FAIRBANKS, ALASKA- The Springfield Jr. Blues are learning that games in hand only count for something if you win them. With the NAHL Midwest Division leading Ice Dogs idle over the weekend, the Jr. Blues were primed use two of their four games in hand to overtake, or at least tie the Ice Dogs in the standings. Neither happened as the North Iowa Bulls, who sit in 5th place in the NAHL Central Division, swept Springfield (3-1, 5-3) over the weekend.

The Ice Dogs (63 points through 48 games), lead the Jr. Blues (61 points through 46 games) by two points heading into the month of March. The Anchorage Wolverines are 10 points back of Springfield, but have played just 43 games (tied for least in the NAHL through Feb. 27). The upstart Janesville Jets (44 games), winners of seven in a row, have jumped into a 4th-place tie with the Minnesota Magicians (46 games) with 49 points. The Minnesota Wilderness (43 games) are just 2 points out of playoff contention with 47 points. The Chippewa Steel (40 points) are fading, while the Kenai River Brown Bears (29 points) are on the brink of playoff elimination.

Of the 12 games remaining on the Ice Dogs’ schedule, six come against the Anchorage Wolverines. The Dogs play the Brown Bears four times and the Chippewa Steel twice to close out the regular season. The Dogs hit the road for weekends in Anchorage (March 4-5) and Kenai (March 11-12). The Dogs then return to Fairbanks for back to back home weekends, taking on Anchorage (March 18-19) and Chippewa (March 24-25). The final road trip of the regular season brings the Ice Dogs back to the Kenai Peninsula for a 2-game series against the Brown Bears April 1-2. The Dogs close out the regular season at home against Anchorage for parents weekend April 8-9 at the Big Dipper Ice Arena.

PURCHASE HOME GAME TICKETS HERE

The Ice Dogs spaghetti feed and raffle is set for April 10. Tickets remain available for the raffle and can be purchased from your favorite player, the Ice Dogs office or at the merchandise table at the remaining home games. Tickets are $100 each, with 300 tickets sold and over $14 thousand in cash winners.

DOG BITES

• ALEXANDER MALINOWSKI LEADS (T) THE NAHL WITH A 28-34-62 SCORING LINE

• MALINOWSKI RANKS FOURTH IN NAHL WITH 28 GOALS

• MALINOWSKI: 12 GAME POINT STREAK IN HOME GAMES

• KEVIN MARX-NOREN RANKS 3RD IN NAHL WITH A 10-13-23 PP SCORING LINE

• TYLER STEWART RANKS 3RD (T) IN NAHL WITH 6 GWG

• TYLER KRIVTSOV RANKS 4TH (T) WITH .883 SHOOTOUT SAVE PERCENTAGE

• ICE DOGS LEAD NAHL WITH 199 GOALS (4.15 PER GAME)