Ice Dogs in danger

The Long Beach Ice Dogs' hopes of advancing in the playoffs diminished Monday with a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Wolves at the Long Beach Arena. 

The Wolves skated into the International Hockey League's second season ranked No. 1 thanks to balanced roster of talented and experienced players. This winning combination was evident last week as they won the first two games of their Western Conference Semifinals series with the Ice Dogs. 

The Dogs hoped to rebound from the two-game deficit on home ice with the best-of-seven series moving to Long Beach for games three and four. 

This was not to be. 

The Dogs came out overly physical in the first period, a tact that proved costly as the Wolves scored twice on four power-play opportunities. 

"It was like we were trying to maim guys out there," said Ice Dogs' Head Coach John Van Boxmeer. "We killed ourselves in the first period." 

Things only got worse for the Dogs in the second period. 

The Dogs squandered a golden opportunity to climb back into the game while trailing 3-0 midway through the period. With two Chicago players in the penalty box at 
11:17, the Dogs failed to capitalize on a brief five-on-three advantage. Minutes later, the Wolves scored a short-handed goal that sent many of the 3,559 in the arena home. 

"That was kind of the icing on the cake," Van Boxmeer said. 

The Dogs' lone tally of the game came with 30 seconds left in the second period. A shot from winger Scott Thomas bounced over the shoulder of Chicago goaltender Andrei Trefilov and into the net. 

The Wolves capped scoring with a goal at 16:01 of the third period. 

The Dogs now face a daunting task to avoid elimination from the playoffs. They have to win four games in-a-row against a team that has effectively manhandled them. The Wolves have posted 12 goals in the series, while the Dogs have only managed to find the back of the net three times. 

Instead of dwelling on the overall situation, the Dogs' focus is on Game 4, which begins tonight at 7 p.m. at the Arena. 

"We just got to come out and think about winning one game," said Ice Dog center Doug Ast.