The Alaska Aces' 3-2 loss to the Bakersfield Condors tonight -- and that fourth straight loss on home ice ties a franchise record in 12 ECHL seasons -- came with a series of almosts.
Greg Wolfe almost scored from the slot when the game was tied 1-1 early in the second period. But Frans Tuohimaa, the Finn making his Condors debut, snatched it with his glove -- by the way, nice debut (40 saves).
In the second period, when it was still 1-1, defenseman Quinn Sproule was part of an odd-man rush and got a great chance in the slot, but wired a shot over the crossbar.
Defenseman Brad Richard enjoyed a point-blank chance on the power play, off Sproule's feed, with Bakersfield leading 3-1 late in the second period. Tuohimaa stoned him.
Tim Coffman came out of the penalty box less than nine minutes into the third period -- Bako still led 3-1 -- and had a breakaway but fired wide right.
Countless what-ifs and almosts, of course, don't cut it for a club that is 1-6-0 and struggling. The Aces went 0 of 2 on the power play and are 2 of 32 this season. Also, they have yet to score in 14 power plays on home ice.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but check out the combined save percentage of goalies against the Aces this season -- .924.
Getting the puck to the net, with traffic there is a key, duh -- hey, that's not some Scotty Bowman brilliance on our part, just simple hockey. Take Wolfe's goal with three minutes left, which marked his third straight game with a goal and cut the Condors' lead to 3-2. Coffman fed Olivier Archambault on a 2-on-1. Tuohimaa made the save and, I think, a stop on Coffman's rebound bid before Wolfe chipped in a rebound on his backhand. Granted, the play started as an odd-man rush, but the Aces prospered because they crashed the net.
The Aces outshot the Condors 18-4 in the third period. Sure, Bakersfield was protecting a lead. But the Aces also had to kill three Bako power plays in the third, the second of which came when Aces enforcer Justin Johnson jumped Condor Francis Verreault-Paul. Not sure if anything precipitated that, but doesn't really matter. Johnson got a double minor for roughing, Verreault-Paul got a single minor for roughing, and the Condors went on the power play. That's a non-starter for a team trailing 3-1.
The second line of Coffman centering Archambault and Wolfe was Alaska's best, coach Rob Murray thought. Simple stats help illuminate that -- Coffman and Archambault each fired a game-high seven shots and Wolfe added five.
Still, the Aces have been held to two goals or less in five of their seven games and have yet to hold an opponent to fewer than three goals -- none of that math is favorable for them.