Anchorage, Alaska | 11/4/22 | Isaac Smoldon
The Anchorage Wolverines won in front of an electrified crowd Friday night, beating the Fairbanks Ice Dogs 6-5 in overtime. With the win, Anchorage takes the lead in the Club 49 Cup standings, as they have six points to Fairbanks’s five. Both teams will play each other Saturday night, with Fairbanks still looking for their first win of the season against Anchorage.
The two teams in Friday’s contest scored a goal apiece late in the 1st, with Jackson Reineke scoring for the Wolverines for his ninth of the year. The 2nd period would see five goals scored between Anchorage and the Ice Dogs, with the Wolverines jumping out to a three-goal lead following a goal from Aiden Westin and two more from Reineke for his tenth and eleventh of the season, and a hattrick in the game. Fairbanks would reel the Wolverines back in before the 2nd was over, and actually took a lead late into the 3rd period, scoring four unanswered goals in the process. Anchorage would rally with just 20 seconds left in regulation however, with Fedya Nikolayenya scoring to tie the game at five. Then, in overtime, Hayden Hennen fired a bar down snipe past Ice Dogs netminder Kayden Hargraves, and the Wolverines fog horn lit up the night, signaling an Anchorage win over their cross-state rival.
With the win, Anchorage jumps to fifth in the Midwest division, just five points shy of a playoff position. The Wolverines play Fairbanks at 7 p.m. AKDT on Saturday night, before taking on the Minnesota Wilderness on Sunday at 4 p.m. AKDT. Tickets for both games are available now at anchoragewolverines.com or at the door 30 minutes before puck-drop. The game is also available to watch live on HockeyTV.com.
