Spirit win in OT

JEREMIAH BARTZ/ Frontiersman sports editor

FAIRBANKS - Jeff Dimmen scored only two goals in 40 games this season. But that doesn't mean the Wasilla Spirit defenseman can't put the puck in the net.

Dimmen displayed his abilities on the offensive end, accounting for both of Wasilla's goals in a 2-1 overtime win over the Fairbanks Ice Dogs at the Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks on Friday.

The win gives Wasilla a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five first-round series of the North American Hockey League playoffs. Now Wasilla is assured of hosting two games in the Spirit's psuedo-home series at the Subway Center in Anchorage next weekend.

Dimmen posted a power play tally late in the first period to give Wasilla a 1-0 lead. He added the game-winner just more than three minutes into the overtime frame.

&#8220He's key on our power play,” Wasilla head coach Dean Larson said. &#8220He got that power play goal on a nice shot from the point. And in overtime he saw an opportunity, took a little bit of a chance and went for it.”

Although only two of Dimmen's shots had gone into the net during the regular season, he has factored heavily into the Spirit offense. His 20 assists are a team best, and he has a knack for putting the puck into play.

&#8220He's got some offensive capability,” Larson said. &#8220He gets a ton of shots. He misses the net a lot, but he's been in on some good scoring chances.”

Thanks to the efforts of Wasilla goaltender Andrew Volkening, Dimmen accounted for all the scoring the Spirit would need. Volkening recorded 50 saves. He stopped 17 shots in the third period alone.

&#8220Andrew played his regular outstanding game,” Larson said. &#8220They were pressuring us pretty hard in the third period and at the start of overtime. Andrew made some big saves. They didn't capitalize on their chances.”

Fairbanks was only able to break the wall known as Volkening once. A.J. Hau put a power play shot past the Wasilla netminder in the third period.

Fairbanks out-shot Wasilla 51-25 in the game. Despite the 2-to-1 margin in shots on goal, Larson was happy with his team's opportunities.

&#8220We only had 25 shots, but 10 of those were great scoring chances,” Larson said. &#8220They're goaltender played pretty darn good too.”