Sports

Aces blend talent, grit, gumption

A hockey team stacked with nothing but snipers is generally a recipe for ruin -- there's not enough ice time, particularly on the power play, to satisfy all that goal-lust.

Besides, who exactly is going to help out that guy wearing the mask and holding the extra-big stick? And good luck trying to squeeze all that high-end talent under the salary cap.

Nor can a team be a collection of fighters. Or a group of grinders, however earnest. Or a bunch of highly skilled but Charmin-soft players who treat the corners like a dark alley in an unfamiliar big city.

A good club can't be all silk, any more than it can be all sandpaper. It needs both.

The Alaska Aces used that mixture of ingredients to forge the best regular-season record in the ECHL and they believe that combination gives them a strong shot at postseason prosperity when they open the Kelly Cup playoffs Friday against the Idaho Steelheads.

While the Aces employ league MVP Wes Goldie, Goaltender of the Year Gerald Coleman, second-team All-ECHL defenseman Bryan Miller, All-Rookie blueliner Mark Isherwood and former NHL center Brian Swanson, their complementary players have proved critical contributors.

"I think everybody on the team feels they are useful," said Aces rookie center Ethan Cox. "That's where a lot of our success stems from. We literally don't have all our eggs in one basket."

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Cox is a good example. His 15 goals in 56 games were welcome, but his greatest impact has been as a principal penalty-killer, a guy who uses his speed on the forecheck and, despite being just 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, is willing to do greasy work.

"Rarely do you find a player who can do everything, so you need different pieces of the puzzle to fit together, and work well together," Cox said. "I'm not fooling anyone, saying I'm going to go out and score 40 goals like Golds.

"The way I get into a game is with a hit, or being hit, or pressuring on the forecheck, winning a face-off, using my speed."

Defenseman Russ Sinkewich scored just two goals in 42 games, but he went plus-18, faced opponents' top lines and buoyed the penalty-killing unit.

Rookie wing Garry Nunn scored just 11 goals in 72 games, but consistently backed off defenses with his speed.

Captain Scott Burt makes himself a pest, is first over the boards to kill a penalty and blocks shots to a fault.

Winger Curtis Fraser is willing to stand in front of the opposing net and take abuse to screen the goalie.

Rookie winger Kory Falite is best when he brings a little attitude along with his speed.

Defenseman Chad Anderson can both punish opponents and also use his speed to become a one-man breakout.

Defenseman Steve Ward can do a little of everything.

Winger Tyler Ruegsegger is an inelegant skater, but thinks the game well and works like he's on a one-shift contract with a club option.

"We have a really diverse team, and that's what makes us successful," Sinkewich said.

And all of that only takes into account rink skills.

"That's just the tangible, the nitty-gritty on the ice," Sinkewich said. "The intangibles are leadership, accountability, pride -- those are the little things that sew everything together, bind it."

Another part of the glue that bonds the Aces is their consistent willingness to work. Every team throws in a few stinkers in a 72-game regular season, but the Aces' occasional shortcomings were usually more a failure of execution than a lack of labor.

"Our effort from every guy, whether it's the power-play guys or the penalty-killing guys, or defensemen, has been really good," said coach Brent Thompson. "Guys have taken their roles and embraced them, all for the success of the team."

Now it's up to the Aces to translate that regular-season success into playoff prosperity.

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"The pieces have kind of fallen into place," Thompson said. "Now, it's about maintaining that standard."

Shuffling the deck

• Ruegsegger arrived back in town from the Abbotsford Heat of the American Hockey League on Tuesday and practiced with the team Wednesday morning.

• The stick to the chin Ward absorbed late in Tuesday's practice only cost him two stitches, just below his lower lip.

• The Peoria Rivermen, the Aces' AHL affiliate, lost their Calder Cup playoff opener 4-1 to the Houston Aeros in Texas on Wednesday night. The Rivermen mustered just 18 shots on goal. Defenseman Daryl Boyle, who the Aces hope to get back at some point for the playoffs, did not play.

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

Aces vs. Steelheads

Western Conference Semifinals

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No. 1 Alaska vs. No. 5 Idaho

All Times ADT

Game 1 — Friday, 7:15 p.m., Sullivan Arena

Game 2 — Saturday, 7:15 p.m., Sullivan Arena

Game 3 — April 20, 5:10 p.m., Qwest Arena

Game 4 — April 22, 5:10 p.m., Qwest Arena

Game 5 — April 23, 5:10 p.m., Qwest Arena*

Game 6 — April 26, 7:15 p.m., Sullivan Arena*

Game 7 — April 27, 7:15 p.m., Sullivan Arena*

*If necessary

By DOYLE WOODY

dwoody@adn.com

Doyle Woody

Doyle Woody covered hockey and other sports for the Anchorage Daily News for 34 years.

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