The Minnesota Mallards are staying in Alaska for another week, and they will head to Anchorage with plenty of momentum after taking two of three games from the Fairbanks Ice Dogs.
Minnesota opened the three-game series with a loss Thursday night before responding with back-to-back victories on Friday and Saturday to finish the weekend strong.
The Mallards will now head south to Anchorage for a two-game series against the Wolverines on November 6 and 7.
Fairbanks Takes the Opener
Thursday night started as a back-and-forth battle at the Big Dipper Ice Arena.
Fairbanks struck first, but Minnesota answered in the second period with a power-play goal from Jack Fang.
Eli Milinkovich later found the back of the net to tie the game again before Thomas Gale added another power-play goal late in the second period, sending the teams into the final frame with Fairbanks holding a narrow advantage.
The Ice Dogs pulled away in the third, scoring three times to finish off a 6-3 victory.
It was not the start Minnesota wanted, but the Mallards would respond in a big way over the next two nights.
Gordon Leads the Way Friday
Friday’s game was a much tighter defensive battle.
Captain Ty Gordon opened the scoring late in the first period after being awarded a penalty shot. Gordon made the most of the opportunity, beating the Fairbanks goaltender on the backhand to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
From there, the Mallards were forced to withstand plenty of pressure from the Ice Dogs.
Roman Batih was strong in net and helped Minnesota protect the one-goal advantage through the second period and most of the third.
Gordon struck again late in regulation to make it 2-0.
Fairbanks answered with a power-play goal to cut the lead to one, but Minnesota held on through the final push to earn a hard-fought 2-1 road victory.
It was exactly the type of response the Mallards needed after dropping the opening game of the series.
Mallards Finish the Weekend in a Shootout
Minnesota entered Saturday looking to take the series, but once again Fairbanks made the Mallards work for it.
The Ice Dogs opened the scoring early in the first period before Jackson Mosley answered for Minnesota.
Mosley wasn’t finished.
Late in the opening frame, he found the back of the net again to give the Mallards a 2-1 advantage.
Fairbanks tied the game early in the second period, and from there the goaltenders took over.
Neither team was able to break the 2-2 tie through the remainder of regulation or overtime, sending the series finale to a shootout.
Andrew Migliore delivered for Minnesota, scoring on the backhand before Batih shut the door on Fairbanks to secure the 3-2 victory.
Batih finished the night with an impressive 45 saves as the Mallards closed the weekend with their second straight win.
A Strong Finish in Fairbanks
Winning in Fairbanks is never easy, and after dropping the opener, Minnesota showed plenty of resilience.
The Mallards responded by winning two straight close games and came away from the final two nights with four important points.
Friday required strong defense and timely scoring.
Saturday required patience, goaltending, and another clutch shootout performance.
Those are the kinds of road wins Minnesota can build on as the season continues.
The Alaska Trip Continues
The Mallards aren’t heading home just yet.
Minnesota will stay in Alaska this week before traveling to Anchorage to face the Wolverines for a pair of games at Sullivan Arena.
The two teams will meet on:
Friday, November 6 | 7:00 PM
Saturday, November 7 | 7:00 PM
Minnesota has already seen Anchorage once this season, defeating the Wolverines in a wild 7-6 shootout back in September.
Now the Mallards will get another look at their Midwest Division opponent, this time on Anchorage’s home ice.
Carrying Momentum Into Anchorage
After closing the Fairbanks series with two consecutive victories, the goal now is to keep it rolling.
The Mallards showed they can win tight games, protect leads, battle through pressure, and finish when the game goes beyond regulation.
That confidence should serve them well heading into another difficult road environment.
Two more games remain on the Alaska trip.
Two more opportunities to collect points.
And the Mallards head to Anchorage looking to build off a strong finish in Fairbanks and keep the momentum going.
Fear The Flock. Fly Mallards Fly.
