points.
Kenai River has lost five straight and is tied for fifth place in the division at 7-7-1-0. The Bears have 15 points.
In the Club 49 Cup, Anchorage leads with six, while Fairbanks has four and the Brown Bears have none.
The same two teams play Saturday at the sports complex at 7:30 p.m. The game is sponsored by Hilcorp. There will be free admission with the donation of canned or shelf stable food items to the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank. The recommended donation is two items.
“It’ll be a huge night for the community,” Kenai River head coach Taylor Shaw said. “The boys have done their part.
“You probably saw when you walked in, all the cans that are sitting there. The boys have been in the community doing that.”
Friday, a slow start cost the Bears. In the first period, Kenai River was outshot 16-8 and fell behind 2-0.
Fairbanks head coach Ryan Theros said his club has been starting slow lately, so it was nice to see the Ice Dogs learn that lesson.
Adam Timm played a role in both goals. First, he tipped in a shot from Ian Norkevicus. Then, he hit Wyatt Carlson with a nice saucer pass on a two-on-one for a 2-0 lead.
“Timmer is a special player,” Theros said. “He can control a game when he wants to. He’s just really developed the mental side of it a lot over last year and this year.”
After the first period, the momentum of the game changed. The Bears won the shot count 18-11 in the second period and 19-4 in the third period.
Just 37 seconds into the second period, Gavin Jensen scored on assists from Luke Hause and William Esterbrooks for a 2-1 game.
The Bears then lost momentum when Kenai River took a four-minute double minor and Luca Ricciardi scored for a 3-1 game.
“It took us a few minutes to get going again,” Shaw said.
By the end of the period, Kenai River had the ice tilted in its direction and Andy Larson, assisted by Dario Lass and Jensen, had it 3-2 headed to the third period.
“I liked how our guys responded,” Shaw said. “Halfway through the second period, we tilted the ice in our favor. To be honest, we didn’t want an intermission.”
After fixing the slow start, Theros still said his team has more on which to work.
“We’ve got to talk about the positives and how to fix it,” he said of the second period. “That’s how good teams develop as a group.
“We’ve got to continue to grow as a team. That second period was not good enough, and we know that.”
Kenai River continued to press early in the third period, culminating with a power play with 12:27 to play.
Fairbanks goalie Mason McElroy made two sterling backdoor saves during the power play to preserve the lead.
“There’s a reason why the guys patted him on the back after the game,” Theros said. “He saved the game for us, and that’s what good goalies do in those situations.”
McElroy had 43 saves, while Mitchell Mccusker stopped 28 for the Bears.
“We’ve just got to score,” Shaw said.
Cole Burke had an empty-netter for the Ice Dogs with six seconds left.
“A win on the road is a win on the road,” Theros said. “You take those however you can get them.”
Friday
Ice Dogs 4, Brown Bears 2
Fai 2 1 1 —4
Ken 0 2 0 —2
First period — 1. Fairbanks, Timm (Norkevicus, Carlson), 6:19; 2. Fairbanks, Carlson (Timm, Corneillie), 17:58. Penalties — Fairbanks 1 for 2:00; Kenai River 1 for 2:00.
Second period — 3. Kenai River, Jensen (Hause, Esterbrooks), 0:37; 4. Fairbanks, Ricciaridi (Burke, Vorobev), pp, 6:47. 5. Kenai River, Larson (Lass, Jensen), 16:32. Penalties — Fairbanks 1 for 2:00; Kenai River 2 for 4:00.
Third period — 6. Fairbanks, Burke (Gulenchyn, Pendo), en, 19:54. Penalties — Fairbanks 1 for 2:00.
Shots on goal — Fairbanks 16-11-4—31; Kenai River 8-18-19—45.
Goalies — Fairbanks, McElroy (45 shots, 43 saves); Kenai River, Mccusker (31 shots, 28 saves).
Power plays — Fairbanks 1 for 3; Kenai River 0 for 3.
Brady Engelkes of the Kenai River Brown Bears tries to poke the puck away from Brent Gulenchyn of the Fairbanks Ice Dogs on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Fairbanks Ice Dogs goalie Mason McElroy makes a save Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Joseph Yoon of the Kenai River Brown Bears brings the puck up the ice Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
