Aces snap skid with 4-2 win

They never played from behind.

In a meeting between the minor league hockey circuit's top two teams, the Aces snapped their four-game funk by scoring first and last, and using Jordan Kremyr's game-winning strike midway through the third period to generate a 4-2 victory over the Las Vegas Wranglers.

Alaska (32-9-6), which sealed victory courtesy of Dan Kissel's empty-net goal, halted its 0-3-1 slide.

On a night when Adam Courchaine racked 20 saves at Orleans Arena and the Aces also received goals from Zach Harrison and Ethan Cox, they handed the Wranglers (28-14-4) their fourth defeat in 20 games on home ice.

Alaska also expanded its lead in the overall standings to 10 points over the Wranglers. The clubs meet again tonight and Saturday night in Sin City, and that will wrap a stretch of eight road games in 11 nights for the Aces, who are in the middle of a season-high, 11-game road trip.

With the game knotted 2-2, Kremyr redirected Kane Lafranchise's shot past Wrangler's goalie Joe Fallon (28 saves) to give the Aces their third and final lead of the evening before an announced crowd of 3,682 that included a throaty, cowbell-ringing crew of Aces supporters.

Though Cox did not get an assist on the play, his hustling work to track down a loose puck led to the sequence that delivered Kremyr's goal.

Las Vegas pulled Fallon for an extra attacker with 1:32 to go, but Kissel scored into an empty net off a helper from Garry Nunn (two assists for the second straight game) to secure victory. Kissel tied Wes Goldie for the team lead in goals with 25 -- those two are tied for second in the league, behind Las Vegas' Eric Lampe (34 goals), who missed the game with an injury.

The Aces, thin on bodies because of injuries and players loaned to American Hockey League clubs, added a new member to the lineup Friday with the signing of forward Blair Yaworski. Yaworski, who was released by Utah earlier this week, played on the top line with Goldie and center Nick Mazzolini.

Alaska opened the scoring nine minutes into the game when Cox scored on a short-handed breakaway. Just 29 seconds later, with the Wranglers still enjoying the man advantage, former UAA winger Josh Lunden banged in a rebound for a 1-1 tie.

The Aces regained the lead on Harrison's deflection of defenseman Bryan Miller's shot later in the period. The Wranglers answered three minutes into the second period on Peter MacArthur's splendid deflection over Courchaine's shoulder for a 2-2 tie.

As is often the case between these two clubs that prefer high-tempo hockey and eschew penalties -- Alaska is the league's least penalized team and Las Vegas is second in that category -- the game was fast and clean. Each team was whistled for just two minor penalties.

Shuffling the deck

Harrison extended his career-best point streak to seven games -- he owns 2-6--8 totals in that span.

Aces captain Brian Swanson missed his 10th straight game with an upper-body injury and Aces coach Rob Murray said he doesn't expect Swanson, who is with the team, in the lineup in this series.

Lunden has furnished 4-2--6 totals on his current four-game point streak. Former UAA winger Sean Wiles, a rookie, also played for the Wranglers. With Lunden and Wiles on Las Vegas, and defensemen Lafranchise and Chad Anderson (assist) on Alaska, the game featured four former Seawolves.

Alaska was 0 for 2 on the power play and is 0 for 12 in the last four games.

The streaky Goldie has not scored a point in five games, his longest drought this season.

Kissel fired a game-high six shots on goal. He has scored a goal in three straight games and cranked off 26 shots on goal in the last four games.

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

Aces 2 0 2 -- 4

Las Vegas 1 1 0 -- 2

First Period -- 1, Aces, Cox 9, 9:15 (sh); 2, Las Vegas, Lunden 12 (MacArthur, Busto), 9:44 (pp); 3, Aces, Harrison 5 (Miller, Nunn), 17:52. Penalties -- Mazzolini, Aces (hooking), 9:02; May, Las Vegas (cross-checking), 10:23.

Second Period -- 4, Las Vegas, MacArthur 15 (May, Miller), 2:55. Penalties -- MacArthur, Las Vegas (hooking), 5:06.

Third Period -- 5, Aces, Kremyr 12 (Lafranchise, Anderson), 9:34; 6, Aces, Kissel 25 (Nunn), 18:42 (en). Penalties -- Lafranchise, Aces (slashing), 12:57.

Shots on goal -- Aces 11-10-11--32. Las Vegas 8-9-5--22.

Power-play Opportunities -- Aces 0 of 2. Las Vegas 1 of 2.

Goalies -- Aces, Courchaine, 15-5-4 (22 shots-20 saves). Las Vegas, Fallon, 23-8-4 (31-28).

A -- 3,682 (7,773). T -- 2:10.

Referee -- Frederic Leblanc. Linesmen -- Brian Oliver, Todd Owen.