Ice Dogs edge closer 1st place with 3-0 shutout win

Fairbanks 3 @ Alaska 0 - Goaltender Alex Fons pitched a shutout and his Fairbanks Ice Dogs teammates backed him with three goals as the Fairbanks Ice Dogs earned a key North American Hockey League victory against the Alaska Avalanche Thursday night in Palmer.  Max Birkinbine, Pavlo Padakin and JT Osborn scored goals for Fairbanks, while Fons was flawless in the net, stopping all 26 shots that came his way.  Alaska stepped up the pressure after getting only five shots in the first period, but Fons was up for everything the Avalanche could throw at him.  Fons stopped nine shots in the second period and slammed the door with 12 saves in the third.  The Ice Dogs finished with 23 shots on goal against Avalanche goalies Nick Kulmanovsky (first period) and Bodhi Engum.  Birkinbine got the Ice Dogs on the scoreboard at 5:56 of the first period off assists from Sean O’Rourke and Anton Racklin.  Padakin gave the Ice Dogs a 2-0 cushion with an assist going to Russell Finch.  Osborn added an insurance goal in the second period with assists going to Racklin and Tayler Munson.  The win boosted the Ice Dogs, 22-8-7, to within six points of the West Divsion leading Avalanche, 27-13-3. Boxscore

Wichita Falls 2 @ Corpus Christi 5 - The Corpus Christi IceRays solved the Matt Leon mystery on Thursday inside the American Bank Center as they beat the Wichita Falls Wildcats 5-2 ending the two game losing streak.  The Wildcats got the scoring going 7:41 into the game off a big shot from the point, Anthony Stolarz made the original save, however Patrick Yudez scooped up the rebound and fired it into the net for a 1-0 lead.  Corpus Christi tied the game with 4:38 left to go in the first period as Perry D’Arrisso sped past the Wildcats defense, picked up the loose puck and backhanded it past goaltender Matt Leon tying the game at one goal a piece with his 11th of the year.  In the second period Beau Walker broke the tie game with his ninth goal of the year for a 2-1 lead as he rifled a shot top shelf on Matt Leon.  The IceRays poured it on in the middle period and AJ Jarosz gave them a 3-1 lead on the power-play 9:22 into the period.  Joe Smereck was credited with the next goal for a 4-1 advantage.  Eric Purcell came back after a nasty injury and scored the fifth goal of the night for Corpus Christi on a pass from Frank Misuraca for a 5-1 lead with 1:54 left in the second period.  The lone goal of the third period was scored off the stick of Tanner Fahlstedt pulling the Wildcats within three goals, however the IceRays won 5-2.  Anthony Stolarz stopped 41 of 43 shots on net in the victory. Boxscore