Granted, the Aces' next 11 games are on home ice at Sullivan Arena -- that will be followed by an 11-game, 20-day road trip -- but that prolonged homestand starts off with a bang tonight when the hottest club on the circuit visits.
The league-leading Aces (20-5-5) open a three-game series tonight against the potent Colorado Eagles (18-8-3), who have merely gone 11 straight games (9-0-2) without a loss in regulation.
The only team in the league this season to string together a longer run of consecutive games in which it seized points is Alaska, which earlier logged 13 straight games (11-0-2) without a regulation loss.
And while the Aces have gone the last four games without a regulation loss, they are only 1-0-3 in that span, thanks to two shootout losses and an overtime defeat last week at Idaho.
The Aces see their series against the Eagles as a chance to regain their equilibrium against a difficult opponent and establish momentum on the homestand.
"It'll definitely be a good test, a good barometer of how we're doing,'' said Aces defenseman Brandon Gentile. "Hopefully, we'll get some wins and get going. This (homestand) is a great opportunity to stockpile some points before that road trip.''
The series breaks down as a matchup of the league's stingiest defensive team in the Aces against the league's most explosive offensive team in the Eagles.
Neither team enters the series at full force -- of course, with injuries and call-ups to the American Hockey League, ECHL teams this time of season rarely possess all their weapons.
The Aces won't have goaltender Gerald Coleman, who sat out the last two games of the Idaho series with an upper-body injury that will also cause him to miss all three games against Colorado. Defenseman Russ Sinkewich remains up with AHL Abbotsford and rookie winger Chris Bruton has shuttled back to AHL Peoria. Scoring winger Scott Howes has been with AHL Bridgeport for more than five weeks and is not expected back soon.
But center Ethan Cox, who sat out the last game in Idaho with an upper-body injury, will be back in the lineup.
Colorado, meanwhile, is missing big pieces in league-leading scorer Chad Costello and former Aces forward Jack Combs, who is second among ECHL scorers. Costello is up with AHL Springfield and Combs is with AHL Worcester. Also, Alex Penner, an Eagles' defenseman and the league's penalty-minute leader (140), won't be available for the first two games of this series because he is serving a league-imposed suspension.
Still, Aces coach Rob Murray expects the Eagles to be a stern test.
"They're quick, really skilled, good goaltending, and their defensemen are really good,'' Murray said. "They've got a good strong team.
"It'll be interesting to see how things pan out. I'm expecting a really challenging series.''
Shuffling the deck
With Coleman out, second-year goaltender Adam Courchaine will get three straight starts. That would make five consecutive starts for Courchaine, who sits third in the league in goals-against average (1.95) and second in save percentage (.933).
Colorado forward Michael Forney is the ECHL Player of the Week after racking 3-3--6 totals and a plus-7 rating in four victories last week. The Eagles have won seven straight games.
Not surprisingly, Idaho's Jerry Kuhn, who beat the Aces twice in shootouts and once in overtime last week on the way to a 4-0-0 mark, was named Goaltender of the Week. He posted a 2.08 goals-against average and .943 save percentage.
Former UAA defenseman Luka Vidmar is flourishing as a rookie for the Eagles. After getting released by Las Vegas after three games, he hooked up with Colorado, and in 19 games has delivered 1-13--14 totals and a plus-14 rating.
Colorado defensemen Aaron Schneekloth (11-17--28 in 29 games) and Jon Landry (11-16--27 in 29 games) are ranked 1-2 in points among league defensemen, and are tied for the league lead in goals by blueliners. This Jon Landry is 28 and from Montreal, so don't confuse him with the defenseman Jon Landry who played for Kalamazoo against the Aces in the Kelly Cup Finals last May. That Jon Landry is 27 and from Lexington, Mass.
Also, Colorado's Jon Landry shoots left and the Jon Landry who played for Kalamazoo shoots right.
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