NAHL hockey: Avs face another tough test

WASILLA — November was a rough month for the Alaska Avalanche.

Alaska fell out of second place of the North American Hockey League West Division and posted a dissapointing 2-6-1 record.

And things aren’t getting any easier for the Avs.

Fairbanks used a pair of victories over Alaska on Friday and Saturday to extend the Avs’ losing streak to a season-high six games, and now Alaska has the dubious honor of hosting the Topeka RoadRunners, one of only two NAHL teams that have hit the 20-win mark this season.

Alaska and Topeka face off on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena, and again on Friday and Saturday.

“Topeka’s a very good team,” Alaska head coach Dave Boitz said on Monday. “They’ve got great goaltending and they’re very good defensively.

“They’re a lot like Fairbanks.”

Both Fairbanks and Topeka average more than four goals per game, and both squads are also stingy on the defensive side.

The Avs spent the weekend trying to crack Fairbanks netminder Phil Cook, the GDI/NAHL Goalie of the Month. Now Alaska has to deal with a Topeka squad that features two of the top goalies in the leauge. Bryce Merriam leads the NAHL with a 1.54 goals against average and teammate Lyle Rocker is third with a 2.04 GAA.

Topeka also features the league’s leading scorer, Jordan George, who has 15 goals and 22 assists in 24 games.

Alaska (9-10-1) fell below the .500 mark for the first time since the first game of the season with a 5-2 loss to Fairbanks on Saturday.

The Ice Dogs (16-4-3) did most of their damage in the second period, scoring four of their five goals during the second frame. Alaska peppered Alaska goaltender Nate Pellegrino with 23 shots during the second.

Boitz said he couldn’t fault Pellegrino — a former Alaska goaltender who was reaquired by the Avalanche last week in a trade with Alpena — the Avs just had an “awful” second period.

“Goaltending was not our problem,” Boitz said.

Another recently acquired Alaska goalie, Dylan Woodring, had his best outing with the Avalanche on Friday, Boitz said, despite being on the losing end of a 3-1 decision.

Woodring, who was dealt by Alexandria to Alaska in November, stopped 24 of the 26 shots he saw. Fairbanks’ third goal was an empty netter with seven seconds left in regulation.

“Dylan gave up two goals that were two breakaways,” Boitz said. “And one took a lucky bounce.”

First-year forward Zach Smith scored all three of Alaska’s goals during the weekend.

With help from linemates Nardo Nagtzaam and Ryan Kowal, Smith scored midway through the second period on Friday to tie the score at 1-1.

Smith put the Avs on the scoreboard late in the second period on Saturday and posted his second goal of the game 45 seconds into the third period.

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

Fairbanks 3, Alaska 1

Friday, Big Dipper Ice Arena

First period — 1. Fairbanks- Zierke (Saintey, A. McCabe) 12:25.

Second period — 2. Alaska- Smith (Nagtzaam, Kowal) 11:58, 3. Fairbanks- Krause (unassisted) sh 17:33.

Third period — 4. Fairbanks- Larson (Kraft, Block) en 19:53.

Shots on goal: Alaska 9-9-11—29, Fairbanks 6-13-8—27; Saves: Alaska- Woodring 5-12-724, Fairbanks- Cook 9-8-11—28; Power plays: Alaska 0-for-3, Fairbanks 0-for-5; Penalties: Alaska 9-for-26, Fairbanks 7-for-22.

Fairbanks 5, Alaska 2

Saturday, Big Dipper Ice Arena

First period — no scoring.

Second period — 1. Fairbanks- Waggoner (Kirtland, Kraft) 9:34, 2. Fairbanks- Juola (Saintey, B. McCabe) 13:00; 3. Fairbanks- Saintey (unassisted) sh 14:36; 4. Alaska- Smith (Braun) 15:18; 5. Fairbanks- B. McCabe (Saintey, Juola) 19:44.

Third period — 6. Smith (Nagtzaam, Kowal) 0:45, 7. Fairbnaks- A. McCabe (Zierke, Feaval) 3:17.

Shots on goal: Alaska 10-8-15—33, Fairbanks 13-23-9—45; Saves: Alaska- Pellegrino 13-19-8—40, Fairbanks- Cook 10-9-14—31; Power plays: Alaska 0-for-7, Fairbanks 0-for-5; Penalties: Alaska 10-for-31, Fairbanks 11-for-25.