“It’s feels great,”  Boothe, a first-year Ice Dogs,  said after the finale of the three-game North American Hockey League and Raven Alaska Cup series.

Boothe also was in the net for Thursday’s 5-1 win, as he stopped 16 shots. He watched Gavin Nieto backstop Friday night’s 8-0 victory against the Brown Bears, who were held to nine shots. 

On Saturday, Boothe and the rest of the Midwest Division-leading Ice Dogs — 32-6-3 for 67 points in the standings — encountered a Brown Bears squad that was quicker and more aggressive in both ends of the ice, particularly compared to Friday’s contest.

“We just tried to forget that, it’s a new day,” Kenai River head coach Jeff Worlton said of Friday’s defeat.

“So we just wanted to find a way to bring more energy and play with heart and passion,’’ Worlton added. “I thought we did that.”

Boothe sensed the Brown Bears were going to play tough on Saturday.

“I’m sure the two losses amped them up and they came out strong, but I had a lot of help from my team to get that shutout,’’ said Boothe, who is 7-2-2-0 on the season with a 2.65 goals against average and .903 saves percentage.

The 17-year-old from Delray Beach, Florida, also backstopped six penalty kills for an Ice Dogs bunch that denied the Brown Bears in 15 power plays for the series.  The Ice Dogs finished 6 for 27 on the power play against Kenai River, which is in last place in the six-team Midwest Division at 3-37-1 for seven points.

“It shows that we work real hard, especially in practice to get that good,’’ Boothe said on the Ice Dogs penalty kill during the series.

Cook played last season with the Brown Bears and started this season with them before coming to Fairbanks. He had an assist in Friday’s win and got his first goal in an Ice Dogs uniform at 15:56 into the first period with a blast from near the right point.

“It was pretty interesting being in the lineup, especially on Friday night, against some of my best buddies,’’ said Cook, who was assisted by Mitchell Baumann and Jakob Stridsberg.

“But we go on the ice and we’re battling,” Cook said. “When we get off the ice, we’re buddies again.”

Stridsberg, with his third goal in back-to-back games, made it 2-0 at 2 minutes into the second period with a blistering shot from the right circle during a power play. The veteran defenseman’s ninth goal of the season was aided by Aaron McPheters and Logan Coomes.

Center Todd Burgess, with help from linemates Coomes and Ryner Gorowsky, sealed the win with a power-play deposit from the left edge of the crease at 11:49 into the third period.

The linemates also are the top three scorers in the league. Burgess has 24 goals and 42 assists for 66 points in 41 games. Gorowsky, right wing, has been a 25-36-61 points producer through 40 games and Coomes, a left wing, has contributed 21-33-54 totals in 39 games.

Also, Ice Dogs left wing Tyler Tomberlin, though he had no points on Saturday, is the No. 4 scorer in the 22-team Tier II Junior A league with a 12-33-45 line in 40 games.

Brown Bears goaltender Nicholas Nast stopped 34 shots by the Ice Dogs, who finished their seven-game homestand at 6-1-0 and are 15-2-1 in their last 18 games.

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

@newsminersports.