Alaska Aces

Scott Campbell scored his sixth and seventh goals of the playoffs, and former UAA Seawolf Josh Lunden struck 1:28 into regulation as the Las Vegas Wranglers evened the ECHL's Western Conference Finals against the Alaska Aces with a 3-0 win on Friday night in Las Vegas.  The series is tied 1-1, with game three in Anchorage on Sunday night. Joe Fallon stopped all 23 Aces shots and received all the goal scoring he needed in the opening period.  Following Lunden's goal early on, Campbell buried his first of two goals only 1:36 later to make it 2-0.  Campbell's second goal came with only 42 seconds left in the first.

Eric Lampe scored 3:11 into overtime to lift the Las Vegas Wranglers to a 3-2 win over the Alaska Aces in game three of the ECHL's Western Conference Finals.  The win gives Las Vegas a two games to one lead in the series.  The Aces never led in game three but rallied to tie twice on goals by Kane Lafranchise in the first period and Scott Howes in the third.  The strike by Howes was the first of the playoffs for last year's...

Chris D'Alvise scored the game winning goal on a power play 9:19 into overtime to give the Stockton Thunder a 3-2 win over the Alaska Aces in game two of the ECHL's Western Conference Semifinals on Saturday at Sullivan Arena.  The best of seven series is tied at one game apiece, with game three Wednesday in Stockton. Alaska never trailed in regulation, thanks to goals by Brandon Gentile and Nick Mazzolini in a span of 51 seconds in the second period.  The Thunder rallied to tie the game by period's end, setting the stage for D'Alvise's game winner.

Reigning ECHL Goaltender of the Year Gerald Coleman made 13 of his 19 saves in the second period as the Alaska Aces got past the ECHL's newest team, the Colorado Eagles, 2-1 in an exhibition game Tuesday at Sullivan Arena. The defending Kelly Cup Champion Aces received goals from returning forward Garry Nunn and a power play strike from newcomer Patrick Schafer in the victory.  Alaska finished only 1 for 10 on the man advantage.  The Aces wore pink jerseys and will again in Wednesday's rematch with Colorado as part of the club's Paint The Rink Pink fundraiser for breast cancer awareness.  The teams played on pink-colored ice.        

Scott Howes, the Alaska Aces' leading point producer in the playoffs with 7 goals and 10 assists, will miss game three of the Kelly Cup Finals against the Kalamazoo Wings with an upper body injury. His status is day-to-day. The loss of the play-making forward will re-arrange Alaska's line combinations. Howes had played most of the season on the Aces' top line, alongside Brian Swanson and ECHL Most Valuable Player Wes Goldie. Wednesday night in Kalamazoo, the Aces will be in search of a commanding three games to none lead over the Wings in the ECHL championship series.

Curtis Fraser is returning to the Alaska Aces. The Aces announced the signing of the 6’2” 200 pound forward today. Last season, Fraser couldn’t get healthy enough to stay on the ice. A shoulder injury caused the former UAF standout to miss all but 17 regular season games. When he did see action, Fraser was an effective offensive weapon, scoring eight goals and 13 points. Fraser is only one of three players currently signed who return from last season’s Aces team, joining Scott Burt and Bryan Miller.

Colton Yellow Horn, who appeared in The Hockey News Greatest Name Tournament earlier this year, appeared on the score sheet often as the Ontario Reign snapped the Alaska Aces 13-game unbeaten streak with a 3-1 victory over Alaska on Saturday night.  The Aces had not tasted regulation defeat since December 12th.  Yellow Horn scored twice, his 25th and 26th goals of the season, and added an assist in the game to drop the Aces to 30-9-1. ...

The youngest member of the Alaska Aces will be the club's only all-star selection.  Defenseman William Wrenn, just 21, has been named to the ECHL all-star squad that will play against the Colorado Eagles in Loveland, Colorado on January 23rd. Wrenn is making his pro debut this season for Alaska, and own totals of 5 goals and 11 assists and is one of three Aces to suit up in all 34 games this season.  His 5 goals are the most of any Alaska blueliner. The Aces are on a season-long eight game winning streak and visit Stockton on Friday.

For the first time in four meetings against the Las Vegas Wranglers this season, the Alaska Aces came away without a victory, falling to Las Vegas in a shootout, 3-2 on Monday afternoon.  The result leaves Alaska an ECHL-best 31-10-2 entering the league's All-Star break.  Nick Mazzolini and newly acquired Shawn Skelly scored goals for the Aces, while Skelly assisted on Mazzolini's team-high 24th of the season.  The Aces allowed Las Vegas...

Prior to today, each of the Alaska Aces player signings for the upcoming season have been returnees.  Today, the club announces the arrival of two first-year Aces.  Alaska has signed forward Tom Mele and defenseman Todd Orlando. Mele is a speedy forward who put up 7 goals and 11 assists last season with Fort Wayne of the Central Hockey League.  2012-13 will be his second professional season. Orlando has spent most of his career abroad and played last season in Finland.  Listed at 6'8", 225 pounds, he should provide the Aces plenty of physicality.