Avs ready for home opener

PALMER — After eight games and more than a month of the 2011-12 season, the Alaska Avalanche are finally ready to drop the puck on home ice.

The Avs host the Fresno Monsters in their home opener tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the MTA Events Center in Palmer.

Alaska currently sits near the middle of the North American Hockey League West Division pack, sporting a 3-4-1 mark and seven points in the standings.

“I think I would say in six of the eight games we really competed well,” first-year Avalanche head coach Corey Millen said recently.

Since the four-day NAHL Showcase, where the Avs finished 1-2-1, Alaska has split two-game sets with division rivals Wenatchee and Kenai River.

Millen said he’s seen good things from a squad that includes only nine players from an Avs team that tied the franchise record for wins last season.

Three of Alaska’s four regulation losses this season have come by just a single goal. The Avs also have an overtime loss to Bismarck.

“We had three games where we were leading in the third period, and we managed to lose those games,” Millen said. “I’m probably lending that to a little bit of inexperience.

The Avs have relied on a fresh crop of talent through much of the first eight games. Of those nine veterans of the franchise, two have yet to play due to injury — forwards Brandon Brossoit and Evan Hesse.

“What I’m considering our two top forwards haven’t played yet,” Millen said.

Another veteran, forward Connor Wright, was a late arrival and has skated in just one game with the Avs this season.

Those holes in the lineup have given a few new skaters opportunities. Rookie forward Evan Janssen has flourished early and currently leads the club with seven goals and nine points. Janssen’s linemate, Ran Dau, leads the team with eight assists.

“Janssen and Dau, two young kids, have really stepped up early and provided some offensive spark,” Millen said.

Millen also noted the play of forward Mitch Kontny, who has put together 2-3-5 totals in eight games.

The Avs have been led by captain Joe Schmitz on the backline and veteran Patrick Kinkopf, who was acquired in an offseason trade with Wenatchee.

Veteran Nick Kulmanovsky has started five of Alaska’s eight games in net. He is 3-2-0 with a 1.94 goals against average and .943 saves percentage.

Kulmanovsky is third in the league in saves percentage.

Tonight is the first of three games against a Fresno squad that sits in second place of the NAHL West with a 7-2-2 mark. Fresno, which is playing through a brutal stretch of eight games in 10 days, was swept in a two-game set in Fairbanks.

The Ice Dogs beat Fresno 4-3 on Wednesday and 3-1 on Thursday.

The Monsters finished 1-1-1 in three games with Kenai River last weekend.

Among the skaters on the Fresno roster is former North Pole High standout DJ Carnley.

Alaska will play its next 10 games at the former Palmer Ice Arena. The Avs host Fairbanks and Wenatchee later in the month.

Avs personnel have been working hard to improve the fan experience at the MTA Events Center. Flat screen televisions have been installed near the arena’s concession stand and beer garden. A new light show has been designed for use during the pregame introductions.

“(Owner Mark Lee) and the crew there have been trying to put some stuff together to create a little excitement and atmosphere,” Millen said.

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