Wichita Falls spoils Alaska’s homecoming

WASILLA — In spite of themselves, the Alaska Avalanche nearly staged a gritty comeback before Wichita Falls closed the doors on a hard-earned 4-2 win Friday night at the Curtis C. Menard Memorial Ice Rink in Wasilla.

Alaska spent more than twice as much time in the penalty box than the Wild Cats, but still found themselves down just 3-2 after defenseman David Peterson ripped a slap shot past Wild Cats goalie Mike Jarboe with just over two minutes left to play.

“I think we played really well, especially in the third period,” Alaska head coach Jamie Smith said following the game.

Hopes of the 763 fans who turned out for the Alaska home-opener were dashed 49 seconds later, when Wichita Falls forward Adam Krefski got in alone on Nathan Corey and casually flipped a tricky wrist shot past the Alaska goalie to ice the game.

On paper, the game figured to be a mismatch, as Wichita Falls entered the game with the best record in the North American Hockey League as well as the most points scored. Alaska, meanwhile, has struggled to find wins after starting the season on a brutal 11-game road trip to start the season.

Through two periods, it looked like the Wild Cats might be on their way to an easy win. The Wildcats led 3-1 through two periods, and had out shot Alaska by a 31-14 margin, — including a 20-5 edge in the second period.

But Alaska goalie Nathan Corey held the league’s top offensive unit at bay, and a depleted defensive corps showed flashes of brilliance as the Avs outplayed Wichita Falls over the game’s final 20 minutes.

Corey finished with 38 saves on 42 Wichita Falls shots, including several acrobatic saves that reminded fans why the South Anchorage product was a first-team all-state selection a year ago.

“We gave a good effort tonight, we’ve just got to be more disciplined,” Alaska defenseman Kent Detlefson said following the game. “Penalties will kill you.”

A thin defensive unit got thinned out even more when Teddy Zierden went down early with a lower-body injury. But led by Detlefson — who has emerged as a force after coming to the Avs in a trade with Alexandria earlier this month — the Avs were able to continually kill penalties and keep the game close.

The game was tied at 1-1 after the first period after goals by Wichita Falls’ Matt Kenline and Alaska’s Travis Stevens.

The Wildcats then picked up two power play goals in the second period by Luke Salazar and Sean McKenzie to open up a 3-1 lead.

Wichita Falls coach John Bowkus said he felt like the Wildcats were able to control the tempo and force Alaska penalties by coming out fast in the early going.

“Instead of waiting for things to happen, we tried to make things happen,” Bowkus said.

But after the teams went toe-to-toe in the third period, Detlefson’s hard work in the corners paid off big when he managed to slide the puck to Peterson, whose slap shot whizzed past Jarboe’s head and into the back of the net.

“We kind of dominated in the third period, because we were playing five on five,” Smith said.

Detlefson said the game proved that the Avalanche are developing into a legitimate force to be reckoned with despite struggling to find points in the early season.

“We need to stay out of the penalty box and we can play with anyone.”

On Saturday, the Avs suffered a 4-1 loss to the Wildcats.

Wichita Falls 4, Alaska 2

Friday, Menard Arena

Alaska 1 0 1 — 2

Wichita Falls 1 2 1 — 4

Scoring

First period — 1. Wichita Falls- Kenline (Sponseller, Watchom) 4:33; 2. Alaska- Stevens (Kincaid), 16:07.

Second period — 3. Wichita Falls- Salazar (Sponseller, Morrell) 0:44 pp; 4. Wichita Falls- McKenzie (Jameson) 13:51.

Third period — 5. Alaska- Peterson (Detlefson) 17:48; 6. Wichita falls- Krefski (Sponseller, Salazar) 18:37

Shots: Alaska 9-5-11 — 25; Wichita Falls 11-20-11 — 42.

Saves: Alaska- Corey 10-18-10 — 38; Wichita Falls- Jarboe 8-5-10 — 25.

Penalties: Alaska 14 for 39 minutes; Wichita Falls 9 for 18 minutes.

A — 763. Time — 1:45.