Wild face elimination in playoffs

FAIRBANKS, Alaska - The Wenatchee Wild will need to regroup and come up with a win Sunday to avoid being eliminated from the Robertson Cup playoffs after suffering a 6-3 loss to the Fairbanks Ice Dogs Saturday in Game 2 of the West Division finals.

Fairbanks took an early lead Saturday, capitalizing on a Wild penalty 86 seconds into the contest when Zach Vierling knocked in a pass from Jack Callahan from right in front of the cage. The Wild had two power plays of its own later in the first, but could not come up with the equalizer.

Fairbanks captured a 2-goal lead 2:10 into the second stanza when Callahan lit the lamp on an odd-man break. Vierling and Tyler Voigt assisted. The Wild had two power plays following Callahan's marker, but netminder Joe Phillippi and the Ice Dogs kept the door closed again. John Stampohar scored on a breakaway with a little over five minutes remaining before the intermission to put Fairbanks up, 3-0. Vierling and Colton Wolter assisted.

Wenatchee broke up Phillippi's shutout with 23 seconds remaining in the second period. During the Wild's fifth power play of the night, Jacob Barber (Dardenne Prairie, Mo.) entered the offensive zone down the left wing 2-on-2 before sailing a wrister into the twine from inside the near faceoff circle. Michael Di Puma (Chicago, Ill.) and Chris Rumble (Chesapeake, Va.) assisted.

Fairbanks scored two goals early in the third period to claim a 5-1 lead. J.T. Osborn scored the first of those goals at the 2:25 mark on a redirect off of Brandon Carlson's shot from the point. Tayler Munson scored the Ice Dogs' fifth goal, capping off a 2-on-1 at the 4:16 mark. Alec Hajdukovich and Jared Linnell assisted.

The Wild went on to score a pair of even-strength goals with a little less than eight minutes remaining in regulation to cut the lead down to 5-3. Di Puma scored on a wrister from the top of the near circle with 7:55 left in the game on a pass from Shawn Pauly (Bellingham, Wash.). Twelve seconds later, Pauly scored from the near wing on a helper from Bradley Shumway (Lafayette, Colo.) from the far point. The Wild went with an extra-attacker early, but Carlson tacked on an empty-netter with 83 seconds left in the contest for the 6-3 final.

Phillippi turned aside 46-of-49 shots to earn his fifth win in as many postseason games this season. Brandon Jaeger (Champlin, Minn.) made 28 saves on 33 shots for the Wild while Greg Lewis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) stopped all seven of the shots he faced in the third period. Fairbanks scored one power-play goal on two chances while Wenatchee went 1-for-6.

Vierling led Fairbanks with a goal and three assists. Carlson and Callahan each scored a goal and an assist while Linnell recorded two assists. Di Puma and Pauly paced Wenatchee with a goal and an assist each.

Game 3 of the series was played last night but results were not available at press time.