Ice Dogs at Home for Series Opener

The Long Beach Ice Dogs will begin play in the second round of the International Hockey League playoffs tonight at 7 against the Kansas City Blades in a best-of-seven series at Long Beach Arena.

Both teams won their opening best-of-five series 3-1 to advance to the Western Conference semifinals. Long Beach defeated Las Vegas, and Kansas City knocked out Utah.

The Ice Dogs won four of six regular-season games between the teams, including three at Kansas City. In the playoffs, both teams are unbeaten at home at 2-0.

In the clincher against Las Vegas, the Ice Dogs were led by goaltender Kay Whitmore, who stopped 31 of 32 shots in a 3-1 victory. Ice Dog forward Patrik Augusta has a playoff-high six goals in four games and a team-high seven points.

LONG BEACH ICE DOGS (HOCKEY TEAM)