Ice Dogs split home-opening series against Janesville Jets
By Caleb Jones Friday: Ice Dogs drop home opener to Jets to end five-game win streak The Fairbanks Ice Dogs (5-1-0-1) kicked off play in the Big Dipper Ice Arena against the Janesville Jets (2-5-1-0) in a battle of Midwest Division foes on Friday. A two-goal second period for the Jets was the difference-maker, as the Ice Dogs fell 4-2 in their home opener.
“We played to their level and didn’t play our game right from the start and everything would be fine,” Ice Dogs head coach Ryan Theros said. “We’re not a team that needs to chase it. It’s proven – we just have to start on time, that’s the biggest thing.”
Fairbanks entered the contest with a five game win streak on the line after a strong end to their season-opening road trip. They welcomed the Jets, who up to this point, had struggled out of the gate, and found themselves on the other side of things on a four-game skid.
A fast-flying, up-and down start eventually led to a Janesville lead early on. Grady Magner picked up the first score of the game, as the Jets crowded the net before finally playing it in.
Shortly after, Fairbanks had a chance to equalize on the power play. Near opportunities and the sound of rattled posts summarized their efforts as they nearly capitalized but came away empty. Heading into the break, the Ice Dogs trailed 1-0 despite almost doubling the Jets with shots on goal with 11 compared to 6.
Special teams drama highlighted the beginning of the second. The Ice Dogs went on their second power play, which eventually led to a four-on-three advantage, as penalties dwindled the number of skaters for both teams.
As the minutes ticked away, both teams returned to full strength, where Janesville struck again. Christian Venticinque sent the crowd into a groan after doubling the deficit.
The underdog Jets continued to pull away in the second, as Jayar Luedke made it two scores in the period and three unanswered overall. Heading into the third, the Ice Dogs were down three goals and in need of a comeback.
With just under 15 minutes left to play, the Ice Dogs began to battle back. A goal from Ian Norkevicus opened the scoring, which was followed around the midway point by Bradley Stieduhar who buried the puck to make it 3-2 with half a period still to play.
The comeback effort fell short after an empty- netter in the final seconds helped Janesville come away with the 4-2 win.
“When you get those opportunities [early], you have to make sure you put them in the back of the net,” Theros said. “I think we let up on a couple of them that should have been in the back of the net right away. Then, we made two bad mistakes – they didn’t beat us on them, we beat ourselves on them. We made two bad mistakes by our defensemen. We clean those up and it’s a different game.”
Saturday: Ice Dogs rebound to split series with Jets The Ice Dogs looked to get back in the win column in their finale against the Jets on Saturday night. Two goals in the first and third periods helped them push away in a 4-1 win for a series split with Janesville.
Fairbanks jumped out to an early lead behind a pair of goals from Arsenii Vorobev and Adam Timm in the opening period, making for a timely start that head coach Ryan Theros stressed as a point of emphasis after their home-opening defeat the night prior.
In the second period, Janesville pulled one back for the only score of the frame. Christian Venticinque picked up his second of the series to make it 2-1 going into the third. It proved to be their only one of the night.
The Ice Dogs took control in the final period, testing Janesville consistently. The pressure paid off when Wyatt Carlson beat the keeper to give the hosts some cushion down the stretch.
Later, Vorobev got back on the scoresheet for his second of the contest to extend the Ice Dogs lead to 4-1, which stood until the end. In terms of shots on goal, Fairbanks held a big 49-26 advantage.
Fairbanks local Charlie Menard played in net for his first start at home this season. He saved 25 of 26 for a .961 save percentage.
With the results against Janesville, the Ice Dogs moved to 6-2-0-1. Their next series sees them welcome the Anchorage Wolverines on Oct. 18 and 19 for their first pair of Alaska Airlines Club 49 Cup contests of the season.
Contact Caleb Jones at (907) 459-7530 or at cjones@newsminer.com.
