FAIRBANKS— Behind a goal and an assist from Ethan Somoza and Chandler Madry, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs ran their winning streak to four games on Friday in Wenatchee, Washington.
Somoza and Madry each scored a power play goal during a three goal second period as the Ice Dogs beat the Wenatchee Wild 4-1 at the Town Toyota Center.
“We were just able to find some ways to score goals,” Ice Dogs head coach Trevor Stewart said by cellphone. “We weren’t overly sharp and the guys know that.”
The Ice Dogs, winners of seven of their last eight games, have opened up a three point lead atop the North American Hockey League’s Midwest Division. The reigning Robertson Cup champions were tied for fourth place in the division on Sept. 27 before the streak began.
“Scoring a lot of goals,” Stewart said of the reason for the winning streak. “You should win some games when you’re scoring five goals a game.”
Fairbanks has scored 21 goals in the last four games, averaging 5.25 goals per game. Over the last eight games, the Ice Dogs are averaging 4.1 goals a game.
Somoza put the Ice Dogs (9-6-1) ahead at the 2 minutes, 4 seconds into the second period with his eighth goal of the season. Somoza, a Bemidji State recruit, was assisted by Hans Gorowsky, a Lake Superior State recruit.
Somoza is second on the Ice Dogs with 18 points on eight goals and 10 assists.
“We were a little more aggressive in the second period,” Stewart said. “It’s what we talked about between periods, just being aggressive and harder on pucks.”
Fairbanks went 2 for 4 with the man advantage while the Wild was 1 for 6 on the powerplay.
Madry extended the lead to 3-0 at the 15:19 with his sixth goal of the season. Madry was assisted by John Teets on the goal.
Madry picked up an assist on Jacob Hetz’s goal at the 5:19 mark of the second period. Hetz’s goal made it 2-0 Ice Dogs.
Madry leads the Ice Dogs with 22 points and 16 assists in 16 games this season while Hetz leads the team with nine goals and is third on the team with 17 points.
Patrick Munson made 40 saves for the Ice Dogs while Zach Quinn stopped 28 shots for the Wild.
After David Powlowski scored to bring the Wild (3-6-2) within two goals 1:41 into the third period, Ryner Gorowsky regaind the three-goal lead for the Ice Dogs. Gorowsky, who was assisted by Somoza, scored on the Ice Dogs’ first shot of the third period at the 7:53 mark.
The Ice Dogs and Wild conclude the two-game series at 6:05 p.m. ADT today in Wenatchee before returning to Fairbanks for a nine-game homestand.
Contact sports reporter Tim O’Donnell at 459-7583. Follow him on Twitter: @FDNMSportsGuy
