MN Wilderness shrugs off penalties, upends Fairbanks, 5-2

The Fairbanks Ice Dogs failed to take advantage of their power play opportunities and the MN Wilderness shook off a number of penalties to win, 5-2.

MN Wilderness was led by Richard Buri, who had one goal. Buri scored 6:31 into the second period to make the score 3-1 MN Wilderness. Tyler Hart picked up the assist.

The Wilderness were often in penalty trouble, totaling eight minors and two majors for 46 minutes in penalty time. MN Wilderness had been averaging 18.0 minutes in penalties per game. The Wilderness put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow Fairbanks to score on any of its six power plays. MN Wilderness surpassed its usual scoring output this season. This season, the Wilderness average 2.7 goals per contest. MN Wilderness’ defensemen were a huge part of the offense, scoring two goals and taking 12 shots.

MN Wilderness also got points from Terry Leibo, who also grabbed one goal and one assist. MN Wilderness also had goals scored by John May, who had one and Billy Exell, who had two. More assists for MN Wilderness came via Alex Fredberg, Brett Heikkila, Jakob Romo, and Thomas Lindstrom, who each chipped in one and Colton Kramer and Darian Romanko, who contributed two a piece.

The the Ice Dogs penalty box was a popular destination as the team totaled 11 minors and one major for 37 minutes in penalty time. Fairbanks surpassed its season average of 24.0 penalty minutes per game. The Ice Dogs’ defense was uncharacteristically lax during the game. Fairbanks gives up 2.1 goals per game. With 39 shots on target during the contest, the Ice Dogs exceeded the 31.1 shots they average per game this year.

Fairbanks was helped by Jacob Hetz, who tallied one goal. Hetz scored 17:12 into the third period to make the score 4-2 MN Wilderness. Brett Gervais assisted on the tally. Tayler Munson also scored for Fairbanks. Other players who recorded assists for Fairbanks were Colton Wolter, Viktor Liljegren, and Chandler Madry, who each chipped in one.

Frank Oplinger made 37 saves for the Wilderness on 39 shots. MN Wilderness registered one goal on eight power play opportunities. The Wilderness ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Fredberg was ejected from the game. Kevin Aldridge recorded 21 saves for the Ice Dogs.