The host Fairbanks Ice Dogs swept the Kenai River Brown Bears in a three-game North American Hockey League series this weekend.
After a 7-2 win Thursday, Fairbanks won 5-4 in overtime Friday and 6-3 on Saturday.
The sweep knots up the Ravn Cup, the seasonlong battle for supremacy between Alaska’s two junior teams, at 3-3. Both teams also have one extra-time loss in the series.
Fairbanks stretched its lead over the second-place Brown Bears in the Midwest Division to 15 points. The Ice Dogs are 33-9-1-2, while the Bears are 24-15-3-3.
Friday, the Ice Dogs came from two goals down in the third period.
Wasilla’s Porter Schachle, assisted by Peter Morgan and Daymin Dodge, scored the lone goal of the first period to give the Bears a solid start.
Anchorage’s Zach Krajnik, assisted by Logan Ritchie, then put the Bears up 2-0 early in the second period. Adam Eisele got Fairbanks on the board, but Trey LaBarge, assisted by Cody Moline and Laudon Poellinger, put the Bears up 3-1 with 2:45 left in the second period. Fairbanks’ Matt Koethe made it 3-2 headed to the third.
Krajnik, assisted by Ritchie and JJ Boucher, gave the Bears a 4-2 lead just 1:32 into the third period. But by the 12:09 mark in the third, Laker Aldridge and Dylan Abbott had things tied for the Ice Dogs.
Lucas Erickson scored just 15 seconds into overtime to end the game.
Landon Pavlisin stopped 33 for Kenai River, while Mattias Sholl had 19 saves for the Ice Dogs.
Saturday, Krajnik scored twice in the third period, while Anchorage’s Max Osborne added another goal, but Fairbanks left the first tied at 3, then scored two in the second and one in the third.
Pavlisin made 23 saves, while Wild stopped 22.
Friday
Ice Dogs 5, Brown Bears 4
Kenai River 1 2 1 0 —4
Fairbanks 0 2 2 1 —5
First period — 1. Kenai River, Schachle (Morgan, Dodge), 2:06. Penalties — Kenai River 1 for 2:00; Fairbanks 3 for 6:00.
Second period — 2. Kenai River, Krajnik (Ritchie), 4:05; 3. Fairbanks, Eisele (Kjaer, Erickson), pp, 14:50; 4. Kenai River, LaBarge (Moline, Poellinger), 17:15; 5. Fairbanks, Koethe (Ciolli, Woods), 18:47. Penalties — Kenai River 2 for 4:00.
Third period — 6. Kenai River, Krajnik (Ritchie, Boucher), 1:32; 7. Fairbanks, Aldridge (Deweese, Plante), 5:53; 8. Fairbanks, Abbott (Koethe, Ciolli), 7:51. Penalties — Fairbanks 1 for 2:00.
Overtime — 9. Fairbanks, Erickson (Kjaer, Brown), 0:15. Penalties — none.
Shots on goal — Kenai River 8-7-8-0—23; Fairbanks 15-12-10-1—38.
Goalies — Kenai River, Pavlisin (38 shots, 33 saves); Fairbanks, Sholl (23 shots, 19 saves).
Power plays — Kenai River 0 for 3, Fairbanks 1 for 2.
Saturday
Ice Dogs 6, Brown Bears 3
Kenai River 3 0 0 —3
Fairbanks 3 2 1 —6
First period — 1. Kenai River, Krajnik (un.), 1:16; 2. Fairbanks, Aldridge (Brown), 3:27; 3. Kenai River, Krajnik (Helgeson, Osborne), 4:36; 4. Fairbanks, Link (Erkkila, Braslavski), 5:35; 5. Fairbanks, Koethe (Ciolli, Johnston), pp, 8:33; 6. Kenai River, Osborne (Ritchie, Helgeson), pp, 19:53. Penalties — Kenai River 2 for 4:00; Fairbanks 2 for 4:00.
Second period — 7. Fairbanks, Kjaer (Erickson, Eisele), 7:03; 8. Fairbanks, Junker (Brown), 15:14. Penalties — Kenai River 3 for 6:00; Fairbanks 2 for 4:00.
Third period — 9. Fairbanks, Abbott (Aldridge), 3:54. Penalties — Kenai River 2 for 4:00; Fairbanks 1 for 2:00.
Shots on goal — Kenai River 14-7-8—29; Fairbanks 11-15-5—31.
Goalies — Kenai River, Pavlisin (29 shots, 23 saves); Fairbanks, Wild (25 shots, 22 saves).
Power plays — Kenai River 1 for 4; Fairbanks 2 for 6.
