Ice Dogs advance to Robertson Cup championship game

The West Division champion Fairbanks Ice Dogs (3-0) advanced to the championship game of the North American Hockey League’s (NAHL) Robertson Cup Championship Tournament after finishing the round-robin portion of the event, which is being held at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, Kan., with the most points (six).

The South Division champion Amarillo Bulls (2-1), who finished with the second-highest point total (four), will take on the North Division champion Michigan Warriors (1-2), who completed the round robin with two points, in the semifinal game on Friday at 7:35 p.m. (CST).

The winner of the semifinal will take on Fairbanks in the championship game on Saturday at 7:35 p.m.

With the fewest points at the conclusion of the round robin (zero), the NAHL’s regular-season champion and host Topeka RoadRunners are eliminated from the tournament.

In the Ice Dogs’ 2-1 win over Amarillo in the first game of the final day of the round robin on Thursday, forwards Jared Linnell and Zach Vierling (game-winner) connected for the goals, and goaltender Joe Phillippi made 27 saves.

View the box score here.

The Warriors downed the RoadRunners, 5-2, in the final game of the round robin. Forward Brad Chapman rang up a pair of goals, including the game-winner, for Michigan, and forward Ryan Green (two assists) and defenseman Kevin Gibson (goal, assist) also fashioned two-point nights. Between the pipes, goaltender Robert Tadazak turned aside 22 shots.

View the box score here.

The Robertson Cup crowns the playoff champion of the NAHL and USA Hockey's Tier II Junior A national champion.

View the complete Robertson Cup Championship Tournament schedule here.

All Robertson Cup Championship Tournament games can be viewed live over the Internet through FASTHockey.com.

For more information on the tournament, visit RobertsonCup.com.