First-place Avalanche ready to add to NAHL West lead

PALMER — The Alaska Avalanche are sitting in first place of the North American Hockey League.

With an 18-9-1 mark, Alaska has 37 points in the standings, three more than second-place Fairbanks (14-5-6) and four more than third-place Kenai (16-7-1). But Alaska has also played a division-high 28 games, at least two more than any team and as many as eight more than one team in the division.

Yes, Alaska is in first place. But the Avs know it’s the wrong time to get a little too comfortable — or even worse than that, complacent.

“The next five games are going to be huge for us,” Alaska assistant coach Josh Petrich said early in the week.

Alaska will play five games in the next eight days, hosting Kenai River tonight at Saturday before heading north to play a three-game set against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, Dec. 8-10. After that, it’s a 20-day break for the Avs, with their next action coming Dec. 30 at Wenatchee.

“We want to go into the break in first place and make everyone else want to catch us,” Petrich said.

Alaska’s West Division foes all have games in hand over the Avs. While Fairbanks and Kenai are within immediate reach of the Avs in the standings, Alaska has built a nice cushion between itself and the likes of Fresno and Wenatchee.

The Wild have played eight fewer games than Alaska, but trail the Avs by 14 points. Fresno has five games in hand on Alaska, but is 12 points behind the Avs in the standings.

Petrich said it’s key to make sure the Avs don’t give these teams opportunities to catch up.

Alaska used another monster winning streak to surge into first place. The Avs won eight in a row before falling 3-2 in Kenai last Saturday. The winning streak is tied for the second-longest in the NAHL this season. Alaska had a seven-game winning streak earlier in the season, good enough for third longest in the league this year.

Alaska hosts a Kenai River team tonight at 7:30 p.m. that’s en route to putting together its best season in franchise history. The Brown Bears won a franchise-record 27 games last season, and have already won 16 this year. The Brown Bears have been outstanding on one-goal games, sporting an 11-1-1 record. Kenai River has also shown the ability to come from behind. Kenai River is 4-4-0 when trailing after two periods.

Alaska is one of the best home teams in the league with an 11-3-1 mark and has yet to loose in regulation when leading after two periods. Alaska is 13-0-1 when starting the third with the lead.

Judging by the way the Avs and Brown Bears have played, as of late, Petrich said this series could be one of the best sets of games fans could see at the MTA Events Center this season.

Blueliner honored by league

Alaska defenseman Jeff Bergh was recognized by the NAHL earlier this week. Berg was announced as part of the Combat Hockey/NAHL 3 Stars of the Week.

The Hallock, Minn., native scored four goals during a three-game stretch. He scored the game-winners on back-to-back nights, and netted a hat trick during a 6-4 win over Kenai River last Friday.

Bergh has played in 18 games since he was acquired in a trade with Alexandria early in the season. Since joining the Avs, Bergh has been a steady part of the Alaska defense, posting six goals, six assists and a plus-5 rating.

Jersey auction

The Alaska Avalanche are hosting a jersey auction tonight and Saturday. The Avs will sport special holiday-themed jersey both nights.

The red, white and green Christmas sweaters of each player will be available for purchase in an auction in between periods each night.

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