Playoff push: Avs in hunt for home ice

PALMER — Before the Alaska Avalanche took the ice last weekend against the Kenai River Brown Bears, the Avs coaching staff skipped the usual pregame speech.

Instead, Alaska head coach Corey Millen wrote a single sentence on the board in the locker room.

Play the game the right way.

The Avs answered the challenge.

Alaska scored a crucial sweep of the Brown Bears, with wins of 2-1 on Friday and 5-0 on Saturday, and closed the gap in the race for home ice in the first round of the North American Hockey League playoffs.

“That’s the only thing (coach Millen) said during the pregame speech and (the players) really bought it,” Alaska assistant coach Josh Petrich said on Monday. “The kids played the game the right way. That’s what we asked.”

The wins pushed third-place Alaska to 32-17-4 overall, and with 68 points in the standings, the Avs sit only six shy of second-place Wenatchee.

The Avs have the opportunity to make up more ground this week, with a key three-game series against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, which starts Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks.

“We’re going uphill at the right time,” Petrich said of the Avs, who earned their first series sweep since late January.

Alaska built an early 2-0 lead on Friday and five different players scored the following night. The Avs allowed only 14 shots on Friday and 15 on Saturday.

“We played Avalanche hockey for the first time in a long time,” Petrich said. “Friday we were getting there, Saturday we absolutely took it to them. It was a great thing to see. It’s the best game we’ve had since we went 2-0-1 in Fairbanks (in early December).”

The Ice Dogs remain in first place with a 36-12-7 record and 79 points in the standings. Fairbanks is within reach of another division title, but Wenatchee and the Avs still have a shot at the crown.

“If we win out in (Fairbanks), it’s a possibility,” Petrich said.

Wenatchee is 34-16-6 with 74 points.

Alaska has the most games to play of the three teams, with seven games left in the regular season. The Ice Dogs have five games remaining and the Wild have four games left.

Following the series in the Interior this weekend, the Avs will host a pair of two-game sets at the MTA Events Center in Palmer next week. Alaska hosts Dawson Creek March 27-28 and Kenai River March 30-31.

Wenatchee plays its final four games against Fresno, which is battling Kenai River for the fourth and final berth from the NAHL West.

Fresno is currently three points ahead of Kenai River.

Alaska is also within reach of franchise history. With the 5-0 win on Saturday, the Avs tied a franchise record for wins in a season.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.