Mustangs and Lynx tie in their hockey opener

"That was intense," Dimond coach Dennis Sorenson said after a wild overtime period that featured as many big hits and saves as the previous 45 minutes. "It came right down to the buzzer."

Dimond had several shots at a game-winner in the closing seconds, but Chugiak goalie Seth Kollman stood tall, withstanding a wild scrum in front of his own net as time expired.

Kollman overcame a shaky start to finish with 33 saves in the nonconference game, the first of the season for both squads.

Both teams had chances to end it in overtime, with the Mustangs testing Dimond goalie Marcus Holzschuh more often than his official OT tally of two saves indicates. Holzschuh kept his cool despite playing for more than a minute with a defenseman's stick after his was ripped from his hands by a Chugiak player.

For the game, Dimond outshot Chugiak 36-13, but the Mustangs kept things close thanks to gritty play that made for some ugly hockey leading up to overtime.

"We were the underdogs, for sure," said Chugiak captain Sam Linder, who scored with 13 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. "But we always play hard."

Linder's tying goal came with Kollman on the bench and the Mustangs looking desperately for the empty-net equalizer. Dimond -- the defending Cook Inlet Conference champs -- were unable to shake the pesky Mustangs, who celebrated wildly after Linder shoveled the puck past Holzschuh on a play set up by Sean Casey.

Dimond looked like it would dominate early, taking the lead 44 seconds in when Tyler Thompson put in Chris Feller's rebound on a breakaway. But that was as easy of a goal as the Lynx would get on the rock-solid Kollman.

"We had a lot of good chances, and their goalie came up with a lot of big saves," Sorenson said.

Chugiak made it 1-1 on a power play goal by Shane Topf, who went top shelf on Holzschuh with 34 seconds left in the first.

The Mustangs briefly led in the second period after a Jake Wells goal, but Dimond struck back almost immediately, tying things 33 seconds later on a goal by Tyler Shamburg, who converted a beautiful backhand feed from Michael Stoner in front of the Chugiak net.

The Lynx led for nearly the entire third period, taking a 3-2 advantage on Shamburg's second goal, a rebound score off the shot of Max Fairchild.

Chugiak was down to its final gasp when coach Rodney Wild called timeout to gather his troops with 58 seconds left in regulation.

Linder said Wild didn't plan much strategy in the timeout. "It was more like 'Work your butts off,' " he recalled.

The outcome left players and coaches from both teams smiling.

"We're really happy with the effort," Sorenson said. "Whenever you play a Chugiak team, they're going to be tough, and overtime's fun anytime."

Dimond 1 1 1 0 -- 3

Chugiak 1 1 1 0 -- 3

First Period -- 1. Dimond, Thompson (Smith-Mass, Feller), :44; 2. Chugiak, Topf (un), 14:26, pp. Penalties -- Dimond 1 for 2:00, Chugiak 1 for 2:00.

Second Period -- 3. Chugiak, Wells (Topf), 10:17; 4. Dimond, Shamburg (Stoner), 10:50. Penalties -- Dimond 2 for 4:00, Chugiak 4 for 16:00.

Third Period -- 5. Dimond, Shamburg (Stoner, Fairchild), 1:23; 6. Chugiak, Linder (Casey), 14:47. Penalties -- Dimond 2 for 4:00, Chugiak 1 for 2:00.

Overtime -- no scoring. Penalties -- none.

Goalies -- Dimond: Holzschuh 5-2-1-2--10. Chugiak: Kollman 7 8 9 9--33.