2011 starts on winning note for Avs

FAIRBANKS — The Alaska Avalanche go into the new year the same way they went out in 2010 — in second place in the North American Hockey League West standings.

With a chance to make up ground on first-place Fairbanks Ice Dogs over the New Year’s weekend, the Avs split a pair of games Friday and Saturday to remain three points behind Fairbanks (23-10-2) in the standings.

Alaska (22-14-1) actually dropped to five points behind the league leaders after a 5-2 loss on New Year’s Eve. But the Palmer-based team rebounded to usher in the new year with a win on Saturday, a dominating 4-1 victory over the Ice Dogs.

After a nine-day break for the holidays, both teams had some rust to knock off, said Alaska head coach Brian Huebel.

“Every time you want to win that Friday night game and go from there,” he said. “But we weren’t able to do that on Friday. In the Friday game, Fairbanks out-competed us and won more battles. On Saturday, we won more battles.”

In the net, Avs goalkeeper Landon Peterson won nearly all of his challenges on Saturday, stopping 36 of 37 Fairbanks shots.

“He was great,” Heubel said of Peterson’s performance. “We put Landon in after the first period on Friday night, then he really responded on Saturday. With the division being so tight, he really stepped up and made some big saves. He was able to keep the puck out of the net. We feel he’s a top-end goaltender and showed it Saturday night.”

Fairbanks skated out to a fast start Friday, taking an early 2-0 lead in the first period off a goal from Gabe Levin 5:01 into the game. Blake Huppert would answer quickly for the Avs, putting the puck past Ice Dog goalkeeper Joe Phillippi 37 seconds later.

But that would be as close as Alaska would get. Fairbanks would score again in the first to take a 3-1 lead into the second period.

Following a scoreless second period, the Avs would make a final run at the Ice Dogs when Jake Williams netted a puck (assisted by Huppert and Matt Friese) to cut the lead to 3-2. But the Ice Dogs would rally again to put the game away late in the third, first when Alec Hajdukovich scored 14:58 into the period, then Alexander Jensen iced the game with a shorthanded goal on an empty Avalanche net with 20 seconds to play.

In a game that didn’t see a flurry of shots — Fairbanks outshot the Avs 28-23 — one of the differences in the game came down to special teams play. Neither team lit it up on the power play, with the Avs going 0-for-7, but the Ice Dogs managed to capitalized on one of its six power play opportunities.

While Fairbanks ended its year on a high note, the Avalanche turned the tables to start the New Year on Saturday, riding a three-goal third period to a 4-1 win in a game where the Avs had just two power play chances to Fairbanks’ seven.

Unlike Friday’s matchup, the first period was dominated by both teams’ defenses. Peterson made 14 of his 36 saves to shut out the Ice Dogs in the first, while Matt Friese put Alaska on the scoreboard first less than two minutes before the end of the period.

Fairbanks would answer in the second when JT Osborn scored on a power play, assisted by Sean O’Rourke and Zach Vierling.

But the fourth was another defensive exhibition from the Avs, with Peterson making 13 more saves. Offensively, Blake Huppert broke the tie just 28 seconds into the third period, assisted by Jake Williams and Friese. Williams and Friese would put the game away later with two more goals. Both Huppert and Friese finshed a game-high +3 for Alaska.

Along with Jacob Barber, Friese and Huppert make up a first line that has really gelled into a top-flight unit, Huebel said.

“That was our top line and they really lived up to it,” he said. “They were very good all weekend. They scored points, played on the penalty kill. Now we have to find some other line combinations to get some consistency on the other two lines.”

After a long holiday break, getting that timing back will be important to moving forward for the rest of the season, the coach said.

“I like what we did on Saturday night,” he said. “I thought it was a good step, especially with how we played on Friday. I know the guys are excited to be back up here, and we’re doing some things well, and there are some things we need to work on. We just have to put it all together and make it a consistent produce on the ice.”

The Avs will try to stay undefeated in 2011 when they travel to play the league’s fourth-place team, the Kenai River Brown Bears, for a hat trick of games this week in Soldotna. With another series against the Ice Dogs looming the following weekend at the Palmer Ice Arena, the Avs can’t look past Kenai River, Huebel said.

“These next three with Kenai are key, that and playing good hockey down the stretch,” he said. “We want to make a run.”

Against a fast Brown Bears team, the Avs need to be disciplined, the coach said.

“We need to not let them spread us all over the ice,” he said. “They play a run-and-gun style, so we need to cover that properly. On our side, we need to dictate the play, out-battle and out-work guys in the corners.”

The puck drops at 7:05 p.m., Thursday in Soldotna for the first of the three-game series. Friday and Saturday games start at 7:30 p.m.

Fairbanks 5, Alaska 2

Friday, Big Dipper Ice Arena

First period — 1. Fairbanks- Z. Vierling (T. Voigt, J. Stampohar) 1:00; 2. Fairbanks- G. Levin (M. Mills) 5:01; 3. Alaska- B. Hupperty (C. Van Allen, D. Senkbell) 5:38; 4. Fairbanks- C. Thauwald (J. Linnell) pp 10:26.

Second period — No scoring.

Third period — 5. Alaska- J. Williams (B. Huppert, M. Friese) 11:51; 6. Fairbanks- A Hajdukovich (J. Linnell) 14:58; 7. Fairbanks- A. Jensen (M. Parnell, G. Levin) sh, en 19:40.

Shots on goal: Fairbanks 13-7-8—28, Alaska 9-7-7—23; Saves: Fairbanks- J. Phillippi 8-7-6—21, Alaska- B. Mendenhall 13-0-0—10, L. Peterson 0-7-6—13; Power plays: Fairbanks 1-for-6, Alaska 0-for-7.

Alaska 4, Fairbanks 1

Saturday, Big Dipper Ice Arena

First period — 1. Alaska- M. Friese (B. Huppert, J. Barber) 18:17.

Second period — 2. Fairbanks- JT Osborn (S. O’Rourke, Z. Vierling) 8:15.

Third period — 3. Alaska- B. Huppert (J. Williams, M. Friese) 0:28; 4. Alaska- J. Williams (C. Bisbing, R. Pavek) 9:08; 5. Alaska- M. Friese (J. Barber, C. Van Allen) en 19:29.

Shots on goal: Alaska 11-2-9—22, Fairbanks 14-10-13—37; Saves: Alaska- L. Peterson 14-9-13—36, Fairbanks- J. Phillippi 10-2-6—18; Power plays: Alaska 0-for-2, Fairbanks 1-for-7.