With first round of playoffs set, Avs can focus on Ice Dogs

PALMER — Midway through the season, it looked like much could be decided during the final weekend of the regular season slate. The highlight of the weekend — Alaska’s three-game set at Fairbanks — figured to have the most impact.

Now as teams head into the final weekend of regular season play, it turns out nothing will change in the North American Hockey League West Division standings, regardless of what happens in Fairbanks.

The division’s four playoff seeds are set, and the Alaska Avalanche are cemented into the third seed. With everything in place, Alaska head coach Brian Huebel said, the postseason officially starts now.

“We’re going up to Fairbanks and taking that three-game series as a rehearsal for the playoffs,” Huebel said Monday afternoon before the series that starts Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks.

Fairbanks (39-13-2, 81 points) is the division champ, running away with the West crown with its second-half surge. Wenatchee (34-21-3, 71 points) locked up the No. 2 seed and home ice advantage during the first round of the playoffs with a two-game sweep of Fresno last weekend. Alaska (30-21-4, 64 points) is seeded third. Kenai River (26-23-6, 58 points) claimed the fourth and final playoff spot in the West.

That sets up Kenai River-Fairbanks and Alaska-Wenatchee series in the first-round of the NAHL playoffs. With the No. 2 seed, the Wild have home ice advantage against the Avs. Wenatchee will host Alaska April 1 and 2. If either team takes a 2-0 lead, Game 3 will be played in Wenatchee April 3.

If the Avs and Wild split the first two games, the third and fourth games of the series will be hosted by the Avs April 8 and 9 at the MTA Palmer Ice Arena. If the series needs a fifth game, that contest will be in Wenatchee at a date to be determined.

Since the Avs know where they’ll be the first two days of April, Huebel said his players need to treat the Fairbanks set like it’s a playoff series.

“The focus is preparing ourselves,” Huebel said. “We know we’re playing Wenatchee in two weeks.”

Huebel said without all the different playoff scenarios circling the team, the Avs can concentrate on playing their brand of hockey.

“We know what we have to do to get wins,” Huebel said. “We know what our identity is.”

The key, Huebel said — execution. Blocking shots, finishing checks, getting second chances on net, not turning over the puck in the neutral zone — that’s what makes the Avs successful, Huebel said.

Alaska is 4-6-0 in 10 meetings with the Ice Dogs this season. The teams had split four, two-game series in the first eight meetings of the year. But Fairbanks swept a two-game set in February.

With two wins this weekend, Alaska can tie its franchise record for victories in a season with 32.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.