Lynx claim No. 2 seed

"We needed to come out with a spark this time," said Dimond sophomore forward Tyler Thompson, whose second goal of the game with 12:16 left in the third period proved to be the game-winner.

Dimond's win means the Lynx (9-4-1 CIC, 15-4-2 overall) will face Eagle River -- whose only two conference wins came against winless Bartlett -- while the Eagles will have to wait until the outcome of today's season finale between East and Eagle River to find out where they'll finish.

"We were kind of in the driver's seat," said West coach Jeff Carlson, whose team led the league midway through the season before faltering down the stretch. "We've lost some of that momentum and we're gonna have to find it for that region playoff game."

Getting an easier first-round game is crucial, since the opening-round winners automatically finish in the top four of the eight-team tournament and earn state tournament bids.

Dimond stormed out of the locker room with a full head of steam, with Thompson getting things going early by beating West goalie Blake Mendenhall low less than three minutes in.

West (9-5-0 CIC, 16-5-1 overall) played from behind the entire first period, twice committing penalties in desperate bids to slow down Dimond breakaways. The Eagles killed off five minutes worth of Dimond power plays in the period, but were clearly reeling when Dimond's Kyle Clapper punched in a rebound from behind Mendenhall's skates to put the Lynx up 2-0 with 34 seconds left.

"That's been us the last couple of games," Carlson said. "We can't do that against good teams."

Mendenhall had to face 19 shots in the period -- 19 times more than Dimond senior Henry Rubey turned back at the other end, where there was one shot on goal.

West woke up during a scoreless second period in which both goaltenders shined. The Eagles peppered Rubey with 13 shots, thanks in part to a flurry of Dimond penalties that gave West a lengthy 5-on-3 thwarted by a trio of highlight-reel saves from Rubey.

Mendenhall was tested as well, shutting down Clapper's short-handed breakaway late in the period to preserve the 2-0 score.

Thompson gave the Lynx some breathing room early in the third when he stole the puck deep in West's end, skated in front of Mendenhall and waited until the last possible second before flicking the puck over the West goalie's shoulder for a 3-0 lead.

The Eagles cut the lead to 3-1 on a strike by Eric Wichorek, but Dimond appeared in control until Logan Miller took a cross-ice feed from Wichorek and cleanly beat Rubey with 11 seconds left and Mendenhall watching from the bench.

A Dimond icing penalty off the ensuing faceoff gave West a faceoff in the Dimond end, but Rubey was able to shut down Arin Olson from close range as the buzzer sounded.

"Any time you get a faceoff in your end, anything can happen," said Dimond coach Dennis Sorenson.

Rubey finished with 25 saves, including 24 in the final two periods. Mendenhall made 28.

Whoever the Eagles face, they'll have to do it without senior forward Dylan Wistoff, who picked up a game misconduct penalty for a third-period cross check that left Dimond's Aaron Dunlap writhing in pain for five minutes before slowly getting up and skating to the locker room.

Carlson said his squad will have to avoid a first-period meltdown in order to find postseason success.

"If we do our job from the drop of the puck, we'll give ourselves a chance," he said.

Sorenson said that despite getting a seemingly easier game against Eagle River, the Lynx aren't punching their ticket to state just yet.

"Eagle River's a tough team and we're in for a tough game," he said.

Dimond 2 0 1 -- 3

West 0 0 2 -- 2

First period -- 1. Dimond, Thompson (Fairchild, Feller), 2:25; 2. Dimond, Clapper, 14:26. Penalties -- Dimond 1 for 2, West 3 for 6.

Second period -- no scoring. Penalties -- Dimond 4 for 8, West 4 for 8.

Third period -- 3. Dimond, Thompson (Feller), 2:44; 4. West, Wichorek (Butcher, Miller), 7:54; 5. West, Miller (Wichorek), 14:49. Penalties -- Dimond 4 for 8, West 3 for 7.

Goalies -- Dimond, Rubey (1-13-11--28), West, Mendenhall (17-6-5--28).