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Photo by John Wagner

Cody Reichard’s spectacular season was rewarded earlier this week when the Fairbanks Ice Dogs goaltender was named the North American Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player.

Reichard’s performance in net enabled the Ice Dogs to have their best season ever in the NAHL, The Dogs posted a 39-15-4 record to finish second in the South Division, four points behind the Topeka Road Runners.

“We built our team from the net out and he definitely was the backbone,” Ice Dogs general manager Rob Proffitt said Thursday afternoon. “He gave us a chance every night. He’s a very special athlete and well-deserving of the award.”

Reichard played in more games and more minutes than any other goaltender in the league.

He posted a 33-15-2 record in 51 games. He was between the pipes for 2,991 minutes, 5 seconds, some 300 minutes more than any goalie in the league. He also led the league in shutouts with seven. His .935 saves percentage and 2.05 goals against average ranked second in the league behind Northern Iowa’s Robby Moss.

Reichard also was named as the goaltender on the All-NAHL team that was announced on Wednesday.

“It’s a great honor to be named MVP,” Reichard said. “A lot of it has to do with my teammates. Without them, I wouldn’t have received the award.”

While Reichard is honored with the award, he said he’d rather be playing in the NAHL’s Robertson Cup Finals this week in St. Louis.

“I’d trade all the awards to be playing in the Robertson Cup with my teammates this week,” Reichard said.

The Ice Dogs came within a goal of earning a spot in the four-team Robertson Cup Finals. The Dogs lost a 5-4 overtime decision to the Topeka RoadRunners in Game 5 of the South Division Finals last Sunday in Kansas.

Reichard said he wasn’t expecting to play as much as he did this year. He played in all but seven regular season games and in all nine of the Dogs’ postseason outings.

“At the start of the year the coaches said they were going to give me the opportunity to play and the rest was up to me,” Reichard said. “I knew I hard to prove myself.”

Reichard will take his game to the college level next season where he will play for the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

“It’s going to be a pretty big transition because everyone is a little faster and the shooters are better,” Reichard said. “I’m confident that playing here in Fairbanks has prepared me to play at the next level.”

Reichard said he’s been told that he will be battling with another freshman for playing time next season.

“They said they would rotate us the first couple of weeks, and whoever plays the best will get the job,” he said. “It’s going to be a great opportunity and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Proffitt said Reichard’s mental toughness is his greatest asset heading into the college game.

“A lot of kids can do it physically, but they can’t make the mental adjustment to get to the next level,” Proffitt. “That’s not going to be a problem for Cody, because his strongest suit is his mental preparation.

“He’s a physically gifted and talented goaltender, but his strongest suit is his mental preparation for each game and his ability to stay focused during the game,” Proffitt added. “He’s as good as I’ve ever had.”

Northern Iowa’s Shea Walters was named Forward of the Year and Alaska Nanooks recruit Aaron Gens of Topeka was named Defenseman of the Year.

Nanooks’ recruit Adam Cardwell of Wichita Falls, the league’s leading scorer, was named to the All-NAHL team as a forward. Cardwell and Walters were joined by St. Louis forward Ben Warda on the All-NAHL front line.

Tyler Jundt of Northern Iowa teamed up with Gens on the blue line.

Playoff update

Topeka improved to 2-0 after two days of play in the NAHL Robertson Cup Finals in St. Louis.

The RoadRunners opened the tournament Wednesday with a 3-2 victory over the Mahoning Valley Phantoms and then notched another 3-2 win Thursday over the Alexandria Blizzard.

Defending champion St. Louis opened with a 3-2 win over Alexandria and followed that up with a 3-3 tied against over Mahoning Valley.

The round-robin portion of the tournament concludes today with St. Louis taking on Topeka and Mahoning Valley facing Alexandria.

The team with the most points after today’s action advances to Sunday’s national championship game. The next two teams play in a semifinal game Saturday afternoon with the winner earning a spot in the title contest.