Alaska hosts Fairbanksin a key three-game NAHL series

Nov. 23, 2006

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - The Alaska Avalanche and the Fairbanks Ice Dogs find themselves in the same boat right now. Both teams are fighting to stay off the bottom of the North American Hockey League's South Division. And the outcome of the three-game series at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena this weekend will most likely determine which team sinks, and which squad floats.

&#8220Those are six big (division) points,” Alaska head coach Dean Larson said.

Alaska (9-13-2) currently stands just one point ahead of the 9-13-1 Ice Dogs. Wichita Falls (9-10-2) is tied with the Avalanche. And third-place Texas is only five points ahead of Alaska.

The three-game series that starts Friday at 7:30 p.m. is the start of a seven-game stretch where Alaska will see the Ice Dogs and the Texas Tornado, two teams Alaska hopes to build a lead over. It's also the beginning of a period where Alaska will play eight of its next nine at home. And after playing 19 of its first 21 games in the Lower 48, the Avs will play each of their next 30 games in Alaska.

Larson said the Avalanche have to take advantage of these games at home, and score some key points in the South Division race.

Plagued by a nine-game losing streak that stretched from mid-October to early November, Fairbanks took a nosedive in the standings. During their skid, the Ice Dogs pulled the trigger on two major trades. One deal sent a pair of veterans, forward Mario Mjelleli and fan favorite Nick Von Bokern to Traverse City.

&#8220It'll definitely change the dynamics. They're a different team from what we saw before,” Larson said. &#8220We'll find out exactly where they're at.”

In return, Fairbanks received Travis Hamway, Johnathan Juliano and Arthur Bidwill from the North Stars. The trio has seen action in three games each, combining for just two assists.

On the same day, Fairbanks also swapped defensmen, sending Artie Peckskamp to Springfield in exchange for Todd Graham.

Alaska and Fairbanks each took a nine-game tour of the southwestern portion of the United States last month. But while Fairbanks had virtually no success on the road trip, Alaska was able to score some key wins.

&#8220We played some tough teams, and our record on the road was 4-5-1,” Larson said. &#8220I would not say we're happy, but we're not disappointed. We were in some tough hockey games with some of the top teams in the league, in their building.”

Fairbanks failed to get a win on the road.

The Ice Dogs have a set of players who can put the puck in the net. Kyle Schmidt leads the NAHL with 16 goals, while Nick Hadded and Joe Shean each have 10.

Shane Madolora is the man in net for Fairbanks, starting 20 of the team's 23 games. He is 8-10-0 with a 3.57 goals against average.

Alaska has won three of its last five games. All three of those victories have come in a shootout.

John Grossi scored the game-winner in the tiebreaker to give the Avs a 4-3 win over Bismarck on Friday. Krystian Dziubinski gave Alaska a win by the same score, with a shootout goal on Saturday.

Travis Stevens scored in a shootout to give the Avs a 3-2 win over division-leading Santa Fe earlier this month.

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