Reggie Lutz and Alex Mehnert each provided a goal and an assist, while Tyler Tomberlin and Ryner Gorowsky had two assists apiece to help Fairbanks raise its Midwest Division and league-best record to 36-7-3 for 75 points in the standings

“Our compete level was pretty good,’’ Ice Dogs head coach Trevor Stewart said. “I think both teams were maybe a little sloppy, but we were able to capitalize on some of our opportunities and Gavin (Nieto) was big when we needed him to be.”

Janesville, which slipped to fourth place in the Midwest at 24-14-4 for 52 points, got a game-tying goal from Martin Sundberg; a power-play marker from Alex Smith; and 10 saves each from Blake Weyrick and Jack LaFontaine. 

During the previous games of the series, the Jets, of Janesvile, Wisconsin, often forced Fairbanks wide on shots. On Friday night in the Dipper, three of the Ice Dogs goals came from the perimeter.

“It’s the (seventh) time we’ve seen them, so we know their style of play,’’ said Burgess, “and we kind of changed our style of play ...  try to get more pucks to the middle and just shoot the puck more.”

Said Stewart, “When the guys had shots, they were taking them and that’s something we talked about — let’s put pucks on the net and try to get bodies there.

“I don’t know if we had a lot of bodies at the net,’’ he added, “but fortunately, the first shot went in for us a number of times tonight.”

The Ice Dogs, before 2,242 fans, rallied for a 2-1 lead in the first period and gradually put the game out of reach with a four-goal surge in the second period, starting with three early goals in nearly three minutes.

Clay Cross stole the puck from behind the net and centered a pass to Mitchell Baumann, who rushed through the slot and sent the puck over Weyrick’s stick-side shoulder at 2:59.

Marc Sullivan scored unassisted from the right circle at 4:08 to make it 4-1. The defenseman’s fourth goal of the season also led to Weyrick getting replaced by LaFontaine. 

Burgess, with his second goal of the night, faked a pass on a 2-on-1 and greeted LaFontaine with a high shot over his stick side. Jakob Stridsberg and Gorowsky helped out Burgess, who leads the Tier II Junior A league with 30 goals and 46 assists for 76 points in 46 games.

Mehnert, at 13:37 of the second, took defensive partner Aaron McPheters pass and one-timed it in from the top of the slot during a power play for Fairbanks’ five-goal cushion.

The Ice Dogs, Mehnert said, maintained their focus despite being ahead 6-1 after the game’s first 40 minutes.

“Stay focused because it’s still a game and they could come back and score as many as we did,” Mehnert said. “We’ve got to keep it strong and play well.”

Smith, with help from Cole Paskus, capitalized on a two-man power play for Janesville at 9:29 of the third period.

 Josef Ingman, at 11:35 of the third, planted a power-play goal for Fairbanks with a shot from the top of the slot. Ingman’s fourth goal and 18th point of 2015-16 was aided by Coomes and Burgess.

Lutz put Fairbanks ahead 2-1 with the series’ first power play goal at 17:35 of the first period, with assists by Tomberlin and Mehnert.

Burgess, with helpers from Gorowsky and Coomes, scored from just inside the left circle at 4:56 of the first. 

Gorowsky ranks second in scoring in the NAHL with 25 goals and 42 assists for 67 points in 45 games. Coomes is third with 23-36-59 totals in 44 games and Tomberlin ranks fourth with a 13-35-48 scoring line in 45 contests.

Sundberg made it 1-1 at 10:09 of the first, putting in a rebound off Adam Winborg’s shot from in front of the crease after Dawson DiPietro had gained the puck on a turnover. 

The series resumes at 7:30 tonight in the Dipper.

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

@newsminersports.