League honors Alaska forward

WASILLA — With the wins has come the recognition.

Last weekend, the Alaska Avalanche won for the eighth time in 10 tries and pushed their winning streak to four games. And thanks to that success, an Alaska skater was named a North American Hockey League West Division Player of the Week for the fourth time this season and the second time in as many weeks.

Forward Kyle Pichler earned the player of the week honors after scoring three goals and posting a +5 plus-minus rating.

The points were Pichler’s first since late September, but according to Alaska head coach Dave Boitz, it was only a matter of time before Pichler — the Avs’ leader in goals as an NAHL rookie last season — was back to scoring on a regular basis.

“He’s been getting a lot of good chances, but he’s been sort of snake-bit,” Boitz said. “He’s one of those guys who’s pretty good at putting the puck in the net. And now that it came, I’m sure he’ll stay hot.”

Defenseman Jason Cohen was listed as an honorable mention after posting two goals, an assist and a +5 rating against the Bears.

“Jason had a really good weekend,” Boitz said.

Cohen is now a +6 this season, as opposed to a -39 last year. Cohen a forward-turned-blueliner has progressed on the defensive end, Boitz said.

“He’s always been a very good offensive player, but he’s needed to work on his defense,” Boitz said. “He’s really gotten better in that area.”

Pichler is the second Alaska forward to be recognized by the league this year. Tyler Currier earned West Division Player of the Week honors last week. Avs netminder Austin Maginnis was the NAHL Goalie of the Week,

Blueliner Sean McNeely was named West Division Player of the Week after the first week of the season.

Avs host Kenai River

The Avalanche welcome a familiar opponent to the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena this weekend — the Kenai River Brown Bears.

After playing six straight against their intrastate rival, Alaska will hit the ice for yet another two-game set against the Brown Bears.

Alaska (8-2-0) hosts Kenai River (5-9-1) tonight and Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Avs, who sport the third-best winning percentage in the NAHL, have won four straight against Kenai River.

Alaska has scored 26 goals during that span and now lead the league with an average of 4.6 goals per game. The Avs scored 16 goals in two games last weekend, and 10 different Avalanche players found the back of the net.

“We had a lot of guys score goals, which is really good,” Boitz said.

But while Boitz is excited about his team’s production on offense, the first-year Alaska head coach is not thrilled about the number of goals the Avs are giving up.

“We need to do a little better job on the defensive end,” Boitz said. “We can’t be giving up three and four goals tonight.”

Alaska’s biggest struggles have come on special teams where the Avs allowed five power-play goals in two games.

“We outscored them 15-2 when it was five-on-five, but we got outscored 5-1 when were on the penalty kill,” Boitz said.

After Saturday, Alaska will not play Kenai River again until Jan. 2.

Avs trade forward

Alaska has traded forward Derek Kimbro to Springfield for a 2009 tender, Boitz said on Thursday.

Kimbro had a goal and two assists in nine games for the Avalanche. Boitz said the Nashville, Tenn., native had simply become the odd-man out in what has become a deep Avalanche squad.

“He’s a great kid and a pretty good player,” Boitz said.

With the emergence of Alaska’s first-year talent at the forward position, Boitz said the Avs couldn’t guarantee that Kimbro would be an everyday player in the Alaska lineup. And at 20 years old and in his final year of junior hockey eligibility, Boitz said the Avs felt Kimbro needed to be in a different situation.

“He needs to play more regularly,” Boitz said. “He needs to play every night.”

Kimbro returns to a Springfield where he was one of the Jr. Blues’ regular forwards last year. In 53 games during the 2007-08 campaign, Kimbro scored four goals and four assists. During the offseason, Kimbro was sent to Alaska along with defenseman Richard Zobak in exchange for forward Jeremiah Dargis.

Dargis, a former Wasilla High School standout, has since been traded to Bismarck.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.