Ice Dogs Get Some Relief With Victory

After a skid that brought the Ice Dogs down to .500, Patrik Augusta admitted the players were a bit apprehensive.

But after beating a good Detroit team, 4-1, before an announced 1,102 on Wednesday, there was a noticeable sigh of relief.

“The mood in this room changed drastically,” said Augusta, who had a goal at 1:18 of the first period and also scored his 300th point when he had an assist on Dave Smith’s third-period goal. “Now we can’t get too high, but it means a lot to show ourselves that we can beat them. They are a good team.”

Indeed, at 34-24-6, the Vipers are a lock for the playoffs and, after going 5-11-4 since the All-Star break, the Ice Dogs are not. The Ice Dogs (27-26-9) are in the sixth spot in the IHL’s Western Conference and are in fourth place in the Southwest Division.

John Byce and Rob Kenny also scored for the Ice Dogs. Dave Emma scored a short-handed goal in the first period for the Vipers.