Avs like first-round matchup

PALMER — The Alaska Avalanche don’t have home ice advantage during the first round of the North American Hockey League playoffs, but opening the series in Wenatchee may not be a bad thing.

“For some reason, I’ve always had a certain comfort level in their barn,” Alaska head coach Brian Huebel said of Wenatchee, which hosts the Avs in the first game of the best-of-5 series tonight at 6:05 p.m. AST. “I enjoy going down there. I enjoy competing there.”

Part of that may have something to do with the success the third-seeded Avs have had against the second-seeded Wild, especially this year. The Avs are 6-0-2 in eight regular season meetings with the Wild. Wenatchee needed overtime and a shootout to score its two victories over Alaska this season. The Avs are 2-0-2 against the Wild at the Toyota Town Center in Wenatchee.

“We know we can win there,” Huebel said.

The Avs also swept a pair of two-game sets in Palmer.

“I like the matchup,” Huebel said. “I think we can use our strengths to expose their weaknesses.”

Huebel said Alaska can use its team speed to its advantage. And if the Avs play the gritty game — blocking shots, winning battles in corners, getting bodies in front of the net — he knows they’re capable of, the Avs can have success.

“Just play our game. We don’t have to do anything out of the norm,” Huebel said. “We want to be able to control play, play it in their end a lot.”

On the other hand, Huebel said he knows what happened in the regular season is in the past, and the Avs can’t be overconfident.

“We can’t rest on that, we’ve got to be ready to go,” Huebel said.

The Avs are also riding momentum into the playoffs. Alaska capped its regular season with a three-game set at Fairbanks last week. Before that series, he said the games against the Ice Dogs were virtually a playoff rehearsal. Alaska responded by taking two of three games from the NAHL West Division champions.

Alaska used a pair of third-period comebacks to score the wins. The Avs tallied four goals during the final period to score a 6-4 win last Thursday and enjoyed another four-goal third during a 5-3 win on Saturday.

Another bonus for the Avs is the potential return of veteran defenseman and assistant captain Tyler Briola, who was out nearly a month with an injury. The Parker, Colo., native last played on March 3 during a 3-1 win over Wenatchee.

The Avs and Wild play at the Toyota Town Center tonight and Saturday at 6:05 p.m. AST. If the West rivals split the first two games, Game 3 will be Sunday at 5:05 p.m. AST in Wenatchee. If either team takes a 2-0 lead, Game 3 is April 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the MTA Palmer Ice Arena. Games 4 and 5, if necessary, would be April 9 and 10.

With three wins in the best-of-5, Alaska would advance to the second round of the NAHL playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.