Avalanche ready for some redemption

PALMER — The Alaska Avalanche surged through much of October bolstered by a seven-game winning streak, but capped the month with a pair of frustrating, lopsided losses to the Wenatchee Wild.

Now, with the North American Hockey League West Division rival Wild back in town, the Avs are hungry for some redemption.

“The boys are ready. No one likes to be embarrassed like that in their own barn,” Alaska assistant coach Josh Petrich said, referring to the Avs’ 8-4 and 7-0 losses to Wenatchee in Palmer late last month.

Petrich and the Avs expect something different tonight when Alaska hosts Wenatchee at 7:30 p.m. at the MTA Events Center, the first of consecutive games against the Wild at home. Petrich said the difference may be found in the way the Avs contend with Wenatchee’s overall team speed.

“We’ve picked up (the physical play). We’ve got to be more physical with them,” Petrich said. “Wenatchee, they’re the youngest, but probably the fastest, team in our division. They’ve got tons of youth, and they keep coming at you. And when they do come at ya, they just don’t stop. That’s a tough thing to combat.”

Alaska and Wenatchee are two of five teams stuck in a jam at the top of the six-team NAHL West. Kenai River (11-4-1) and Fairbanks (9-5-5) are tied for first with 23 points. Fresno (8-5-4) is in third with 20 points. The Avs (9-6-1), with 19 points, sit in fourth, a point ahead of Wenatchee (8-4-2).

Petrich said that crowd at the top is indicative of the battle hockey fans expect to see in the NAHL West throughout the season.

“Those four playoff spots, if you could buy them right now, they’d be pretty spendy,” Petrich joked. “It’s definitely going to be a grind.”

As the Wild knocked the Avs off a winning streak, Wenatchee started one of its own. With the wins over the Avs on Oct. 25-26 and a pair of 3-0 shutouts of Fairbanks last weekend in the Interior, the Wild have now won four straight. Wenatchee has blanked opponents in three straight games, and goalies Robert Nichols and Greg Lewis have combined to pitch a half-dozen shutouts in 14 games this season.

Petrich said he felt Wenatchee’s play against Alaska the last time around was a response to the Wild’s back-to-back shootout losses to Kenai River in early October in Washington.

“Coming off those hard losses at home, they were scrapping for some wins and took it to us,” Petrich said.

The Avs hope the return of forward Brandon Brossoit will help get them back on track. Brossoit, who has missed the first 16 games of the season while still rehabbing from an offseason surgery, collected 15 goals and 21 assists in 48 games last season. Seven goals and 11 assists came on the power play.

The Avs have been waiting for the return of Brossoit, and Evan Hesse, another top returning forward. Petrich said Brossoit will make his season debut this weekend, but the Avs will have to wait at least another week until Hesse returns to the ice.

The series against Wenatchee continues Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Contact Mat-Su Valely Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.