Aces need dominant man behind the mask

The Alaska Aces lacked that guy for the majority of the ECHL hockey season, which is why they had to fight so hard just to qualify for the Kelly Cup playoffs and also why they made such a quick departure from the chase for the chalice.

By most measures -- and remember, this is an organization with such a deep track record of success that expectations are always almost ridiculously high -- the club's 2009-10 season was a failure.

Only a blistering stretch run -- 10-2-3 in the last month of the regular season -- earned the Aces the No. 3 playoff seed in the National Conference. But after winning Game 1 in a best-of-5, first-round series with Stockton, the Aces lost three straight and were ushered to the exit.

That elimination marked the first time in seven ECHL seasons that the Aces did not advance to at least the second round -- they've twice advanced as far as the fourth, and final, round, and won the Cup in 2006; two other times they made it to the third round; and two other times they got as far as the second round.

That four-game dismissal by Stockton spotlighted the weakness in goal that hamstrung the Aces much of the season. (Granted, after Jean-Philippe Lamoureux won league Goaltender of the Year honors in 2009 and backstopped Alaska to Game 7 of the Kelly Cup Finals, many in the Aces' Cowbell Crew of hard-core fans expected nothing less this season, which was wishful, though, unrealistic thinking).

Veteran Scott Reid provided yeoman's work down the stretch of the regular season, and for much of that last month he was the club's only goalie. But he never found a groove until then. Sebastian Dahm, who started the season with the Aces, was a bust -- he got shipped to the International Hockey League, where careers often go to die. Sure, Frank Doyle rocked the Aces' world with his excellence in midseason -- that was a nice acquisition by Thompson -- but he was too good: He quickly got snagged by the American Hockey League and ended up with an NHL deal. Awesome for him, agony for the Aces.

As for late-arriving rookie Billy Sauer, he was sharp and steady at the end of the regular season, but his Game 4 groaner with the season on the line -- seven shots, four goals surrendered in the opening 15 minutes -- was so brutal it was hard to watch. Reid replaced him, which amounted to pouring gas on the fire, and Sauer then replaced Reid. Hockey 101: If you have to change goalies twice, you're not living the dream.

In Thompson's defense -- and bear in mind, fans who don't think the former NHLer is up to the job as head coach probably can't be convinced otherwise -- he gets his chance this offseason to assemble a team wholly his own. No problem here with giving him a second season, now that he realizes being an ECHL bench boss is arguably the toughest coaching job in hockey.

An ECHL head coach is usually coach, general manager, game strategist, practice designer, recruiter, salary-cap dude, video guy, motivator, baby sitter and about 43 other things. Those manifold tasks seemingly overwhelmed Thompson for much of the season, but credit him with at least making some moves.

Didn't agree with every move. Trading defenseman Derick Martin robbed the club of a significant slice of its soul, though that's no reflection of winger Jarrett Konkle, who the Aces received in return.

A couple of trades simply didn't work in the long run. Getting Doyle cost the Aces winger Matt Stefanishion, and Doyle was soon gone. Still, Stefanishion could be maddening -- so much talent, too much of it wasted.

Veteran winger Lance Galbraith got off to a horrendous start and Thompson shipped him to Utah. In return, the Aces got center Evan Kotsopoulos, who provided some decent penalty killing but also a silly number of silly penalties, usually a zip code away from his own net, and he was eventually released. (By the way, what gives with all the offensive-zone penalties in this town? The Aces were the paid kings of such infractions, the Seawolves the amateur kings.) The Aces in the Galbraith trade also gained the ECHL rights to Mike Walsh, who was a no-show.

Thompson also jettisoned the Hemingway brothers, releasing Brett and trading Colin to Stockton for Judd Blackwater. Those moves, particularly the trade of Colin, seemed to upset the Cowebell Crew, but seemed fine with the Aces' dressing room. Neither Hemingway played for Stockton in the playoff series against the Aces, so you can only conclude that those moves worked.

The late pickup of former UAF center Dion Knelsen was a strong acquisition.

Injuries killed the Aces -- but that's hockey, even if various ailments did cost 18 different Aces to miss a total of 235 regular-season games. Defenseman Tyson Marsh (ankle surgery) and Curtis Fraser (shoulder surgery) missed huge chunks of the season, and captain Scott Burt was walking wounded much of the campaign and missed the playoffs with a broken foot that required surgery. (By the way, Burt, 33, said Tuesday he's still weighing whether to continue playing -- stay tuned).

Rookie center Nick Mazzolini proved a revelation. He bagged team highs of 27 goals, 64 points and a plus-11 rating in 63 games, and deserves an AHL shot. Alas, he missed all but the first eight minutes of the playoff series. A concussion likely suffered after his unhelmeted head bounced off the ice following a punch from Stockton's Jordan Bendfeld cost Mazzolini the rest of the series. In a sick way, that injury was indicative of Alaska's season -- yet another injury to a principal player.

Lastly, we checked in today with Jack Michaels, the Aces broadcaster who also carries 14 other job titles, and he shot down the annual rumor that he's outta here. So, chill Cowbell Crew, move along, nothing to see here. Captain iPhone says he's on the job, good enough for me.

So, let's call it a wrap on the Aces for 2009-10.

Call it a decent, though tumultuous, season, and not good enough.

Find Doyle Woody's blog at adn.com/hockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.