The Minnesota Wilderness tamed one of the most ferocious environments for a NAHL visiting team this weekend, by sweeping the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in their first two 2023-24 home contests.
On Friday night, the Wilderness overcame a 2-goal deficit in the final moments of the third period by scoring two extra attacker goals before winning the game in overtime, 4-3.
As an encore on Saturday night, the Wilderness went to a shootout for the first time this season, where it outscored the Ice Dogs 2-1, and won the game, 3-2.
Ashton Dahms and Gustavs Ozolins led the way with each finishing with four point-weekends—Dahms posting three goals and one assist, while Ozolins had one tally and three helpers over the two games. Goaltender Ben Dardis earned two wins in net, with 29 saves Friday and 27 saves Saturday, along with four saves in Saturday’s shootout.
In Friday’s contest, a scoreless first period led to a second frame where the two teams traded single goals. After Brent Gulenchyn put Fairbanks up 1-0, Adam Johnson cashed in with his first of two on the night. Johnson converted with 18 seconds left in the middle stanza on a two-on-one after receiving a pass from Dahms, with Ozolins also assisting on the goal.
In the third, it appeared Fairbanks would take control when Lance Mengel and Kole Altergott beat Dardis to put the home team up 3-1. But the Wilderness did not give up as it pulled Dardis for an extra attacker and tied the game thanks to Johnnson’s second of the game with 1:20 left and Dahms scoring with 42 seconds remaining. Ozolins and Beau Janzig earned assists on Johnson’s tally, while Janzig and Daniel Astapovich posted helpers on Dahms’ tying goal.
Dahms and Johnson would connect again on the game-winner. This time, it was Dahms lighting the lamp when he fired in a rebound of a shot from Johnson from the left point.
Tyler Krivtsov took the loss in net for Fairbanks with 25 saves. The Ice Dogs outshot the Wilderness, 32-29.
Neither team was successful on the power play as both were scoreless on four chances.
In Saturday’s game, all of the regulation time scoring was in the 2nd period. Twice the Wilderness had the lead, and twice Fairbanks fought back to tie. Dahms opened the scoring with an assist from Ozolins when he fired in his own rebound, after his initial shot struck Ice Dog (and former Cloquet-Esko-Carlton Lumberjack) netminder Kyle Abrahamson. The puck landed behind the goaltender, and Dahms snuck his stick forward to slip it into the the net, to make it 1-0 just 19 seconds into the middle frame.
After Marc Lund lit the lamp for Fairbanks to tie the game, Ozolins put the Wilderness back in front after a shot he took from the left circle was initially stopped by Abrahamson, but the rebound deflected off one of the goaltender’s Fairbanks teammates and then bounced into the net.
The Ice Dogs tied the game again to make it 2-2 thanks to a goal from Colton Mauser, and that was the score through the end of the third period and 5-minute overtime.
The shootout lasted five rounds with Oliver Stümpel scoring to put Minnesota in front in round 1, only to see Fairbanks’ Nick Blood even the score at 1 in round three. A goal from Ozolins in the top of round 5 ended up being the clincher, as Dardis denied Reece Cordray in the Ice Dogs’ last attempt to extend the shootout in the bottom half of the 5th.
On special teams, power plays were again scoreless in game 2, with the Wilderness denied on three chances, and Fairbanks blanked on one. Both teams did connect on a 4-on-4 early in the 2nd period.
Minnesota outshot the Ice Dogs Saturday night by a 36-29 count.
This weekend marked the first time in franchise history that the Wilderness won both games in a weekend series in Fairbanks. Prior to these last two games, the Wilderness were victorious only twice in eight regular season contests at the Big Dipper Ice Arena.
The Wilderness Alaska swing concludes this weekend with games at two different opponents. Minnesota visits Kenai River Friday for a rematch of last season’s first round playoff series, which the Wilderness won 3-games-to-none. The trip concludes Saturday in Anchorage as Minnesota takes on the Wolverines.