The last-minute, empty-net goal that served as the security blanket the Alaska Aces wrapped around themselves Friday night in a 5-3 ECHL win over Ontario was a sure signal they are playing for one another.
On the victory-clinching play with 47 seconds left, veteran Wes Goldie could have scored from the right wing and added to his lifetime collection of a zillion goals.
Instead, he centered the puck to the edge of the Reign crease, where linemate Scott Howes needed only to stop it and then steer it gently into 24 square feet of untended twine for his second goal of the evening at Sullivan Arena.
As much as Howes' colleagues chirped him afterward -- "Tap-in,'' they muttered in mock tones, one after the other, as Howes talked in the hallway outside Alaska's dressing room -- they understood Goldie's altruistic play also stood as a reward to Howe for his productive evening.
"Wes Goldie could have scored that goal every single time,'' said Aces coach Brent Thompson. "But he did something unselfish because he cares about the team, and about his teammates.''
Little wonder Alaska's dressing room holds such a good vibe these days. Not only do the Aces seem like they genuinely are a tight bunch instead of a collection of cliques, but they're getting contributions from throughout the lineup, and that has spurred their seven-game winning streak that is the hockey franchise's longest in nearly three years.
Friday, goaltender Gerald Coleman faced 24 shots, but he came up with several clutch stops in the third period.
Zach Harrison, who as the club's 10th forward usually only sees spot shifts, stepped into Goldie's spot on the top line while the sniper was serving his major penalty for fighting. Harrison promptly furnished a lovely pass to Howes, who finished a 2-on-1 rush for his first goal of the evening.
Defenseman Mark Isherwood racked a power-play strike that marked his third goal in the last four games.
And 10 of Alaska's 16 skaters delivered at least one point.
"It lightens things for everyone,'' Howes said. "Everyone's chipping in, whether it's scoring goals or doing things defensively.''
With Goldie in the box after his brief, second-period bout with Michael Pelech, the Aces scored two goals in 66 seconds to take their first lead of the game at 3-2.
They were behind 2-1 after Dusty Collins' power-play centering pass deflected off the stick of Aces defenseman Chad Anderson and past Coleman midway though the game.
Seven minutes later, though -- and less than two minutes after Goldie's first fighting major in more than a year -- Harrison set up Howes for a tying goal and Garry Nunn soon followed with a goal from a severe angle to give Alaska a 3-2 lead.
Harrison and Nunn are both rookies.
"Now that we've taken the pressure off the older guys, younger guys are coming into their own,'' Coleman said.
Although Aaron Lewadniuk's highlight-reel goal generated a 3-3 tie for Ontario with less than six minutes to play -- he scored his second of the night by stick-handling through Anderson and scoring from his knees -- Aces center Brian Swanson answered 44 seconds later.
Seconds after a spinning puck zipped off Swanson's stick in the slot, he regained it and fed Howes below the goal line. Swanson went to the slot, took Howes' return feed and one-timed a shot off the arm of Reign goalie Kellen Briggs (31 saves) for a 4-3 Aces lead.
"I think everyone in contributing in their own way,'' Thompson said, "whether that's scoring a goal or blocking a shot or winning a wall battle. Guys really believe in what we're doing here.''
Shuffling the deck
• Goldie's fighting major was his first of the season and ninth in the last five ECHL seasons.
In 2008-09, when he played for Victoria, he dropped the mitts four times.
Friday's game marked the first one all season in which Goldie has been held without a shot on goal.
• Howes, Swanson and defenseman Russ Sinkewich all went plus 3 Friday.
• The Aces improved to 8-0-1 on Fridays. They also improved to 13-0-0 in games they lead after two periods and 17-2-0 in games in which they score three or more goals.
• Alaska surrendered a first-period goal for the ninth straight game and also gave up a power-play goal for the ninth straight game.
• Friday marked the seventh time in their eight ECHL seasons that the Aces have played a home game on New Year's Eve. For what it's worth, they are 4-3-0 in those games.
• Alaska's seven-game winning streak is the franchise's longest since the Aces won nine straight games in February 2008. It's their fourth-longest winning streak since entering the league in the 2003-04 season.
Find Doyle Woody's blog at adn.com/hockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.
Ontario 1 1 1 -- 3
Aces 1 2 2 -- 5
First Period -- 1, Ontario, Lewadniuk 9 (Kraemer, Morrison), 11:57; 2, Aces, Isherwood 5 (Swanson, Miller), 18:00. Penalties -- Caffaro, Ontario (interference), 17:29.
Second Period -- 3, Ontario, Collins 5 (Kraemer, Lewadniuk), 9:18 (pp); 4, Aces, Howes 7 (Harrison), 16:09; 5, Aces, Nunn 3 (Falite, Langkow), 17:15. Penalties -- Aces bench minor, served by Falite (too many men), :53; Taylor, Ontario (interference), 4:00; Nunn, Aces (hooking), 9:06; Goldie, Aces, major (fighting), 14:15; Pelech, Ontario, major (fighting), 14:15.
Third Period -- 6, Ontario, Lewadniuk 10 (Germain), 14:08; 7, Aces, Swanson 11 (Howes), 14:52; 8, Aces, Howes 8 (Goldie, Anderson), 19:13 (en). Penalties -- Pelech, Ontario (hooking), 2:01; Ward, Aces (holding), 2:17.
Shots on goal -- Ontario 6-8-10--24. Aces 15-12-9--36.
Power-play Opportunities -- Ontario 1 of 3; Aces 1 of 5.
Goalies -- Ontario, Briggs, 9-15-1 (35 shots-31 saves). Aces, Coleman, 13-7-1 (24-21).
A -- 4,157 (6,396). T - 2:22.
Referee -- Rick Looker. Linesmen -- Travis Jackson, Chad Colliander.
By DOYLE WOODY
dwoody@adn.com