Fairbanks ends Alaska's season

FAIRBANKS – The historic season of the Alaska Avalanche has come to an end.

The Wasilla-based North American Hockey League squad recorded franchise record for wins and points in a season, but the Fairbanks Ice Dogs stopped the Avs from advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in team history with a 4-2 win over the Avalanche Friday at the Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks. With the victory, the Ice Dogs won the best-of-5 first-round series and will move on to meet the Wenatchee Wild next week.

Fairbanks, the third seed from the NAHL West, posted three unanswered scores to grab the win. Veterans Logan Maly and Kyle Pichler scored in the first period to give the Avs the 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission, but Will Aide and Mark Pustin posted goals for Fairbanks in the second period to give the Dogs the advantage. Mark Millis, who scored in all three games of the series, added an empty-netter with 28 seconds left in regulation.

For more, see the Sunday edition of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.

Fairbanks 4, Alaska 2

Friday, Big Dipper Ice Arena

First period – 1. Fairbanks- Spratte (Krause, Aide) 9:14; 2. Alaska- Maly (Huppert, McGlasson) 10:07; 3. Alaska- Pichler (T. Johnson, Rounds) pp 18:35.

Second period – 4. Fairbanks- Aide (Schreiner) sh 4:22; 5. Fairbanks- Pustin (Juola, McGill) 17:38.

Third period – 6. Fairbanks- Millis (Nelson, Tolkinen) en 19:32.

Shots on goal: Alaska 9-5-11—25, Fairbanks 15-12-9—36