Physical play leads to league honor

WASILLA — Cute is the last way a hockey player wants to be described.

Strong. Fast. Tough.

Anything but cute.

Alaska head coach Dave Boitz thought second-year forward Matt Friese may have been trying to get a little too “cute” with his play. And late last week, Boitz challenged the former Wasilla High School standout to be more physical.

And Friese responded.

The 5-foot-10, 170-pound forward tallied a pair of goals and an assist, and recorded a +3 rating during the final two games of a three-game home sweep of Kenai River.

More important to Boitz, Friese handed out 22 hits in two games, and proceeded to knock the term “cute,” right off the list of words to describe his play.

“Instead of poking and jumping around, he was going through guys,” Boitz said of Friese, who was named the North American Hockey League West Division Player of the Week on Monday.

Friese put together a three-point weekend, but Boitz said it was the physical presence on the ice that led to Friese’s success on the offensive end and the weekly award.

“He was a wrecking ball out there,” Boitz said.

Friese recorded eight hits on one night and 14 on the other. That far exceeds the two or three hits Boitz estimates that Friese has averaged per game.

Friese, who won’t even turn 18 until April, has already proven to have the speed and skill to play at this level and beyond.

He has 12 goals and 14 assists in 40 games. His 26 points more than triple his total from this first season in the league. He’s raised his plus-minus rating from a -6 to a +9. And he’s seen by most as the fastest skater on the Avalanche.

Friese has already committed to play college hockey for Division I Alaska Anchorage.

Boitz said adding the physical element to his game will make Friese a true force on the ice.

“He’s a well-put-together tough, tough kid. He has just incredible leg strength,” Boitz said. “He can just go through guys. If he does add that to his game, he’s going to play at a whole different level.”

Friese and the Avs are looking to extended a winning streak during a two-game road series against the Kenai River Brown Bears that starts today in Kenai.

Alaska has won three straight games and six of its last seven. The Avs also have seven straight wins against the Bears.

Alaska sits at 23-13-6, good enough for third in the NAHL West Division standings. The Avs are chasing the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, who stand in second place with a 27-7-3 mark.

The puck is scheduled to drop tonight at Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.

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