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Photo by John Wagner

Photo by John Wagner

Photo by John Wagner

Photo by John Wagner

FAIRBANKS — Goaltender David Eland was just trying to set up an Ice Dogs teammate for a rush up the rink.

Instead, he sent the puck right to the Wenatchee Wild, who used the blunder late in the second period to help spur their 4-1 victory in Fairbanks’ home opener Friday at the Big Dipper Ice Arena.

“We’re going to have to forget about this game and move on to the next game (at 7:30 tonight),” said Ice Dogs forward Mark Pustin, who scored the first goal off a nifty feed from Kyle Politz barely five minutes into the contest attended by 2,349 rowdy fans.

Wenatchee improved to 13-2-0 and has now beaten their North American Hockey League rival four straight times — in the clincher of the West Division playoff finals last April and three more times this season. Fairbanks slipped to 5-5-1.

Pustin’s goal held up as the only score until late in the second, when Eland — with the Ice Dogs on the power play — retrieved a puck in the left corner and attempted a long pass to a teammate.

“I was trying to send it up the ice and it just came off my stick bad,” said Eland, who had played less than two minutes this season before learning on Thursday that he was getting the nod on Friday.

Wenatchee’s Shawn Pauly retrieved Eland’s errant pass but botched a chance at an open net. However, his teammate Michael Di Puma rushed in and beat Eland, who was still out of position, to tie the game 1-1 with 3:16 remaining in the second.

Ice Dogs head coach Josh Hauge called Eland’s play a “rookie mistake.”

“He should have just held on to it and let our defense come back,” Hauge said.

Eland made 26 saves but the Wild took the lead for good on a wraparound 2:06 into the third period from Christian Hilbrich, who at 6-6 was the tallest player on the ice.

“It was just a nice play. I wasn’t in the right position and he snuck it in,” Eland said.

The Wild’s Kyle Brodie scored a power-play goal on a shot from near the blue line with 6:32 to go for a 3-1 advantage.

“I never saw it,” said Eland, whose vision was blocked by traffic in front of the net.

Di Puma added an empty-netter with 44 seconds left.

Hauge said he’ll decide this morning whether Eland, Tyler Bruggeman or Mike Taffe will get the start in goal tonight. Bruggeman has logged the most minutes this season but Taffe has a 3-1-0 record.

Eland was rewarded with a start for working the hardest in practice this week.

“It’s a nerve-racking situation for a young man to play his first game at home in front of all these fans. He definitely gave us a chance to win,” Hauge said.

Wenatchee outshot Fairbanks 30-18, including 13-4 in the first period. But they forced Wild goalie Mac Carruth to make several quality stops.

“I thought we had a lot of chances in the second (period). We just didn’t finish,” Hauge said. “ ... We had two breakaways and a couple 2-on-1’s that we didn’t find a way to score.”

Hauge was displeased with the team’s effort in the third period.

“Once we got down 2-1, I think we folded. We don’t know how to play from behind yet,” he said.

Added Pustin: “We just have to play for a whole 60 (minutes), bury the chances when we get them and play harder.”

The Big Dipper faithful definitely showed up in force, though.

“It was just a great atmosphere with the Dog Pound and the military coming back,” Pustin said.

Contact staff writer Matias Saari at 459-7591.