Avalanche silence Ice Dogs, net sweep in Interior

FAIRBANKS — Last month, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs skated into Wasilla and swept the Alaska Avalanche on their home ice. On Saturday, the Avs returned the favor.

Alaska posted a 5-3 win over the Ice Dogs on Saturday at the Big Dipper Ice Arena and netted the two-game sweep of Fairbanks in the Interior. The wins also moved Alaska into a second-place tie with Fairbanks in the North American Hockey League West Division.

“It’s huge,” Alaska head coach Dave Boitz said by phone from Fairbanks after the win. “The guys really battled all weekend long.”

Forwards Matthew Friese and Robb Haider each grabbed a goal an assist on Friday to help the Avs improve to 29-17-6. Friese scored shorthanded late in the first to give the Avs the 1-0 lead. It was one of three shorthanded goals Alaska scored in two games. Blake Huppert and Kyle Pichler each scored shorthanded goals during a 19-second span of a 4-3 shootout victory on Friday.

“We talked about putting a lot of pressure on their blue line,” Boitz said. “We felt like they were a little lackadaisical with the puck. We put on a lot of pressure and it worked out well.”

Four minutes following the Friese shorthanded score, Huppert supplied another special teams tally, scoring on the power play to give the Avs the 2-1 lead. Berkley Scott scored the lone goal of the second period to extend Alaska’s lead to 3-1. The Avs took the 4-1 advantage when Andy Pearson scored early in the third.

Alaska was also able to strike often against Fairbanks goalie Joe Phillippi. In February, Phillippi stopped 93 of the 94 Alaska shots he saw during the three-game sweep of the Avs. This weekend, the Avs sent eight pucks by Phillippi, and added Haider’s empty netter with 30 seconds to play on Saturday.

“We got production from a lot of different people, and we were able to get some pucks by Phillippi,” Boitz said.

Huppert, Pichler and Alaska captain Logan Maly scored during regulation on Friday, and Haider, Zach Smith and Seth Johnson beat Phillippi during the shootout. Johnson’s score proved to be the game-winner.

Contact sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Alaska 5, Fairbanks 3

Saturday, Big Dipper Ice Arena

First period — 1. Alaska- Friese (unassisted) sh 15:18; 2. Alaska- Kirchhevel (McGill, Michalke) pp 16:20; 3. Alaska- Huppert (Haider, Smith) pp 19:21.

Second period — 4. Alaska- Scott (Van Allen, Friese) 8:57.

Third period — 5. Alaska- Pearson (McGlasson) 7:20; 6. Fairbanks- Saintey (Juola, Tolkinen) pp ea 13:21; 7. Fairbanks- McGill (Tolkinen, Juola) 14:17; 8. Alaska- Haider (Smith, Parenteau) en 19:30.

Shots on goal: Alaska 10-13-4—27, Faibanks 11-13-14—38.

Alaska 4, Fairbanks 3 SO

Friday, Big Dipper Ice Arena

First period — 1. Fairbanks- Kirchhevel (Waggoner, McGill) 18:06.

Second period — 2. Alaska- Huppert (Parenteau, McGlasson) sh 16:42; 3. Alaska- Pichler (Johnson) sh 17:01.

Third period — 4. Fairbanks- Kirchhevel (Mills, Tolkinen) pp 10:47; 5. Alaska- Maly (Parenteau, Haider) pp 14:03; 6. Fairbanks- Tolkinen (Schreiner, Pustin) 16:47.

Shots on goal: Alaksa 12-12-9-4-1—38, Fairbanks 10-11-6-1-0—28; Saves: Alaska- Robertson 9-11-4-1-0—25, Fairbanks- Phillippi 12-10-8-4-0—34; Power plays: Alaska 1-for-5, Fairbanks 1-for-5.