You won't find this play on an Alaska Aces highlight package -- it's not as sexy as a spectacular goal, mind-bending save or rink-rocking hit.
It's just an occasional face-off play, albeit an ingeniously effective one.
And all it does is kick-start the club's penalty kill and win hockey games, both of which are, well, sort of important at this ECHL playoff time of the season.
When the Aces begin killing most penalties -- and, under a new rule this season, all power plays start in the zone of the penalized team -- center Vladimir Novak takes the draw. Depending on which face-off circle is used, either defenseman Derick Martin (who shoots left) or Ryan Turek (who shoots right) lines up behind Novak instead of taking the more traditional, and traffic-laden alignment, at the inside hash-mark of the circle.
In the best-case scenario -- and the best case happens more often than not when Novak's on the dot -- he wins the face-off back to his defenseman. The defenseman's positioning behind Novak, where the blueliner is uncovered by an opponent, furnishes him with options -- the defenseman can clear the puck up the wall or shoot it up the center of the ice, usually while free from fore-checking pressure.
"He has a lot more time to do something to get it out,'' Novak said. "You don't get to do as much time if you already have an (opposing player) in your back pocket.''
And presto -- the opponents' two-minute power play just got trimmed to 1:40 or 1:35 as they chase down the puck and regroup to attack.
That's in no small part why the Aces led the league in penalty-killing efficiency at 89.3 percent, the best mark posted in the ECHL since at least the 1992-93 season.
In their five-game elimination of Utah in the West Division semifinals, the Aces killed all 23 Grizzlies' power plays. And they'll likely need to continue to be stingy against the Victoria Salmon Kings in the West Division finals that open Friday night at Sullivan Arena.
The face-off play is critical because it determines possession of the puck, and it begins with Novak, a superb penalty killer with serious rink cred in the circle.
"He either wins it clean or ties his guy up,'' said Aces coach Keith McCambridge. "It's very rare he loses a draw clean and they have possession.
"It's an art form. He has a wide stance, he's low to the ice, he has the strength to overpower the other guy, and he has the experience and the technique going for him.''
Martin said positioning himself behind Novak is the only place he's going to get a "free puck'' in that situation, meaning he will have time to survey the ice and figure out where to clear the puck before an opponent arrives.
"Vlade's quick with his stick and face-offs are one of his real strengths,'' Martin said. "Obviously, you have to play to your strengths.''
Even if Novak loses the draw, the attacking team usually takes a few seconds to set up its power play, so the defenseman initially set up behind Novak usually is afforded time to get to the front of the Aces' net to defend it.
But Novak generally wins more than 50 percent of his draws, though the ECHL does not track face-off percentages like the NHL.
Still, Aces winger Cam Keith, who usually kills penalties with Novak, said the center flourishes on face-offs because of his smarts as much as athleticism.
"It's a chess game,'' Keith said. "Backhand? Forehand? Tie up the other guy's stick? Use your feet to kick the puck? Use your body to get position?
"Vlade's the professor. We call him 'The Robot' because when he looks at something, he focuses on it and immediately calculates the situation.''
Novak, who is a lefty, said he watches opposing centers throughout a game to try to pinpoint tendencies, especially when the opponent takes a draw against a left-handed pivot.
Keith said early in a game Novak occasionally will use something less than his best face-off move on a relatively insignificant draw, like a neutral zone face-off outside the opponents' zone.
"He'll sometimes lose draws to guys in non-crucial areas because, later, in a crucial area at a crucial time, he knows that guy will go back to the move he had success with,'' Keith said.
True story, Novak said. That's part of the chess game.
"If you keep doing the same move, sooner or later the opposing player will figure it out,'' Novak said. "You have to mix it up.''
Find Doyle Woody's blog online at adn.com/hockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.
Aces' penalty killing is best in 16 seasons
The Alaska Aces' 89.3-percent penalty-killing efficiency in the regular season is the highest mark in the last 16 ECHL seasons. Here are the league's top five regular-season, penalty-killing crews in that span:
Team Season Penalty-killing %
Alaska Aces 2008-09 89.3
Gwinnett Gladiators 2004-05 88.7
Mississippi Sea Wolves 2000-01 88.6
Pee Dee Pride 1999-2000 88.3
Alaska Aces 2004-05 87.7
Trivia Time
For what it's worth, only one team in the last 16 seasons has led the ECHL in penalty killing in the regular season and gone on to capture the Kelly Cup -- the Alaska Aces (87.6%) accomplished both in 2006. Meanwhile, only two teams in that span have led the league in regular-season, power-play efficiency and seized the Kelly Cup -- Cincinnati (22.2%) in 2008 and South Carolina (22.2%) in 2001.
-- Doyle Woody Anchorage Daily News
By DOYLE WOODY
dwoody@adn.com