Aces get unexpected help

Shasby, the former elite Alaska Aces defenseman turned middle-school teacher -- his classes include world geography, U.S. history and language arts -- came out of retirement Friday night to play pro hockey for the first time in two and a half years.

He promptly scored a goal less than six minutes into the match at Sullivan Arena to kick-start the Aces' eighth straight win, a 3-1 ECHL victory over the Stockton Thunder.

"I figured, if it happened, it would happen early, when I could sustain anything more than a 20-second shift,'' Shasby said. "It was one of those things, like, 'Did that really just happen?' It felt so foreign.''

Shasby, a two-time, second-team All-ECHL selection who helped the Aces to the 2006 Kelly Cup, last played on June 5, 2009, when the Aces lost to the South Carolina Stingrays in Game 7 of the Kelly Cup Finals. Since then, he's become a teacher, and he also currently coaches four hockey teams -- he works with three youth teams and is an assistant coach at South High.

"That's the first time I've put on shoulder pads since Game 7,'' Shasby said.

Shasby scored when he sneaked down to the back door at the left post and rifled Jacques Lamoureux's cross-ice pass -- "It must have gone through four pairs of skates,'' Shasby said -- behind Stockton goaltender Olivier Roy to give Alaska a 1-0 lead.

Shasby and winger Jimmy Dahl, who like Shasby is another former Aces and UAA skater, came to their old club's aid because the Aces are so depleted. Alaska has five players up in the American Hockey League and another three injured.

Dahl was no slouch either. His deflection off the goal post immediately preceded Tyler Ruegsegger's second-period goal to earn Dahl, a commercial real estate appraiser for MacSwain Associates, an assist.

Aces co-owner Jerry Mackie called Shasby just as Shasby was leaving school about 3:30 Friday afternoon. Mackie explained a veteran's slot opened up on the roster because captain Brian Swanson, who like Shasby grew up in Eagle River and played at Chugiak High, was injured in Alaska's 3-0 win Thursday. Mackie asked if Shasby would help the Aces.

"I said, 'Ooh, I don't know,' " Shasby said. "I said, I'll get back to you.' "

Loading his son, Camden, 7, into his vehicle a few minutes later, he asked his son what he thought of the offer.

"I said, 'Camden, do you want daddy to play for the Aces tonight?' " Shasby said. "He got super-excited. I couldn't turn it down then. I talked to my wife (Brooke) and she said, 'Do it. Do it for yourself.' "

Shasby figured he might just be spot-shifted Friday, given the odd shift to help rest the Aces' four regular defensemen. But prior to the game, Aces assistant coach Louis Mass, who runs the defense and is Shasby's former teammate, told him otherwise.

"Louis told me before the game, 'We're gonna roll five,' " Shasby said, looking incredulous in the retelling. "I said, 'Am I one of the five?' "

Shasby took some grief for his all-black skates -- both the boots and blades of his limited-edition Bauer skates are black, which is very Jaromir Jagr, his favorite player.

Shasby calls them his coach's skates, or old-man skates, because he never expected to use them in a pro game.

Aces equipment manager Mike Burkhead joked he wished he could have made Shasby's skates even more -- ahem -- stylish.

"If I had more time, I would have put white blades on them,'' chirped Aces equipment manager Mike Burkhead. "Now, I can't change them -- he's a goal scorer.''

Shasby, 31, can just pop into a pro game because he still possesses some game, plus he's an effortless skater. Dahl, 30, also coaches a youth team and plays in a rec league once a week.

"Solid men's Wednesday night hockey league,'' Dahl said. "I coach, so I'm on the ice every day, for what that's worth, and you're always thinking about hockey.

"The adrenaline (of playing) gets you going, and I tried to ride it out.''

Mass said Shasby and Dahl can still contribute because they were intelligent players as full-time pros.

"Smarts don't go away,'' Mass said.

Even so, Shasby said he wondered how he would do: "Am I gonna be minus 3 or actually contribute?''

Turns out he and Dahl both finished plus 1 and both fired two shots on goal.

Somehow, though, on a night when a teacher scored a goal and an appraiser bagged an assist, those weren't even the strangest things to happen in the game.

Stockton coach Matt Thomas was given a game misconduct by referee Geoff Miller to start the third period. The Thunder, who had no coach for the third period because they do not have an assistant coach, received a delay of game penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. That furnished the Aces a two-man advantage that led to Wes Goldie's goal to give the Aces a 3-1 cushion.

The turn of events with the penalties left folks on both benches shaking their heads.

Head-shaking was the order of the night, though, especially in light of Shasby's goal.

"Just when I thought I was catching up to him on the all-time 'D' points, he does that,'' said Aces blueliner Bryan Miller, a prolific point producer.

And now that the Aces have stretched their streak of games without a loss in regulation to 12 (9-0-3), coach Rob Murray was laughingly coy about whether he intends to bring in any other former Aces to fill the void.

"I take calls until 4:30,'' Murray mused.

Shuffling the deck

Shasby, always a finesse player, even played somewhat physically by his standards.

"I think I had three hits,'' he said. "That's usually about a month's worth for me.''

Aces goaltender Adam Courchaine stopped 18 shots to improve his league-leading goals-against average to 1.57, keep his save percentage at .939 (second in the ECHL) and stretch his streak of games unbeaten in regulation to 14 (11-0-3).

Roy's goaltending (34 saves, many of them spectacular) kept the Thunder from being torched.

Goldie's goal, his 18th, snapped his five-game goal drought and three-game point drought, and left the reigning league MVP one goal behind Dan Kissel for the team lead. Defenseman Steve Ward delivered two assists.

Former ECHL MVP and scoring champ Kevin Baker scored Stockton's goal, his team-leading 16th.

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

Stockton 0 1 0 -- 1

Aces 1 1 1 -- 3

First Period -- 1, Aces, Shasby 1 (Lamoureux, Anderson), 5:50. Penalties -- Matheson, Stockton (tripping), 6:28; Foreman, Stockton (high-sticking), 16:11.

Second Period -- 2, Aces, Ruegsegger 11 (Dahl, Ward), 6:27; 3, Stockton, Baker 16, 7:28. Penalties -- Ruegsegger, Aces (tripping), 2:26; Harrison, Aces (roughing), 6:27; Brodie, Stockton (roughing), 6:27; Pederson, Stockton (roughing), 8:38; Foy, Stockton (slashing), 9:38.

Third Period -- 4, Aces, Goldie 18 (Ward, Mazzolini), 1:08 (pp). Penalties -- Stockton bench minor, served by Owuya (delay of game), 0:00; Stockton bench minor, served by Cameron (unsportsmanlike conduct), 0:00; Stockton coach Thomas, game misconduct (abuse of officials), 0:00; Lafranchise, Aces (interference), 11:00.

Shots on goal -- Stockton 5-8-6--19. Aces 18-10-9--37.

Power-play Opportunities -- Stockton 0 of 2. Aces 1 of 6.

Goalies -- Stockton, Roy, 7-10-4 (37 shots-34 saves). Aces, Courchaine, 11-1-3 (19-18).

A -- 4,426 (6,399). T -- 2:16.

Referee -- Geoff Miller. Linesmen -- Steve Glines, Travis Jackson.