Alaska hosts Alexandria in a pair of must-win games

WASILLA — If the Alaska Avalanche hope to push for a North American Hockey League playoff spot, what the Avs need to do is pretty simple.

“We need to win out,” Alaska head coach Jaime Smith said after the Avs’ 6-2 loss to Texas on Sunday. “We’ve got to beat Alexandria both games. We’ve got to go up to Fairbanks and win, which is going to be a task.”

Alaska (16-33-3) sits in fifth place of the NAHL South Division with 35 points, nine points behind Texas (20-31-4), the team that currently holds the division’s fourth and final playoff spot.

Texas did its best to spoil Alaska’s hopes of clinching a postseason berth with that 6-2 win over the Avalanche on Sunday at the Menard Memorial Ice Arena, but the Avs still remain optimistic about their progress.

“The kids are coming along,” Smith said. “They’re playing a lot better.”

Alaska, a team that sports one of the youngest groups in the NAHL, faces basically a must-win situation as it hosts Alexandria tonight and Saturday at the Memorial Arena. The first puck is set to drop at 7 p.m. each night.

Alexandria is also fighting for a playoff berth. The Blizzard hope to blow into the top four of the NAHL’s Central Division standings. Currently, the Minnesota team has 43 points, thanks to its 20-23-3 mark, and is one point behind Fargo-Moorhead.

While nearly all of the Alexandria squad will be foreign to most Alaska fans, one name will be familiar. Former Alaska forward and Houston High School standout Larry Kincaid will get another chance to step onto the Menard ice. But this time its as part as the Blizzard.

After being traded from Alaska to North Iowa in January, Kincaid has landed in Alexandria. Kincaid was released by North Iowa shortly after the trade.

In seven games with the Blizzard, Kincaid has two goals and an assist to his credit.

The player Alaska acquired in the Kincaid trade has sparked the Avs of late. Forward Kyle Politz — who was acquired for Kincaid and blueliner Kevin Anger — and linemates Jeremiah Dargis and Adam Friese, have ruled on both ends of the ice.

Politz is a +5 in the last four games, and has two goals and four assists during a four-game point scoring streak. Dargis has a five-game streak (four goals and three assists) and Friese has a goal and an assist in the last three games. Politz, one of 18 Alaska players still in their teens, said the Avs have learned from their experiences this year.

“We’re a young team, probably the youngest team in the league,” Politz, who will turn 19 on March 16, said on Sunday. “It’s a learning experience because we’re so young.”

Alaska has its two–game series against Alexandria this weekend, but the final four regular season games are against intrastate rival Fairbanks.

The Ice Dogs are currently third in the South Division with a 31-14-3 mark. Regardless of finish, if Alaska and Fairbanks do advance to the playoffs, NAHL rules state the two squads from the Last Frontier must meet in the first

round.

With a 21-point advantage over Alaska, Fairbanks would be assured of home-ice in the first round if the Avs make the playoffs.

Random shots

The Avs have a franchise-record five players with 30 or more points. Wasilla product Jeremiah Dargis leads the squad with 39 points (19-20-39), while Tyler Currier (15-19-34), Alex Young (12-21-33) and Kyle Pichler (18-12-30) also have hit 30 points. Blueliner Kent Detlefson tallied 17 goals and 17 assists with Alaska before being shipped off to Wichita Falls … Alaska’s top five scorers are from Alaska. In addition to Dargis (Wasilla), Currier (Anchorage), Young (Anchorage) and Pichler (Anchorage), Anchorage’s Dylan Jones has 18 points … Defenseman Jason Cohen, also of Anchorage, currently has an assist in five straight games. He also has assists in seven of his last 11 … Alaska is two goals away from a from a franchise-record 149 goals.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.