FAIRBANKS ICE DOGS at JANESVILLE JETS — Janesville Ice Arena
Fri 1/26 | 7:00pm | Janesville, WI
LIVE STREAM: HockeyTV | TWITTER: @JanesvilleJets1
LAST WEEKEND: On the road facing the Minnesota Magicians, the Jets’ win streak ended at six with a Friday night loss to head coach Ben Weiand’s squad. The Jets rebounded Saturday, surviving a late-game surge from Minnesota with TJ Polglaze leading the heroics with the overtime game-winner.
TONIGHT: The Fairbanks Ice Dogs are far and away the NAHL’s hottest team, coming into Janesville on a 13-game win streak, dating back to a 3-2 overtime loss on December 2 versus Kenai River, and a 21-game point streak, dating all the way back to November 10, a 5-1 loss to Bismarck. The Ice Dogs’ stretch has now encompassed more than a third of the 60-game regular season, and despite Janesville’s recent winning ways, has kept Fairbanks comfortably at the top of the Midwest Division. Coming into tonight, the gap is at 11 points, tied with the South Division’s race between Shreveport (1st) and Odessa (2nd) for the largest lead in the NAHL.
That said, this lead is surmountable for Gary Shuchuk’s Jets. Janesville holds three games in hand over Fairbanks, and will play the Ice Dogs four times in the second half, including tonight.
These are the stats and figures that fans and media read and talk about with the playoff picture taking shape. Inside the locker room, though, 100% of the focus is on tonight.
SEASON SERIES (Ice Dogs 1-0-1-0)
| Oct. 13 | Fairbanks | W, 3-2 (OT) |
| Oct. 14 | Fairbanks | L, 5-3 |
| Jan. 26 | Fairbanks | 7:00pm CT |
| Mar. 15 | @ Fairbanks | 10:00pm CT |
| Mar. 16 | @ Fairbanks | 10:30pm CT |
| Mar. 17 | @ Fairbanks | 10:30pm CT |
Midwest Division Standings:
| Place | Team | Record | Pts |
| 1 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 28-5-3-2 | 61 |
| 2 | Janesville Jets | 23-8-2-0 | 48 |
| 3 | Springfield Jr. Blues | 18-15-3-1 | 40 |
| 4 | Minnesota Magicians | 18-16-3-1 | 40 |
| 5 | Coulee Region Chill | 9-19-3-5 | 26 |
| 6 | Kenai River Brown Bears | 12-24-1-1 | 26 |
FAIRBANKS ICE DOGS
OVERVIEW:
Record: 28-5-3-2 (1st. Midwest)
Road Record: 15-1-1-1
Goals For/Goals Against: 145GF/77GA
Power Play: 21.5% (7th in the NAHL)
Penalty Kill: 90.3% (1st in the NAHL)
Top Scorers: Erkka Vanska (38GP—17G-24A—41PTS), Samuel Ruffin (38GP—14G-25A—39PTS); Multiple Players (37PTS)
JANESVILLE JETS
OVERVIEW:
Record: 24-9-2-0 (2nd, Midwest)
Home Record: 12-5-1-0
Goals For/Goals Against: 104GF/87GA
Power Play: 20.5% (9th in the NAHL)
Penalty Kill: 77.5% (16th in the NAHL)
Top Scorers: Jakov Novak (32GP—19G-27A—46PTS); Kip Hoffmann (35GP—13G-25A—38PTS); TJ Polglaze (35GP—6G-16A—22PTS)