Brown Bears, Ice Dogs split weekend series

The Kenai River Brown Bears and Fairbanks Ice Dogs split a North American Hockey League series Friday and Saturday at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex.

The Ice Dogs won 3-0 Friday before the Bears won 2-0 Saturday.

The weekend leaves Fairbanks with the lead in the Club 49 Cup. The Ice Dogs have 18, while the Brown Bears have seven and the Anchorage Wolverines have six.

The Ice Dogs remain in third place in the Midwest Division at 20-7-1-3, good for 44 points. The Bears are in seventh at 13-19-1-2, good for 29 points. The Springfield (Illinois) Jr. Blues currently have the fourth and final playoff spot out of the division with 40 points.

The Bears stay at home to take on the Anchorage Wolverines on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 17 and 18, at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Bears goalie Owen Zenone made 29 saves to post his second NAHL shutout.

“Props to him, too, because he immediately gave credit to everybody who was out there blocking pucks,” Kenai River head coach Taylor Shaw said.

Kenai River’s penalty kill shined all weekend, holding the Ice Dogs scoreless in 13 power plays.

With 8:15 left in the first period Saturday, the Bears took a five-minute major. With 2:37 left in that major, the Bears took a two-minute minor. That meant two full minutes of five-on-three.

The Bears killed off both penalties to set the tone for the game.

“That five-minute power play, we need to capitalize on that,” Fairbanks head coach Ryan Theros said. “That’s the game changer, right there.”

Then with 2:08 left in the first period, Luke Lizak drove the net and dished to Sam Anderson, who finished. Michael Fiedorczuk also assisted on the play.

“When you get a big kill like that, you kind of just feel the energy turn a little bit,” Zenone said. “Then we go ahead and get that goal.

“So from there, you can kind of feel like you have the upper hand the rest of the game.”

Anderson, 17, joined the team in mid-December and scored in his fourth game with the Bears.

“Just a kid that’s starving for an opportunity and would do anything to wear a Brown Bears jersey in a game,” Shaw said. “For him to get rewarded tonight was awesome.

“I think he needed that confidence-wise.”

In the second period, Colten Nestler, assisted by Austin Petersen and Jake Georgy, whistled a backhand past Fairbanks goalie Charlie Menard for a 2-0 lead.

Menard, who shut the Bears out Friday, ranks third in the league in goals-against average and fourth in save percentage. He made 26 saves Saturday.

“He’s an unbelievable goaltender,” Shaw said of Menard. “He’s one of the best I’ve seen in the league this year. We had to test him.

“I thought the boys did a good job getting to the net and getting scoring opportunities. I thought they did that last night as well.”

In the third period, the Bears had to kill off a minor, double-minor and deal with a Fairbanks extra attacker to preserve the victory and shutout.

Zenone said the Bears gained momentum with each penalty kill.

“They’re really good at creating traffic and taking my eyes away, so I relied on my defensemen to eat those pucks for me, and they did that all night,” Zenone said.

With defenseman Luke Hause and forwards Jackson Ebbott, Thomas Gunderson and Andy Larson out with injury, the Bears had to play defensemen Joel Hanson and Jake Georgy at forward.

“It was guys just filling roles to be able to find a way to win,” Shaw said.

Shaw and Zenone said getting a win in front of a big home crowd is just what the Bears need in the playoff chase.

“Coach Shaw keeps telling us you’re never out of the hunt, especially still in January,” Zenone said. “So as long as we keep winning the weekend, we’re going to find ourselves in a really good spot when it comes time to really count the points up.”

Theros, whose squad had a goal called off late in the second period when the referee ruled the puck was kicked in, said it was a frustrating loss and the team is looking forward to returning home this week.

“We’re on a six-week road trip,” he said. “We haven’t been at home since November 28.

“It’s just one of those things. We’ve got to play better and take advantage of our opportunities on the power play.”

Friday, Menard posted a 29-save shutout for the Ice Dogs.

Though the Ice Dogs did not score on any of the seven power-play chances, a first-period goal by Ryan Oster, a second-period goal by Gage Leonard and a third-period goal by Wyatt Carlson were enough to carry the day.

Zenone had 26 saves for the Bears, who did not score on three power-play chances.

Friday

Ice Dogs 3, Brown Bears 0

Fai 1 1 1 —3

Ken 0 0 0 —0

First period — 1. Fairbanks, Oster (VanSickle, Plante), 4:58. Penalties — Fairbanks 2 for 4:00; Kenai River 4 for 8:00.

Second period — 2. Fairbanks, Leonard (Bergner), 18:07. Penalties — Fairbanks 1 for 2:00; Kenai River 2 for 4:00.

Third period — 3. Fairbanks, Carlson (Timm, Burke), 4:17. Penalties — Kenai River 1 for 2:00.

Shots on goal — Fairbanks 13-10-6—29; Kenai River 11-6-12—29.

Goalies — Fairbanks, Menard (29 shots, 29 saves); Kenai River, Zenone (29 shots, 26 saves).

Power plays — Fairbanks 0 for 7; Kenai River 0 for 3.

Saturday

Brown Bears 2, Ice Dogs 0

Fai 0 0 0 —0

Ken 1 1 0 —2

First period — 1. Kenai River, Anderson (Lizak, Fiedorczuk), 17:51. Penalties — Fairbanks 1 for 2:00; Kenai River 3 for 17:00.

Second period — 2. Kenai River, Nestler (Petersen, Georgy), 5:21. Penalties — Fairbanks 4 for 8:00; Kenai River 4 for 8:00.

Third period — none. Penalties — Kenai River 3 for 6:00.

Shots on goal — Fairbanks 8-8-13—29; Kenai River 17-8-3—28.

Goalies — Fairbanks, Menard (28 shots, 26 saves); Kenai River, Zenone (29 shots, 29 saves).

Power plays — Fairbanks 0 for 6; Kenai River 0 for 2.