Wes Goldie

Reigning ECHL Goaltender of the Year Gerald Coleman stopped 25 shots, and rookie Chris Bruton scored the Aces only goal of regulation as the 2011 Kelly Cup champions opened their title defense with a 2-1 shootout win over the Las Vegas Wranglers at Sullivan Arena.  Wes Goldie and Dan Kissel buried shootout goals and Coleman set aside four of five Wranglers attempts in the shootout.   Bruton got the scoring underway with a power play strike at 17:58 of the first period.  Bryan Miller and Steve Ward assisted on the goal.  Scott Campbell scored off an Aces turnover to evening things up in the second.  Opening night also featured the unveiling of the Aces 2010-11 Kelly Cup championship banner.  The players will receive their championship rings prior to Saturday's rematch.

The man with the midas touch will be back with the reigning Kelly Cup Champion Alaska Aces. Wes Goldie, who won the ECHL Most Valuable Player award in his first season with Alaska, has re-signed to play another season with the Aces. Goldie, whose five straight seasons of 40 goals or more is an ECHL record, scored a league-high 46 times in the 2010-11 season, and added a career high 37 assists. He also ended the regular season with a point in 18 straight games, the longest streak by anyone in the league.

Alaska Aces forward Scott Howes, who sat out game three of the Kelly Cup Finals with an upper body injury, will be back in the lineup Friday night as the Aces look to extend their series lead to 3-1 over the Kalamazoo Wings. Howes leads all Aces in playoff points with 7 goals and 10 assists in his 10 games. The presence of Howes means that the Aces can get back to using the line combinations that were so successful all season and postseason. Howes will skate alongside usual linemates Wes Goldie and Brian Swanson on Alaska's top line.

  The Alaska Aces moved to within a victory of their second Kelly Cup Championship with a wild 7-5 win over the Kalamazoo Wings on Friday night at Wings Stadium. Alaska scored five first period goals, one shy of a Kelly Cup Finals record, and hung on to grab a commanding three games to one lead in the ECHL championship round. Game five is Saturday in Kalamazoo. 10 different Aces registered a point in a dominating first period that put the Kalamazoo crowd out of the game.

Throughout his ECHL career, Wes Goldie has been the man with the Midas touch. On Friday, the player with five consecutive 40-goal seasons was voted Most Valuable Player of the ECHL for the first time in his career. Goldie, who turned 32 on Tuesday, led the league in goals with 46 and registered a career high in assists with 37. He also ended the regular season on an ECHL season-long 18-game point streak. Goldie will enter next season with 335 career goals -- 33 behind the league's all-time leader, Rod Taylor.

Heading into Saturday night’s regular season finally on the road at the Victoria Salmon Kings the Aces needed just one point to secure the Brabham Cup. Thanks to 4-1 victory sparked by an early Ethan Cox goal the team would earn a pair and the prize for the best record in the ECHL, more than 72 games. Alaska finishes the season 47-22-3 for 97 points. Along with bragging rights and the Brabham Cup, the Aces will have home ice throughout the playoffs.   Alaska clinched a first round bye earlier in the season, they will get the next week off, while awaiting the winner of the Las Vegas Wranglers and Idaho Steelheads series.

The Alaska Aces were denied a chance to clinch the ECHL regular season points title on Friday night, with a 3-1 loss to the Victoria Salmon Kings. The defeat, coupled with the Greenville Road Warriors' victory against Gwinnett, means that Alaska owns only a one-point edge over Greenville for the league's best record and home ice advantage throughout the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Both teams wrap up the regular season on Saturday. However, the Aces still have the upper hand at clinching the Brabham Cup, given to the league's regular season points champion.

The Alaska Aces summoned the resolve of a champion on Wednesday night and rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to defeat the Victoria Salmon Kings, 4-2.   The victory, Alaska's seventh in a row, and its 13th in the last 14 games, enables the Aces to pull one step closer towards securing the regular season ECHL points title and home ice advantage throughout the Kelly Cup Playoffs.  The Aces need only a win or an overtime / shootout loss in their final two games to clinch the Brabham Cup. Mark Isherwood, Wes Goldie, Curtis Fraser, and Ethan Cox scored goals for Alaska.

Wes Goldie reached the 40-goal plateau for the fifth consecutive year, helping the Alaska Aces win, for the ninth time in the last 10 games, 3-2 over the Las Vegas Wranglers Tuesday night at the Orleans Arena. The victory gives the Aces a nine point lead over the Stockton Thunder in the race for the best record in the ECHL Western Conference with six games to go. Alaska won for the fourth straight time in Las Vegas despite never being granted a power play the entire game. Curtis Fraser and Russ Sinkewich also tallied goals for the Aces, who improve to 42-21-3 on the season.

The Alaska Aces have erased the memory of an eight-game winless streak on the road, a skid that stretched into February. Alaska won its fourth straight game away from home and moved into the lead in the ECHL Mountain Division with a 5-2 victory over the Idaho Steelheads. Wes Goldie scored his league-leading 30th goal of the season and tallied three assists, while fellow veteran Brian Swanson added two goals and one helper. With the win, Alaska improves to 30-19-2 overall, and its 62 points are enough to pass Utah for first place.