FAIRBANKS- The Minnesota Magicians and Fairbanks Ice Dogs square off at the Dip in game one of a best of five series at 7:30 Friday night, with a trip to the Robertson Cup National Championship for the series winner on the line. The top seeded Dogs come into the NAHL Midwest Division finals on the heels of a 3-game opening round sweep of Janesville. The second seeded Magicians advanced to the finals following a 3-1 series win over the Springfield Jr. Blues.
Game two comes Saturday night at 7:30. If the series is tied 1-1 or the Magicians lead 2-0, game three will be played at 5:00 p.m. Sunday evening at the Big Dipper. Should the Dogs lead the series 2-0, it shifts to Minnesota for games 3-5.
Both teams spread the offense around in the first round of the playoffs. Seventeen Magicians marked the score sheet, while 14 Ice Dogs notched at least a point in their respected series’. Ice Dogs rookie Matt Koethe closed out the regular season on a tear, and continued his hot play into the postseason, collecting four points off two goals and two assists in the first round. Arizona State commit Jax Murray also tabbed four points, all of which came on assists. Cameron Bule, Jackson Jutting and Chris Konin led the Minnesota squad with five points in round one.
Rookie goalie Mattias Sholl also came into postseason play piping hot in the Ice Dogs net. He followed suit with Koethe, posting a 0.67 goals against average, with a .971 save percentage against Janesville. Minnesota’s Ethan Haider posted a .938 GAA, allowing two goals per game against the Jr. Blues. Each tendy posted a shutout in round one.
The Ice Dogs went 6-2 against the Magicians in the regular season, shutting the Richfield based team out four times in those six wins. However, that was then and this is now… with a chance to play in May at stake.
Playoff tickets for games one and two of the second round are available at all ticket outlets on Fort Wainwright, Eielson, Play It Again Sports, the Ice Dogs office located at 139 32nd Ave, or online at https://www.fairbanksicedogs.com/individual-game-tickets.
