NAHL hockey: West Division now history

MAT-SU - When the Alaska Avalanche takes the ice next fall, the local Junior A hockey squad will be playing in some unfamiliar territory.

Gone is the North American Hockey League's West Division, Alaska's home in the 20-team league last season.

Alaska - a team formerly known as the Wasilla Spirit - the Fairbanks Ice Dogs and three teams from Montana made up the West Division. But thanks to the departure of those Montana squads, the NAHL is now forced to realign.

&#8220It's a huge issue right now,” Avalanche head coach Dean Larson said. &#8220Obviously we need to find a place to play. It's a major concern.”

Within the last month, teams in Bozeman, Billings and Helena all announced they were either folding, or taking a season off. Larson said he had heard grumblings that some of the teams may be folding, but is surprised to now see no teams from Montana in the league.

The Billings Bulls started the chain reaction. The organization was forced to suspend operations after it did not reach an agreement on a lease with the owners of the building that housed its home rink. With Billings not in the NAHL next year, the Helena Bighorns sent a petition to the league to move its franchise to Taylor, Mich.

Like Alaska and Fairbanks, Billings and Helena had teamed to split travel costs during the season. With Billings gone, Helena could not afford to continue operating.

On Wednesday, the Bozeman Ice Dogs, the runner-up in the NAHL this season, were forced to suspend its operations after the team suddenly found itself without a home arena.

The Ice Dogs' home, the Valley Ice Garden in Bozeman, is in the process of being sold. This fall the Ice Garden will be turned into a warehouse.

&#8220This decision was basically made for us,” Ice Dogs general manager Jason Martel said in a press release on the team's Web site, www.bozemanicedogs.com. &#8220We cannot possibly operate without Billings and Helena, and expect teams in North Dakota and Minnesota to take on the additional expense of playing in Bozeman.”

The Ice Dogs will not play at all in 2006-07, but may relocate the following year, the release said.

On Saturday, the league granted inactive membership status to the Helena franchise as it prepares to move to Michigan.

The move was granted by the NAHL last week.

Billings also will be idle next season, as it considers joining the America West Hockey League, a Junior B league.

With the West Division history, Larson said the Avalanche and the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, could be moved into the South Division or the Central Division.

&#8220The South Division is a great place to go down and play hockey, but it's a tough division,” Larson said. &#8220With that said, (the teams in the Central Division) are building off last year, and starting to make some progress.”

If Alaska was moved to the South, its closest opponents would be in New Mexico and Texas.

The top team in that area, the Texas Tornado, won the league title this year.

In the Central Division, Alaska routinely would face squads from Minnesota, Michigan and Iowa.

A positive, Larson said, is the surplus of talented players now looking for a place to play. With four teams now gone - the Cleveland Barons, formerly in the North Division, also are now inactive - the NAHL could be a more competitive league, Larson said.

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