Alaska hosts Brown Bears in 2008-09 home opener

WASILLA — During a two-game series with the Kenai River Brown Bears in Soldotna last week, Alaska head coach Dave Boitz could see the Avs still had a little rust on their skates.

“For the most part, you could tell we hadn’t played in a while,” Boitz said of his team’s play in the two-split set that followed a 20-day break.

The Avs grabbed the 3-1 win over the Brown Bears during the first game of the series and then watched as Kenai River skated to an 8-0 win on the following night.

The split left the intrastate foes in a tie at the top of the North American Hockey League West Division. But now facing another weekend series against those same Brown Bears, the Avs are back at home with the opportunity to take sole possession of first place.

Alaska hosts Kenai River in its home opener tonight at 7 p.m. at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla. The teams meet again Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Avs are home for the first time this season, but it’ll be a shorthanded squad taking the ice in front of the hometown fans.

“We’ve got some really key elements out of the lineup right now,” Boitz said.

Forwards Alex Young and Dylan Jones, and defenseman Beau Braun area all out. Boitz said defensemen Shawn McNeely and Nick Kelly are also questionable to play due to injuries.

Even though the Avs have been seriously bitten by the injury bug, Boitz said the team needs to look at this as a chance for other players to contribute.

“This gives other guys the opportunity to step in,” Boitz said. “It’s important to show we can win with those guys out of the lineup.”

Boitz said disciplined play will also be important, something the Avs struggled with last week.

“We took some really bad penalties both nights and they capitalized on our breakdowns,” Boitz said.

Kenai River scored three times on the power play during the 8-0 win and added a shorthanded tally.

“We took five really bad penalties in the first period,” Boitz said of the loss. “They had four or five 5-on-3’s. You can’t put yourself in that position.”

Austin MacGinnis started both games in net for Alaska. He recorded 22 saves in the loss.

The night before MacGinnis stood out, stopping 39 of Kenai River’s 4- shots.

Jake Parenteu, Ryan Kowal and Justin Giles provided the scoring for Alaska during the 3-1 win on Friday.

Alaska and Kenai River are currently locked in a first-place tie with eight points. Alaska is 4-2-0 overall, while Kenai River is 4-4-0.

The Fairbanks Ice Dogs, who are idle this weekend, are a point behind with a 3-4-1 record.

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