Coming off a two-week road stint in which they only won one of their last four games, the Anchorage Wolverines were hungry for a victory Friday night when they hosted their in-state rival Fairbanks Ice Dogs at Sullivan Arena.
Thanks to a perfect penalty kill, some key contributions from a local product and a stellar performance by their goalie, the Wolverines got back on track with a 4-1 victory.
“To get that win under your belt and get your mojo and confidence back, now you can kind of breathe a little bit and just build off it,” Wolverines head coach Nick Walters said. “We have nine games remaining at home so we’re just looking to build some consistency as we head into wherever we’re at playoff-wise.”
It was a physical game in which tempers flared and boiled over multiple times, including in two fights. The second fight took place late in the third period and featured a pair of players who grew up in Anchorage, Cole Frawner of the Wolverines and Gage Leonard of the Ice Dogs.
The two were allowed to toss their gloves and helmets off and duke it out in the middle of the rink until Frawner knocked Leonard to the ice after getting in a few upper cuts. It was indicative of the game as a whole, with the Wolverines getting the better of their rivals from the Interior more often than not.
“Anytime you win against Fairbanks, it’s a good thing,” Walters said. “It was a great crowd. The games against Fairbanks are always exciting. All the guys have these circled on their calendars. We look forward to it and we love winning.”
He could tell pre-game, when his players were warming up and the arena was already filling, that they’d have a good crowd. By the final tally, there were just under 3,900 attendees.
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“Our guys feed off of that, it’s good energy, it’s loud, the foghorn is going and (PA announcer) Bob Lester is doing his thing on the mic,” Walters said. “We have a true home-ice advantage here.”
The Wolverines jumped out to a 2-0 lead about midway through the first period and tacked on another in the second to take a 3-0 lead into the third. Both teams notched a goal in the final period, with the home team’s fourth coming on an empty netter from Anchorage’s own Toby Carlson.
“Our team hasn’t been performing at the level we should be, but in a game like that, the fans were buzzing, helping us out, and it was just a great team win,” Carlson said. “Everyone did their part and it feels good to get that win.”
He led the team with two points, the first coming on an assist of fellow forward Daniel Bagnole’s second-period goal.
“I’ve always dreamed about playing in front of my hometown, and to actually be doing it is pretty surreal,” Carlson said.
With 1:07 left in the third period, he slammed the puck between the pipes for an icing-on-the-cake score.
“I just tried to aim right for the middle of the net and hoped that it’d go in and it went in,” Carlson said. “I missed one earlier, so I had to redeem myself.”
Starting goalie Michael Manzi played a major role in helping the Wolverines stay perfect on their penalty kill as he made 26-of-27 saves. The lone goal he gave up was an even-strength tally.
“He was lights out,” Walters said. “Anytime a guy can make saves to keep your team in it when our guys miss assignments in front of them, that’s an elite goaltender. You need guys to make saves when we mess up.”
Even with the win, the Wolverines still trail the Ice Dogs in the AK 49 Cup points standings, but Anchorage has a chance to close the gap down the stretch as they look to complete a three-peat.
“Both Kenai and Fairbanks, before tonight, played four more games than we have against each other, so we’re trailing but we have games on hand,” Walters said. “I always tell guys that games on hand don’t mean anything unless you execute, but it’s nice to chip away at those points.”
In the Midwest standings after Friday’s game, the Wolverines and Ice Dogs each have 60 points, trailing division-leading Wisconsin Windigo by nine points.
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