When winger Matt Ambroz left the game with an injury after one period, Jacques Lamoureux slid into his spot on Harrison's line and furnished a goal.
And from the blue-line crew, Brandon Gentile chipped in his second goal of the season and Chad Anderson generated two helpers.
Friday night, the Alaska Aces in their 3-1 victory over the Utah Grizzlies at Sullivan Arena provided more evidence their quality depth is one of their signature attributes.
"Any time you step into a role like that, you have to bring your best for the guys around you,'' Harrison said after the first three-point game of his pro career. "There's a level of play you're expected to have, regardless of who you are.''
Meaning, guys are expected to do more than just eat up some ice time and avoid making costly mistakes. They are expected to produce.
Lamoureux, for instance, began the evening as the 10th forward, slated for spot shifts. But when Ambroz took an elbow to the head, Lamoureux, a former NCAA goal-scoring champ at Air Force who is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, made good use of all the time he spends after practice getting put through drills by assistant coaches.
"That hard work and preparation makes opportunity turn into success,'' Lamoureux said.
And the ECHL-leading Aces (25-5-5) know plenty about success. Friday's victory marked their fifth straight win, stretched their streak of games unbeaten in regulation to nine (6-0-3) and gave them at least a point in 22 of their last 23 hockey games (17-1-5).
"We've got guys on this team who, when they need to step up, do it,'' said winger Tyler Ruegsegger, who scored a goal. "That's our team mentality - we're working for each other.''
All those contributions by guys like Harrison -- and, granted, he was a center his whole life until moving to wing last season for an Aces club deep at center -- and Lamoureux do not go unnoticed by the club's most elite players. None of the Aces goals or assists Friday came from their top seven scorers -- Cox, one of those guys, sat out after taking a stick to the face in Thursday's 4-1 win and requiring multiple stitches to mend his upper lip and face.
"For everybody, it's uplifting when guys step up and do well,'' said captain Brian Swanson, the former NHLer. "It's a boost for the team.''
Hey, there was even a 6-foot-5 goaltender who acquitted himself pretty well in his first start in more than two weeks.
Gerald Coleman stepped back into the crease for his first game since Dec. 21 -- he's been out with an upper-body injury -- and stopped 20 shots for his league-leading 16th win. The reigning ECHL Goaltender of the Year knows he always needs to be sharp -- his side-kick, Adam Courchaine, is merely 9-0-3 in his last dozen starts and leads the circuit in goals-against average (1.73).
Coleman's back-to-back, left-pad saves on Logan MacMillan with the game scoreless halfway through the first period announced he was back and ready.
"When we're playing well, you don't want to be the weak link,'' Coleman said. "You make two big saves and the crowd's behind you and the boys are supporting you, and it feels awesome.''
The only goal Coleman surrendered came with about eight minutes to go and merely cut Alaska's lead to 3-1. Utah's Paul McIlveen scored his team-high 14th goal on a shot off Coleman's shoulder. Still, Coleman ranks third in the league in goals-against average (1.84).
By the time McIlveen scored, though, the Aces were well on the way to sending the under-manned Grizzlies (15-15-3) to their third straight loss.
Ruegsegger kick-started the scoring with a head-turning defensive play 13 minutes into the game. Back-checking at high speed, Ruegsegger cleanly stripped former Aces defenseman Nick Tuzzolino of the puck behind Coleman's net and initiated a 3-on-2 rush with Harrison and Ambroz. Harrison fed Ambroz, and although Utah goalie Andrew Engelage (26 saves) used his blocker to rebuff Ambroz's shot from the right circle, the puck eventually came to Gentile at the center point and he whipped a shot through traffic for a 1-0 lead.
Lamoureux and Ruegsegger added goals 1:46 apart midway through the second period to give the Aces a 3-0 cushion.
That lead was never seriously in jeopardy, particularly after the Aces killed the Grizzlies' lone power play of the game late in the third period.
Thanks in large part to role players, the Aces remained on a roll.
Shuffling the deck
First-line wingers Wes Goldie and Dan Kissel saw their respective eight-game point streaks snapped. Ditto for winger Jordan Kremyr's five-game point streak.
In five consecutive wins over Utah at Sullivan this season, the Aces have outscored the Grizzlies 20-4.
The Aces improved to 19-3-0 this season at Sullivan heading into tonight's series finale against Utah.
Find Doyle Woody's blog at adn.com/hockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.
Utah 0 0 1 -- 1
Aces 1 2 0 -- 3
First Period -- 1, Aces, Gentile 2 (Ambroz, Harrison), 13:16. Penalties -- Dowzak, Utah (boarding), 1:40; Ambroz, Aces, major (fighting), 5:42; Tuzzolino, Utah, major (fighting), 5:42.
Second Period -- 2, Aces, Lamoueux 2 (Anderson, Harrison), 8:35; 3, Aces, Ruegsegger 10 (Harrison, Anderson), 10:21. Penalties -- Severyn, Utah (high-sticking), 15:41.
Third Period -- 4, Utah, McIlveen 14, 11:43. Penalties -- Gutierrez, Utah (tripping), 4:19; Ward, Aces, double-minor (rouging), 15:36; McIlveen, Utah (roughing), 15:36; Severyn, Utah, misconduct (unsportsmanlike conduct), 15:36.
Shots on goal -- Utah 4-6-11--21. Aces 8-11-10--29.
Power-play Opportunities -- Utah 0 of 1. Aces 0 of 3.
Goalies -- Utah, Owen, 5-6-1 (29 shots-26 saves). Aces, Coleman, 16-4-2 (21-20).
A -- 4,539 (6,399). T -- 2:21.
Referee -- J.M. McNulty. Linesmen -- Scott Sivulich, Patrick Cunningham
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