Alaska Aces Hockey

Aces beat Condors 4-0 to complete sweep

Laurent Brossoit still has not surrendered a goal in the ECHL and his Alaska Aces teammates have extended their consecutive-goal streak to 14 after Sunday afternoon's sweep-clinching 4-0 win over the Bakersfield Condors at Sullivan Arena.

The win pushed Alaska's winning streak to seven hockey games.

Brossoit made 16 saves Sunday and has stopped all 40 shots he faced in his first three club appearances in the series. He stopped 16 shots in Saturday's 5-0 win and stopped eight shots in Friday's 6-3 win after a damaged skate prompted starter Mark Guggenberger's exit.

The Aces (7-1-0) have four shutouts in eight games.

Peter Sivak, Brendan Connolly, Evan Trupp and Kane Lafranchise bagged Alaska's goals. Sivak added two assists to give him 10 points in the three-game series, and Trupp added an assist.

Paul Karpowich made 22 saves for the Condors (0-6-1), the only winless team in the 22-team league.

Bakersfield did not score in the final 149 minutes, 3 seconds of the series -- that's the equivalent of more than seven periods.

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After a scoreless first period for the second straight game, Sivak opened the scoring on a breakaway four minutes into the second period, courtesy of a precise pass from Trupp.

Trupp took an outlet pass from defenseman Kane Lafranchise and somehow threaded a dart of a pass through the skates and stick of Condors defenseman Wes Cunningham at the Bakersfield line to spring Sivak.

Sivak beat Karpowich blocker side, peeled into the corner and went old-school by sliding his stick through his right hand as if sheathing his sword.

The goal was Sivak's fourth in the series and eighth point in eight periods between the teams. His third-period assist on Connolly's goal gave him nine points in nine periods.

The helper was Trupp's seventh in the last five games.

The Aces added two goals in a 15-second span of the third period. Connolly deflected Nick Mazzolini's shot and Trupp scored a heartbeat later.

When Bakersfield's Jordan Knackstedt received a major penalty for boarding, Lafranchise scored on the power play off a helper from -- of course - Sivak.

Bakersfield looked to have a glorious chance at the equalizer seconds after an Aces power play expired, with Gary Steffes coming out of the penalty box with teammate Ryan Garlock on the charge. But Aces defenseman B.J. Crum, back-checking, dove and extended his stick to break up Steffes' cross-ice pass.

The Aces next head to Boise, where Wednesday night they open a three-game series with the Idaho Steelheads, who include former UAA winger Tommy Grant and rookie winger William Rapuzzi of Anchorage.

Aces alternate captain Jordan Kremyr sat out the game with a lower-body injury. That left Alaska without four guys who would likely be in the lineup if not for injuries -- Kremyr, and defensemen Sean Curry (lower-body), Zach Davies (broken wrist) and Corey Syvret (upper-body).

Alaska rookie center Eli Zuck apparently escaped injury when he took an elbow to the head from Cunningham in the second period. Zuck left the ice for the dressing room, but returned to play after about four minutes of clock time.

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

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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