Avalanche can finally boast home ice

WASILLA — Following his team’s 4-1 win over Alexandria last week in Alexandria, Minn., Alaska head coach and general manger Jamie Smith got the feeling things are finally coming together for his young Avalanche squad.

“We played really well,” Smith said Thursday. “It’s very encouraging.”

Even more encouraging for the Avalanche is that the team is home for the first time since training camp. After a grueling 10-game, 27-day road trip, the Avs are back in the Mat-Su Valley and ready to host their first home series of the season.

Alaska (3-7-1) hosts Wichita Falls (8-2-1) in the home opener tonight at 7 at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla. The series concludes Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Menard.

The homecoming could prove to be at the ideal time for the Avs. Alaska is ready to boast home ice, the Avs are playing .500 hockey in the last two weeks and although Wichita Falls is one of the stronger teams in the North American Hockey League, the Wildcats are skating the final leg of a six-game trip through Alaska.

Wichita Falls suffered its second loss of the season Tuesday, falling 5-3 to the expansion Kenai River Brown Bears in Soldotna. The Wildcats also met the Bears on Thursday, but results were not available prior to presstime.

“We’re pretty fortunate to get them on the fifth and sixth game,” Smith said. “That’s good for us.”

Smith said he has not had much opportunity to see what the Wildcats have done this season. But Smith knows Wichita Falls is big and physical. The Wildcats boast a league-high 344 penalty minutes. Wichita Falls has also scored 42 times, good enough for third in the NAHL.

Wichita Falls also sports top-five rankings on the power play (18.28 percent) and penalty kill (87.36 percent).

Alaska is in the middle of the NAHL pack in both power play percentage and penalty kill. But to be successful, Smith said his squad needs to stay at even strength.

“I’m convinced we can skate with most teams if we’re 5-on-5,” Smith said. “But penalty after penalty, that pounds us.”

Throughout the first month of the season, Alaska — a squad with only a handful of Junior A veterans — had consistently finished with more penalties, fewer shots and less success on special teams than opponents. That translated into six losses in Alaska’s first seven games.

But those trends are gradually changing, and Alaska’s win over Alexandria last week is a prime example.

The Avs out-shot the Blizzard 34-19, took fewer penalties and were better with the man-advantage. That translated to a rare late-game, two-goal lead.

“It was kind of nice to take a breath in the last five minutes, sit back with a two-goal lead,” Smith said. “We created more shots on the net and did the little things it takes to win hockey games.”

The Avs were also helped by the standout effort of defenseman Kent Detlefson. Skating in just his fourth game in an Alaska uniform, Detlefson burned his former team with three goals and an assist. The blueliner was acquired from Alexandria on Oct. 1.

“It was pretty fantastic,” Smith said of Detlefson’s performance against his former teammates. “He was pretty motivated.”

After only four games, Detlefson is Alaska’s scoring leader with four goals and four assists. Smith acquired Detlefson to fill a void on the defensive end of the ice. The offensive contributions have been an added bonus.

“We didn’t expect that,” Smith said.

Detlefson could be a steady contributor for the Avs, with a hard and accurate slap shot that can reach the mid-90s. Earlier this week, Detlefson was named the NAHL South Player of the Week.

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