Team holds own in Alaska

The Minnesota Wilderness wrapped up a successful road trip to Alaska last weekend by splitting with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, winning 2-1 on Friday before falling 5-3 on Saturday.

The loss snapped a four-game road win streak to start the season for Minnesota, and left the Wilderness with a 3-1 road swing through the 49th state.

The Wilderness are 11-6-2 heading into a pair of games in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, on Friday and Saturday.

Against Fairbanks, the Wilderness got goals from Eddie Shepler and Beau Janzig in Friday’s win. Goalie Isak Posch earned the victory in net, making 22 saves on 23 shots.

Minnesota limited Fairbanks to a single power play goal on four chances in that game. The Ice Dogs entered the series with the North American Hockey League’s best power play.

On Saturday, Fairbanks erased a two-goal deficit, getting two power play goals overall, while also scoring three goals in a 3-minute, 31-second span in the second period.

Kevin Mark Noren scored his team-leading ninth goal for Minnesota. It was his first goal against his former team following a trade to Minnesota in September.

Friday’s win was only the second regular-season victory for Minnesota over Fairbanks in eight meetings.

Through roughly 20 games overall, the NAHL’s Midwest Division standings are as follows: Janesville (28 points), Fairbanks (28), Kenai River (27), Minnesota (24), Chippewa (24), Anchorage (20), Springfield (18) and Wisconsin (17). Fairbanks is the top-scoring team in the division with 73 goals in 23 games. Minnesota owns 53 goals in 19 contests, and its 0.632 winning percentage is second best in the division.