Jan. 21, 2007

Wichita Falls sweeps Avs

By MATT TUNSETH/Frontiersman

WASILLA - Too many penalties and too few goals spelled disaster for the Alaska Avalanche over the weekend.

The Avs dropped a pair of games to the Wichits Falls Wildcats Friday and Saturday to remain in last place in the South Division of the North American Hockey League.

Wichita completed the sweep with a 4-0 win Saturday night at the Multi-Use Sports Complex in Wasilla.

Alaska was outshot 45-17 Saturday.

The game was scoreless until the second period, when the Wildcats broke things open with three goals.

Avalanche goalie Nathaniel Pellegrino stopped 41 of the 45 shots he faced.

In Friday's 5-2 loss against the Wildcats, the Avalanche had nobody to blame but themselves.

Alaska racked up 53 minutes in penalties in a sloppy, error-plagued game that left head coach Keith Morris none too pleased.

&#8220We weren't ready to play today,” Morris said.

The Avalanche only trailed 1-0 after the first period, but were outshot 13-5 in the frame and looked sluggish throughout. Goalie Adam Kraus was largely responsible for keeping things close, making a number of point-blank saves on Wichita shots.

In the second period, things really got ugly, as the Avalanche picked up 11 penalties and gave up two more goals to fall behind 3-0 on goals by Michal Hrtus and Eddie Effinger.

Avalanche forward Victor Nordenson, the team's leading scorer, was forced into the locker room during the period after blocking a slap shot with his left knee.

The Swedish-born skater showed some toughness, however, returning in the third period and scoring Alaska's first goal of the game. With Alaska on the attack in front of the Wichita goal, Travis Stevens made a nice play to keep the puck in the zone and quickly flipped the puck to Nordenson.

Nordenson capitalized, cashing in for his 13th goal of the year.

Wichita's Chris Nutini gave the Wildcats a 4-1 lead later in the period.

Alaska's Paulos Shiferaw finished out the Avalanche scoring with a nifty shot from a tight angle late in the period to cut the defecit to 4-2, but an empty-netter by Wichita's Brett Hartung ended any chance of a miracle comeback.

The lone bright spot for Alaska was the play of its goalie, a player Morris said is among the best in the country.

&#8220He is as good as it gets in Junior A hockey,” Morris said of Kraus, who finished the game with 39 saves.

Despite the poor performances Friday and Saturday, Morris said he's hopeful the struggling Avs can still turn things around.

&#8220It's all mental mistakes that we're making,” he said. &#8220There's no reason we can't play well over the last 20 games of the season.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com