Home (games) away from home

JEREMIAH BARTZ/ Frontiersman sports editor

WASILLA (ANCHORAGE) - About a month ago, the Wasilla Spirit junior hockey squad started racing down a path that would lead them straight to the playoffs. The first-year Mat-Su Valley franchise achieved its top goal of advancing to the postseason. But its a feat that will not include a stop at the home of the Spirit - the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena.

That road to the playoffs has completely bypassed the Menard Arena and the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex, and led them straight to the Subway Center in Anchorage.

After earning a berth in the North American Hockey League playoff tournament, the Spirit discovered scheduling conflicts with the city of Wasilla and the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex would prevent the junior hockey club from hosting the first playoff home games in the history of the Valley franchise in the Valley.

The result is a pseudo-home series at the Subway Sports Center in South Anchorage that starts tonight at 7:30 p.m. Wasilla hosts the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in games three and four of the best-of-five series this weekend.

Following Wasilla's home regular season finale against Fairbanks on March 24, Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex officials removed the ice rink in the Menard Arena to prepare for the Mat-Su Home Show, an annual event held at the complex last weekend. Officials opted not to reconstruct the rink following the home show.

Bruce Urban, recreational and cultural services manager for the city of Wasilla, said the complex was booked for the Mat-Su Home Show before the Spirit signed a contract to play its home games in the facility.

&#8220To put the ice back in on time would be virtually impossible,” Urban said Wednesday. &#8220To put it back in the quick way would take a minimum of four days - meaning four 24-hour days.”

Urban said he couldn't even begin to project the number of man hours it takes to reconstruct the rink. But more than 200 hours was his quick estimate. The Spirit and the Mat-Su Home Show are two of the biggest draws of the facility. Both should be staples of the schedule again next year. Urban said he hopes he can meet the needs of both the show and the team.

&#8220That's what we are hoping,” Urban said. &#8220We are a multi-use facility.”

The ice rink is scheduled be open again for use on June 16, Urban said, and until then the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex has scheduled a variety of events ranging from heath shows, to recreational vehicle shows to school graduations. This weekend, the facility is hosting a public rememberance of Violet Redington, a prominent member of the community who died earlier this year.

&#8220We're quite busy, and it's a matter of working with everything to keep everyone happy,” Urban said.

It's a &#8220good, bad situation,” Urban said.

This is the third year the facility has been open, and in each of the previous springs, the facility has removed the ice rink for a long period of time. Urban said during this time, the skating world generally slows down.

An option for the city of Wasilla would be to cover the ice when the rink is not in use. Bigger facilities such as the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage or the Carlson Center in Fairbanks have the means to cover the ice surface, when hosting other events.

&#8220We certainly don't want the Spirit to have to go to Anchorage every year for the playoffs,” Urban said. &#8220We need to find a way to make that happen.”

Regardless of the reasoning of the decision not to reconstruct the ice, the lack of the home ice for the Spirit's home series sent team officials in a mad search for an alternate venue. Since word broke that Wasilla's team would be in the playoffs, but not in Wasilla, fans have voiced their disgust.

&#8220We were severely disappointed,” Spirit marking director Jamie Smith said. &#8220Fans are disappointed. A lot of people are not coming to the games. It hurt us, not doubt about it.”

Smith said the Spirit immediately explored options much closer to home, such as the Brett Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla and the MacDonald Ice Arena in Eagle River. But both fail to meet league specifications. The NAHL requires a venue with a capacity of at least 1,500 to host a game. The Spirit finally had to settle on the Subway Sports Center, the South Anchorage facility formerly known as the Tesoro Center.

&#8220They've really bent over backwards to help us out,” Smith said. &#8220They've promoted the game, sold a pile of tickets.”

The Subway Center does not have the capacity of the Menard. But like the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex, the Subway Center has an upper track that circles the rink. And that will be opened up for fans.

For the Valley fans who are planning to make the trek to Anchorage for Friday's game, the Spirit have a bus for fans that will take them from the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex to the Subway Center. The $25 cost includes a game ticket and a voucher for a soft drink at the game. There is space for 44 fans, Smith said, and 20 seats were reserved as of Thursday afternoon. The Subway Center does not have reserved seating, but fans on the bus will get first crack at the best seats the arena has to offer. The bus is slated to leave Wasilla at 5 p.m.

The winner of this series advances to the second round, and a best-of-seven game series against the NAHL West Division champion Bozeman Ice Dogs. If the Spirit are to advance to the next round, it could equate to a possibility of three more home games. The games just might not be at home.