Anchorage Daily News

For the second straight season, the Alaska Avalanche suffered a second-half swoon to miss the North American Hockey League playoffs.

But moves made this season could bode well for the future.

Alaska started this season with promise, getting over the .500 mark for the first time since the franchise moved to Wasilla in 2005. The Avs entered the holiday break with a 14-15-2 record.

At that point, a turnaround from last season's 16-win campaign seemed complete, even though a long, tough road trip through Texas and Kansas still loomed.

That road trip proved a killer. In the new year, Alaska has gone 2-21-2 and suffered an 18-game losing streak.

Along the way, the Avs traded away most of thier veteran talent to bring in young players and get a look at first-year junior skaters who weren't getting much playing time.

With such a young team -- 21 players are eligible to return next season -- it's not surprising Alaska went through some hard times in the second half of the season. With four games remaining entering this weekend's series at Fairbanks, Alaska sits at 16-36-4, the second-worst record in the NAHL.

Only the expansion Kenai River Brown Bears are doing worse. And half of Alaska's victories this season have come against Kenai.

Despite that tough-to-swallow statistic, head coach Jamie Smith is optimistic about next year. All of Alaska's leading scorers -- Alex Young, Jeremiah Dargis, Kyle Pichler, Tyler Currier and Dylan Jones -- can return.

Those five young Alaskans are the talented core. Also, Wasilla High star Adam Friese should be with Alaska next season. Friese played with the Avs' midget team. He was brought up to the junior team for 10 games, which made him a protected player for next year's roster.

"I feel good about what we have," Smith said last week after a loss to the Alexandria Blizzard.

Smith said his goals this season were to win 20 games and get into the playoffs. While neither will happen, the Avs have matched last season's win total of 16 games.

All of Alaska's 20-year-olds are getting attention from or have signed with Division III schools.

Defenseman Teddy Zierden of Sartell, Minn., has committed to Wisconsin-River Falls, Smith said. Slovakian goalie Dusan Sidor is close to signing with Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Smith said, though he is waiting to see if any D-I school is interested.

Both Wisconsin universities are part of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association.

Sean Ranum of Houston and Eagle River's Michael McCurtain also have offers from D-III schools, Smith said, though neither has committed.

Smith said he's received some good feedback from college coaches in how he's building the program. He hopes that next year and beyond the Avalanche will regularly send players to Division I schools.

"Developing kids. That's the main thing," Smith said.

Find Ron Wilmot online at adn.com/contact/rwilmot or call 1-907-352-6712.

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