Halway home, Spirit still improving

DARRELL L. BREESE/ Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA - The Wasilla Spirit Junior A hockey team has successfully survived a move north, and endured the growing pains of the first three months of their inaugural season in Alaska.

Having reached the halfway point of the season it's time to take a look at how the team has progressed since the first day of practice back in August.

According to head coach Dean Larsen the team has made great strides into becoming a playoff contender.

&#8220Before we even knew what personnel we would have in uniform we set a goal to make the playoffs,” Larsen said. &#8220That is still our goal, and right now we are in a position to get into postseason play.”

To achieve that goal, a lot has changed since the season began.

Seven players from the opening day roster are no longer with the Spirit. Replacing them are seven new faces, including two new goaltenders and a new troop of defensemen.

&#8220It was like starting up a new team for us,” Larsen said. &#8220As coaches we didn't know what we had for players. That has meant a lot of development and personnel adjustments.

&#8220But I think we've finally addressed all the problems and found a group of players who want to be here and want to play together.” Larsen added.

With the change of nearly one-third of their roster, there has also come a change in team personality. The physical, fight first mentality present in early season games has been replaced with a more controlled defense-minded style of play.

&#8220Our identity right now is defense,” Larsen said. &#8220We haven't had the offensive power of other teams in the league, but we've been a lot tighter defensivley. Our philosophy was to start with sound defense and build from that point.”

Building that defense resulted in the biggest change to Wasilla's personnel.

&#8220At one point we had three defenseman on the roster, and a forward playing with them,” Larsen indicated. &#8220We finally have a full stable of defenders and that takes a lot of pressure off the forwards.”

The Spirit's offensive landscape has changed as well.

&#8220We don't have any individual statistical leaders in the League,” said Larsen. &#8220But we've got some terrific skill players, from our leading scorers (David) Gault, (Mike) Glaesmer and right through the list of players. We've established a great identity as a defensive, tenacious team, and I think we can see ourselves even building on the offense.”

Communication on the ice has improved, helping the Spirit handle the puck more effectively.

&#8220I like the way we've grown more cohesive as a team,” said Larsen. &#8220One of the things we really stress is team unity. It's a big reason for the success we have had lately. I like the way this club is coming together.”

Unlike other teams in the league, Larsen and the Spirit were basically starting from scratch and that meant a lot of new players who were unfamiliar to the Junior A level of hockey. Wasilla started the season with seven returning players on the roster, while Fairbanks had 14 of their 22 players back.

&#8220Now that it's half way through the season, the rookies really aren't rookies anymore,” Larson continued. &#8220They're relied on. They've had to learn quickly and they contribute now. The learning period is kind of over, now it's time to perform.”

Currently the Spirit has compiled a 15-18 record and is second to Bozeman in the North American Hockey League West division.

With 25 games remaining on the team's schedule, every point counts as they hold just a five point lead over third-place Fairbanks

&#8220I'm pretty excited about where we can go from here as we progress throughout the season,” Larsen said. &#8220One thing I'm really proud of with the group of guys we have now is how they have jelled together as a unit. That has helped us to be able to handle the stress of a long season and perform comfortable under that pressure. That's something that grows within the team.”

Contact Darrell L. Breese at 352-2267 or at darrell.breese@

frontiersman.com.