HOMESTRETCH: Avs back at MTA Events Center with eye on winning series

PALMER — The key to winning a marathon isn’t how you start, it’s how you finish. While the Alaska Avalanche hold a 2-1 North American Hockey League West Division playoff edge over the Wenatchee Wild, that lead won’t mean anything if the Avs can’t finish the race.

And the series has been a marathon on ice so far. After falling behind 0-1, the Avs rebounded last weekend with a pair of overtime wins on the Wild’s home ice in Wenatchee, Wash. Saturday’s nearly 100-minute double overtime win was a test of mental and physical toughness that both squads plan to bring to tonight’s Game 5, a 7:30 p.m. faceoff at the MTA Events Center in Palmer.

Aside from playing three games in three nights, that the series has so far come down to overtime isn’t a surprise to Wenatchee head coach John Becanic.

“It’s exactly what we expected,” he said. “We told our players to expect it to go four or five (games). They’re very good, they play extremely hard. You’re never going to out-work that team. So far, they’ve been everything we’ve expected them to be.”

The overtime games were a test, said Avs head coach Corey Millen. And he gives his players a passing grade.

“All three games have been hard-fought, tight and well-contested,” he said. “Obviously, I don’t expect anything to be different tomorrow. … In the three games, I thought we put (things) together and played pretty well, I was happy with all three efforts.”

To hear Becanic talk about tonight’s Game 5, he doesn’t expect a Wild let-down following a pair of tough overtime losses. Physically, his team is in good shape, he said, as well as mentally.

“We both had opportunities in both overtimes,” he said. “Our staff is really big on mental preparation and we talk about that from the start of the season back in August. Two overtime losses to us isn’t a big deal. We prepare for it. The playoffs is a time when mental strength is going to be big for you.”

Wenatchee also has some recent history to bolster its confidence, the coach said. The Wild played well on the road all season, winning back-to-back road games six times — including once on the Avs’ home ice.

The Wild will have to do just that to advance to the second round, likely to face No. 1 NAHL West seed Fairbanks, which leads Kenai River 2-0 going into tonight’s Game 3 in Kenai. For Alaska, tonight is a chance to secure a rare playoff series win and move on to the second round, which starts play May 3.

How far can this Avs team go?

“We can go the whole way,” Millen said. “There’s no doubt in my mind we’re capable of that. We’re there. When we play well, we can beat anybody. It’s going to take an effort from everybody playing well, period.”

That’s the kind of effort Millen said he’s seen from a deep Avs bench so far this series.

Nobody’s been on the ice more over the past two games than goaltender Bodhi Engum, rated the West’s top goalie in the playoffs. In more than 161 minutes of work, Engum has made 59 saves and leads the west with a stingy 1.12 goals against average and a .952 saves percentage.

Engum’s Wenatche counterpart, Robert Nichols, has been nearly as impressive, piling up a 1.50 GAA while making 64 saves with a .941 saves percentage.

At playoff time, teams with good goaltending usually advance, Millen said.

“You have to have good goaltending, there’s no way teams can win games and series with average goaltending,” he said. “Bodhi’s been solid for us and won big games for us all year long.”

Becanic agrees, adding he believes the Wild are strong in net as well.

“Goaltending has been one of our strengths this year,” he said. “The playoffs are three things — goaltending, special teams and the team that buckles first under pressure. It’s like poker; you have to know when to pull your chips off the table and not gamble and when to push.”

That said, Becanic said the Wild offense needs to challenge the Avalanche defense more to make a comeback in the series.

“We can do more to force Engum to make better saves,” he said. “Alaska has done a very, very good job of not allowing us to get close to the net.”

Along with solid play in net, Millen said he’s been pleased with the overall depth and toughness shown in the playoff so far. Brandon Brossoit leads the team at +2 in the playoffs, which is a testament to the Avs’ overall balance, the coach said.

“Brandon for us made a nice play on (one of the) overtime winners,” he said. “When it’s all said and done, we’ve had big efforts from everybody, really. We have to get a balanced, good effort from everybody. We don’t have that one or two guys who are going to change the game for us.”

That the Avalanche and Wild match up so well has made this first-round series a battle, Millen said.

“They’re not easy, but it’s about patience and playing the right way,” the coach said. “I really like how we performed in that (Saturday) overtime session, no doubt.”

Contact reporter Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.

NAHL West Playoffs

Round 1

Fairbanks vs. Kenai River

Game 1: Fairbanks 3, Kenai River 0

Game 2: Fairbanks 4, Kenai River 0

Game 3: Today, 7:30 p.m. at Kenai

Game 4: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at Kenai (if necessary)

Game 5: Monday, 7:30 p.m. at Fairbanks (if necessary)

Alaska vs. Wenatchee

Game 1: Wenatchee 4, Alaska 1

Game 2: Alaska 2, Wenatchee 1 OT

Game 3: Alaska 3, Wenatchee 2 2OT

Game 4: Today, 7:30 p.m. at MTA Events Center, Palmer

Game 5: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at MTA Events Center (if necessary)