Junior hockey: Spirit blank Ice Dogs

DARRELL L. BREESE/ Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA - Wasilla Spirit goalie Andrew Volkening has been busy over the past three weeks, having been confronted with a barrage of shots from opposing teams. In six of the last 10 games he faced over 40 shots, stopping an average of 40.2 a game during the stretch.

That all changed Saturday as the Spirit defense gave their hard-working goalie some much needed relief. The Wasilla defense dominated the flow of play, and the Spirit earned a crucial 1-0 victory against the visiting Fairbanks Ice Dogs at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Arena.

&#8220It was easy for me tonight,” Volkening said after he recorded his second shut out of the season. &#8220My defense did all the work, I just happened to have the best seat in the house to watch them control the action.”

For Volkening the shutout was nearly as sweet as his first of the season, which came Nov. 3 against the two-time defending North American Hockey League champion Texas Tornados. That shutout ended in a shootout. He made 45 saves in regulation and overtime, including three in the shootout.

In comparison, Volkening had it easy Saturday. Facing just 29 shots, he calmly turned each of them aside.

&#8220The defense kept (Fairbanks) on the outside,” Volkening said. &#8220That meant there weren't too many tough saves or hard shots. I really didn't have to do a whole lot tonight.”

Ice Dogs coach Rob Proffitt agreed with Volkening's evaluation of the game.

&#8220Their defense was great tonight,” Proffitt said. &#8220We were stifled all night. They took us out of our game and dictated how we played.”

From the initial face-off it was obvious that defense would be the theme of the game. Neither team could manage a shot on goal for the first 4 minutes and 50 seconds of the game.

Wasilla's Neil Walsky backhanded a shot from the face-off circle on the right side that hit Fairbanks goalie Bryce Christianson in his stomach. The resulting scramble for the rebound led to penalty on Ice Dogs forward Andrew Hau.

Mike Glaesmer, the Spirit's top goal scorer, lifted a wrist shot that deflected off the top of Christianson's glove into the net giving the Wasilla a 1-0 lead, just over six minutes into the game.

That was all the defense and Volkening would need as they tightened their grip on the action.

The Spirit not only shut out the Ice Dogs on the scoreboard, they also shut down their power play unit. Wasilla allowed just six shots on four Fairbanks power play opportunities, frustrating the Ice Dogs offense.

Dean Larsen liked what he saw from his team in the victory.

&#8220That is the type of effort I would like to see every night,” Larsen said. &#8220We may not have controlled the puck, but we controlled the game and Andrew (Volkening) made the saves he was supposed to.”

The Spirit improved to 15-18 overall for the season and tied up the season series with the Ice Dogs at three games apiece.

Larsen said the victory will go a long way to help his team get through the three week break in their schedule.

&#8220That was a big win for our morale,” Larsen said. &#8220Entering a long lay off is always easier when you go in after a big win. It will also help us heading to Fairbanks after the break.”

The Spirit's next games are Dec. 16-17 against the Ice Dogs in Fairbanks. Their next home games are Dec. 30-31 also against the Ice Dogs.

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

frontiersman.com.