Avs open season

BLAINE, Minn. — As Corey Millen sat back and thought about the first two games of the 2011-12 season, the Alaska Avalanche first-year head coach can point to a number of positive things he saw during close losses to Amarillo and Bismarck. But the longtime hockey man also knows his Avs were a few bounces away from maybe starting the season 2-0.

Alaska opened season with a 4-2 loss to Amarillo during the first day of the North American Hockey League Showcase in Blaine, Minn., on Wednesday. On Thursday, Bismarck edged the Avs 4-3 in overtime.

“We’ve learned we’re definitely in the mix,” Millen said by cellphone from Minnesota on Thursday evening. “There’s no question there’s some positives. We had some opportunities to win against two quality teams.”

Amarillo, a team that advanced to the Robertson Cup last year, used a pair of second-period goals to beat the Avs on Wednesday. Bismarck, which advanced to the second round of the NAHL playoffs last year, scored 39 seconds into overtime to win on Thursday.

“These two teams we’ve played already, they’ve got to be in the top 10 in the league for sure,” Millen said. “We learned we’re in with them.”

But the Avs would certainly feel better with a check or two in the win column.

“We’re a little frustrated we didn’t do a little better job closing it out,” Millen said.

A pair of Anchorage natives scored first-period goals to give the Avs a 2-1 first-period lead Thursday. Forward Cobi Smith-Mass, who was added to the roster just prior to the Showcase, slipped a puck into the Bobcat net at the 1:23 mark of the period. Gage Christiansen scored on the power play with four minutes left in the first.

First-year forward Mitch Kontny added another Alaska goal with just less than 14 minutes to go in the second.

Alaska defenseman Joe Schmitz, who assisted on both first-period goals, has been a standout during the first two games, Millen said.

“Joe has been real solid for us,” Millen said. “He’s our captain on and off the ice. He’s a big positive for us.”

First-year forward Evan Janssen scored a pair of goals during his Avalanche debut on Wednesday. The Wisconsin native — a prolific scorer at the high school and midget levels — scored his first career goal at the 4:56 mark of the second period to cut Amarillo’s lead to 2-1.

Janssen scored again midway through the third to cut Amarillo’s lead to 3-2.

“He and his linemates played well,” Millen said.

Janssen has skated with Smith-Mass and Ryan Dau during the first two games.

Overall, Millen said he liked the way his team battled.

“We competed well, worked hard,” Millen said. “We got better today than we were yesterday.”

Nick Kulmanovsky made the first start of the year and stopped 27 shots during the loss to Amarillo. Blake Mendenhall started against Bismarck and made 18 saves.

Alaska is halfway through its Showcase schedule. The Avs return to the ice today to face Jamestown at 9 a.m. AST. Alaska meets St. Louis Saturday at 6:15 a.m. AST.

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

Bismark 4, Alaska 3 OT

NAHL Showcase

Thursday, Blaine, Minn.

Bismarck 1-1-1-1—4

Alaska 2-1-0-0—3

First period — 1. Alaska- Smith-Mass (Janssen, Schmitz) 1:23; 2. Bismarck- Omdahl (Rosenthal, Sommer) 4:46; 3. Alaska- Christianson (Schmitz, Nelson) pp 16:01.

Second period — 4. Bismarck- Omdahl (unassisted) 1:32; 5. Alaska- Kontny (Pavek, Hansen) 6:31.

Third period — 6. Bismarck- Miglio (Mindt, Kovar) 15:24’ 7. Bismarck- Olivieri (Sommer) 0:44.

Shots on goal: Bismarck 6-6-8-2—22, Alaska 15-19-5-0—39; Saves: Bismarck- Nelson 13-18-5-0—36, Alaska- Mendenhall 5-5-7-1—18; Power plays: Bismarck 0 for 3, Alaska 1 for 8; Penalties: Bismarck 8 for 16, Alaska 3 for 6.

Amarillo 4, Alaska 2

NAHL Showcase

Wednesday, Blaine, Minn.

Alaska 0-1-1—2

Amarillo 1-2-1—4

First period — 1. Amarillo- Kozlak (Fortman, Sarcona) 9:06.

Second period — 2. Amarillo- Carey (Gustafsson, Beckman) 3:15; 3. Alaska- Janssen (Dau, Kinkopf) 4:56; 4. Amarillo- Gustafsson (Popilock, Erickson) 15:56.

Third period — 5. Alaska- Janssen (Smith-Mass) 7:11; 6. Amarillo- Behling (unassisted) en 19:39.

Shots on goal: Alaska 4-8-11—23, Amarillo 8-12-11—31; Saves: Kulmanovsky 7-10-10—27, Amarillo- Gruehl 4-7-10—21; Power plays: Alaska 0 for 4, Amarillo 1 for 6; Penalties: Alaska 9 for 18, Amarillo 7 for 14.