The Minnesota Magicians lost a pair of home games to the Fairbanks Ice Dogs to start the first round of the NAHL Playoffs over the weekend. They now have a tall task ahead of them and must win three games on the road in order to advance to the next round.
On Friday night, the Magicians hosted the Ice Dogs in game one of the best of five series. Forward Davis Kirkendall got the scoring started for the Magicians to give the team a one goal lead heading into the first intermission. Fairbanks answered with a pair of goals in the second period to take a 2-1 lead heading into third. Despite sustained pressure and numerous chances including a shot off the goal post with just seconds remaining, the Magicians were unable to score again and fell by a final score of 2-1.
On Saturday night the Magicians got another early goal, as Pieter von Steinbergs scored to make it 1-0 less than two minutes into the game. Unfortunately, it would be the last of the scoring for the Magicians, who were unable to solve Fairbanks goaltender Erik Gordon all weekend. The Ice Dogs, on the other, capitalized on their chances and found the back of the net four times over the course of the game and walked away with a 4-1 victory, along with a 2-0 series lead. The two teams will play the remainder of the series in Fairbanks, Alaska this weekend. In order to advance, the Magicians must win three games in a row.