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FAIRBANKS — On a night that a cover band took to the ice at intermissions, the hockey players seemed out of tune.

The Fairbanks Ice Dogs’ 6-3 win over North American Hockey League West rival Kenai River wasn’t exactly what either team wanted to see Friday night at the Big Dipper Ice Arena.

“We were satisfied that we won, but we weren’t satisfied with the way we played,” Fairbanks goalie Phil Cook said. “We got lucky.”

Kenai River head coach Brent Agrusa felt his team supplied the Ice Dogs’ luck.

“The defensive part of our game is terrible,” he said. “... If your defensemen aren’t making plays and are giving the puck away, it doesn’t matter how fast you are.”

Early on, it was the Ice Dogs who looked disjointed. Kenai River forward Kevin Wentland buried the first shot of the night — 1 minute and 9 seconds after the puck dropped — which slipped by Cook after Andren Sustr was able to make a pass across the crease.

“Basically, you’re diving across the crease,” Cook said of his save attempt. “You have no control over what’s going to happen.”

Fairbanks seemed to shake off some of the rust when Brad McCabe put back a rebound from a Jon Schreiner attempt 5:58 into the first.

It was McCabe’s ninth on the season, and he got a 10th into an empty net with 14.9 seconds left in the game.

Ice Dogs forward Austin Block then wristed a puck over Brown Bears goalie Nick Dries’ glove.

“We stayed positive,” Hauge said of the first period. “We didn’t hit the panic button.”

The Ice Dogs remained prone to turnovers throughout the game, but were able to capitalize on Kenai River’s mistakes to take a commanding lead in the second.

Jared Larson muscled through two defenders and regained control of the puck in time to get a hard shot past Dries at 8:07 into the middle stanza.

“I had some momentum, and I noticed that a defender had crossed over, so I went inside, split them and beat the goalie high left side,” Larson said.

At 11:36 into the second, after turnover by a Brown Bears defenseman, Ice Dogs Eric Kraft and Jon Waggoner had no one but Dries between them and a goal. Waggoner deferred to Kraft across the slot, and Kraft netted the puck.

“Too many mistakes. Too many turnovers,” Agrusa said. “That’s how you lose the game.”

Cook had 25 saves on the night.

Dries had 16 saves while giving up four goals in 31:31. He was replaced by Jimmy Hamby, who stopped 11 shots and gave up a goal in 26:45.

Fairbanks forward Matt Millis notched his second goal on the season late in the second period.

Ice Dogs forward James Saintey and defenseman Drew Darwitz each tabbed a pair of assists. Steve Zierke, Micheal Juola, Joseph Krause, Schreiner, Waggoner, Block and McCabe each had an assist.

Fairbanks widened its lead in the West division to five points. Kenai River fell from second to third in the division behind the Alaska Avalanche.

Contact staff writer Joshua Armstrong at 459-7583.