The Ice Dogs didn’t give up any goals while gathering an 8-0 victory in the second contest of the three-game Ravn Alaska Cup and Midwest Division series at the Big Dipper Ice Arena.

The Ice Dogs generated leads of 4-0 through the first two periods and in the third period, they maintained consistency on defense, limiting their intrastate rival to nine shots while amassing 39 against two Brown Bears goaltenders.

“The coach always pushes us to keep playing that tight game, keep playing 60 minutes and try to get better even if we get a couple of goals,’’ said defenseman Jakob Stridsberg, who contributed two goals for the Midwest-leading Ice Dogs (31-6-3 for 65 points in the standings).

Goaltender Gavin Nieto earned his league-high sixth shutout of the season and stayed focused after facing four shots in the first period, three in the second period and two in the third. The native of Yorba Linda, California, also backstopped three penalty kills.

“It’s all a mental game,’’ said Nieto, who is 22-4-1-0 with a .928 saves percentage and league-best 1.70 goals against average.

“You’ve got to envision yourself making saves and keep telling yourself ‘next shot,’” he added. “It’s tough at times going 10 minutes or so without a shot. You’ve got to be mentally engaged and be ready to go.”

The Ice Dogs also supported their goaltender by often blocking shots.

“They’re not letting pucks get through from the point,” said Nieto, “and even if a puck is in the slot, the boys are getting down and blocking shots and making my job real easy.”

Tyler Tomberlin helped the Ice Dogs go 12-0-0 this season against the Brown Bears by producing two goals and five assists on Friday night.

“Our line has built a lot of chemistry,” said Tomberlin, a left wing, said of linemates Reggie Lutz (right wing) and Adam Anderson (center). “Adam, Reggie and I have been founding the ice, and seeing each other and making plays.

“Ever since we got the chemistry, I feel like we’ve got all the tools in the box, and now we’ve got to put them to use,” Tomberlin added. Lutz also had five points with a goal and four assists.

The Ice Dogs set the tone for the game with their first two goals occurring in a span of 48 seconds.

Defense partners Stridsberg and Josef Ingman combined at 3:13 of the first period to ignite the early surge. Ingman passed the puck from the left half boards to Stridsberg, who blasted the puck in from the top of the slot.

The NAHL’s respective Nos. 1 and 2 scorers, Todd Burgess and Ryner Gorowsky, made it 2-0 at 4:01, as Burgess blazed to the left edge of the crease and backhanded a pass to Gorowsky for a tip-in at the right edge of the crease.

Burgess’s 42nd assist and 65th point of the season and Gorowsky’s 39th goal and 60th point also led to Brown Bears goaltender Nicholas Nast (two saves) getting replaced by Magnus Lindhe (29 saves).

Kenai River, as it did on Thursday, denied a string of Fairbanks power plays. In the series opener, a 5-1 win for Fairbanks, the Brown Bears killed 11 straight power plays before Evan Somoza scored for the Ice Dogs with the man-advantage with less than a minute left in the game.

Kenai River stopped three straight power plays on Friday night before Lutz ended the brief drought in the second period.

The right wing made it 3-0 at 9:46 with a one-timer from the slot off of Tomberlin’s feed. Alex Mehnert had the other assist.

At 14:23, Cayden Cahill added a power-play goal from the front of the crease, courtesy of helpers by Tomberlin and Lutz. 

Tomberlin scored twice in the third period and Stridsberg and Clay Cross had the other markers.

Stridsberg’s goal, at 1:33, was aided by Tomberlin and Lutz, and Tomberlin got help from Lutz and Mehnert in finding the back of the net during a power play at 7:14.

Cross scored at 14:20 with assists from Cahill and Somoza, and Tomberlin sealed the win at 15:17 with help from Lutz and Anderson.

Lutz had two goals on Thursday while Tomberlin and Cross each had two helpers.

The Ice Dogs and Brown Bears (3-36-1 for seven points) end the series with tonight’s game, starting at 7:30.

Contact sports editor Danny Martin at 459-7586. Follow him on Twitter:

@newsminersports.