Wenatchee swept by Fairbanks Ice Dogs

Wenatchee Wild hockey

by CONNOR VANDERWEYST & Herald Sports Editor
Staff Writer | February 13, 2014 5:00 AM

FAIRBANKS, AK. - The Wenatchee Wild struggled on the road recently as the team was swept by the Fairbanks Ice Dogs.

Wenatchee (22-19-6) was unable to rally after falling behind in the first two games and lost in a shootout in the series finale.

"They (Ice Dogs) played harder than we did," head coach Bliss Littler said after Thursday's loss. "They won all the 50/50 battles. Chase Perry kept us in the hockey game tonight. When you play the best team in the league you've got to have better effort than that."

In game one, Fairbanks took an early lead behind two first period goals. James Mathias and Omar Mullan were able to find the back of the net in the second period and tied the game at 2-2.

However, Fairbanks was able to reclaim the lead in the waning minutes of the second period.

The Wild pulled their goaltender in the final minutes of the third period with hopes of scoring the equalizer, but time ran out and the Ice Dogs were able to hold on for a 3-2 win.

Fairbanks led by as many as four goals in the second game and cruised to a 6-3 win. Wenatchee's Alex Rauter tied the game at 1-1 in the first period before the Ice Dogs scored four unanswered goals to take a 5-1 lead in the second period.

Rauter and Nicholas Rivera scored in the second period to cut into the deficit, but Fairbanks was able to tack on one more goal in the third period and secured the victory.

"Believe it or not, we played much better than we did last night," Littler said. "Better effort all the way around tonight. Every time they (Fairbanks) had an opportunity, we made a glaring mistake and they made us pay for every one of them."

Wenatchee took an early lead in the series finale behind a first period goal from Brendan Harris, but Fairbanks was able to score the equalizer in the second period. No team scored in the third or overtime and the game headed to a shootout.

Fairbanks was able to edge Wenatchee in the shootout, 4-3, and the Wild fell for the third time in a row, 1-2.