First-place Avs back in town

WASILLA — When the Alaska Avalanche drop the puck at the MTA Events Center in Palmer Thursday, it’ll mark 54 days since their last game on their home ice.

Fifty-four days. That’s a lot of time away.

“They’re happy to be home for sure, happy to be in their locker room,” Alaska assistant Josh Petrich said of the Avs, who begin a three-game homestand against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs Thursday at 7 p.m. in Palmer.

Alaska crammed a dozen road games and a full 20-day break into those 54 days away from home. Their work on the road, which included time in three states and a Canadian province, produced a 7-3-2 mark, enough to keep the 27-12-3 Avs in first place of the North American Hockey League West Division with 57 points.

Alaska capped the road swing with a two-game sweep at Kenai River last week, and the Avs have won five of their last seven.

“We’re getting there. When you’re winning like that, you never want to be too hard, but at the same time you always want to get better,” Petrich said.

Alaska scored a pair of wins in a series dominated by defense, earning a 4-2 victory and 3-2 decision.

“There was not a lot of offense, a lot of neutral zone play,” Petrich said.

The teams combined for 38 shots the first night and 39 the next, and neither team had more than 20 in a game.

“There was a lot of tight defense. When there was a mistake, we were lucky enough to capitalize on it,” Petrich said.

Petrich predicts much of the same for the upcoming series, which continues with games Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

“Our next six games we have with Fairbanks will be very tight,” Petrich said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they were 2-1, 1-0 games.”

The first-place Avs currently hold an eight-point lead over the second-place Ice Dogs (21-8-7). The Avs have the lead, but also have another long break after this series. Alaska will have nearly a month off in the game schedule, with its next action Feb. 24-25 at the MTA Events Center.

“They have eight games while we’re off,” Petrich said of the Ice Dogs.

Petrich said the message to the team is fairly simple. With six key points on the line this weekend, build as much of a lead before the next break. With eight Fairbanks games during the Avs’ break, Fairbanks could make up a total of 16 points.

“In junior hockey that’s a tough thing to do,” Petrich said.

In addition to the action on the ice, the Avs organization has a few special things planned for fans. The team will be giving away prizes such as gift cards, ticket packages and autographed jerseys during the series.

The Avs also have a “Meet and Greet the Avs” event slated for Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Tailgaters in Wasilla. Avs players and coaches will be at the restaurant to meet and interact with the team.

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