Wasilla graduate scores during NAHL’s return to the Valley

PALMER — On the night of the North American Hockey League’s return to the Valley, a local product helped his team skate to a victory.

Tanner Schachle, a Wasilla High School graduate and former Warriors hockey standout, scored a goal to help lead the Fairbanks Ice Dogs to a 6-1 win over the Kenai River Brown Bears Friday night at the MTA Events Center in Palmer.

It’s been six years since the Valley lost its North American Hockey League Junior A hockey team, the Alaska Avalanche. But the NAHL returned for one night, fueled by a campaign for the league to expand in Alaska. The teams, which also played Saturday night in Anchorage, scheduled the games to showcase the league and its talent with the hope off adding additional teams in Alaska.

“It’s kind of a two-fold thing,” Kenai River head coach Josh Petrich said recently. “It’s about exposing people to the level of play, the quality of players in the North American Hockey League.”

Petrich, a former assistant coach with the Avalanche, said representatives of both organizations would like to see two more teams in the 49th state, which would create a four-team Alaska division in the NAHL, which currently has 23 teams spread across the country.

Petrich said Anchorage, Wasilla and Palmer are viewed as viable options for potential league expansion, and the games in Palmer and Anchorage this weekend will be used to also showcase the league to potential future owners.

“The second part of the process of it is to allow people that potentially want to get involved in ownership or running a team to see what it’s all about,” Petrich said.

According to nahl.com, the total attendance Friday night was 1,527.

Schachle scored late in the third period to give the Ice Dogs the 5-1 lead. It was his 23rd goal of the season. Schachle also had 25 assists and 48 total points in 55 games. The UAA commit leads Fairbanks in goals and is fourth in points.

Fairbanks, which has already clinched a playoff spot, is the top team in the NAHL.

Fairbanks also includes a pair of Anchorage products, veteran Daniel Haider and rookie Asa Kinnear. Kenai River features Skyler Gutierrez, Lukas Millen, Tyler Miknich and Kevin Lake of Anchorage; and Sutton McDonald, Cameron McDonald and Zack Krajnik of Eagle River.

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