Sports

Quick start buoys Aces in slump-busting 6-1 win over Condors

For a change, it was the Alaska Aces who generated a quick start and turned early momentum into victory.

The Aces, who have often surrendered the first goal of the game in a hockey heartbeat, zoomed to a three-goal lead in the first period Wednesday night and racked a 6-1 victory over the Bakersfield Condors at Sullivan Arena.

The victory not only snapped Alaska's four-game losing streak, which matched its longest of the ECHL season, but extended its home-ice winning streak to six games and marked its most lopsided win this season.

"We were ready right from the start,'' said rookie winger Jacob Doty, who furnished his first pro goal. "We've given up the first goal a lot this season, so to come out and get a quick goal was great.

"We need more of that.''

The Aces scored 69 seconds into the game, with defenseman Brad Cole's snap shot from the slot finishing a first shift that took place entirely in the Condors' zone. Wednesday marked the first time in five games the Aces did not surrender the game's first goal inside the opening five minutes.

Alaska also was blessed by puck luck. Winger Brendan Connolly's attempted pass into the slot from behind Bakersfield's net less than eight minutes into the game banked off two Condors and past goalie Ty Rimmer (22 saves) for a 2-0 lead.

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Doty pushed the advantage to 3-0 later in the period on a wraparound of sorts, which marked his first goal in his 18th pro game.

"To get my first pro goal is something pretty special,'' Doty said. "I think I waited 18 games for that. I've had my chances, so it was nice to see it go in.''

Niklas Lundstrom buoyed the Aces (11-13-0) with 25 saves, rookie center Greg Wolfe added two goals and an assist, and Brendan Connolly contributed one goal and one helper.

Neither team was at full strength. The Aces played 11 forwards and five defensemen instead of the usual complement of 10 and six. Defenseman Corbin Baldwin, assigned back to the Aces from Iowa of the American Hockey Leauge, played after flying all day, and that was after playing an AHL game Tuesday night. And the Aces used defenseman Brad Gorham of Anchorage, an engineer and former UAA blueliner they signed Wednesday, and who has helped them out occasionally the last three seasons.

Bakersfield (14-11-3) was without several of its best players, who have all been summoned to the AHL. Rookie forwards Kellen and Connor Jones, and rookie forward Josh Winquist are all one league higher, as is defenseman C.J. Ludwig – that's four guys of the five who have played on a power-play unit.

In any event, the Aces boosted their lead to 4-0 on Chris Francis' short-handed strike late in the second period and 5-0 on the first of Wolfe's goals in the third period. Bakersfield's Nick Pageau answered Wolfe's strike in short order, but Wolfe added his 10th goal of the season later.

Wednesday marked the first time the Aces have led by more than one goal after one period and the first time they have led by more than three goals after two periods.

The game before an announced crowd of 3,350 ended with the teams chirping after Aces winger Justin Johnson hit Bakersfield's Josh Currie just after the final horn.

Shuffling the deck

Aces center Tim Coffman has gone 19 games without a goal. He fired a game-high six shots on goal and has generated 56 shots on goal in those 19 games. Still, Coffman has furnished 16 assists in those 19 games and been plus-6 in that span.

Coffman was hobbled late in the game after blocking a shot.

The Aces went 0 for 3 on the power play and have converted just twice in 30 power-play opportunities in the last eight games.

Connolly, with seven goals in 24 games, is on pace for another 20-goal season, even after starting the season without a goal in the first nine games. He's on 21-goal pace. Connolly has scored 22 goals or more in four straight ECHL seasons.

St. Louis Blues director of player development Tim Taylor, the former NHLer and two-time Stanley Cup champion, was in town to check on some of the club's prospects playing for the Aces. Taylor played 14 seasons in the NHL.

Aces forward/defenseman Tyler Currier was out with the flu, the club said.

The loss was Bakersfield's most lopsided of the season. Before Wednesday, the Condors had never been beaten by more than three goals.

Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockey-blog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr

Bakersfield 0 0 1 1

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Aces 3 1 2 6

First Period – 1, Aces, Cole 2 (Bussieres, Archambault), 1:09; 2, Aces, Connolly 7 (Gorham), 7:35; 3, Aces, Doty 1 (Walters, Wolfe), 15:18. Penalties – Coffman, Aces (goaltender interference), 3:09; Pageau, Bakersfield (hooking), 9:24.

Second Period – 4, Aces, Francis 8 (Connolly), 18:41 (sh). Penalties – Doty, Aces, major (fighting), 2:40; Verpaelst, Bakersfield, major (fighting), 2:40; Syvret, Aces (hooking), 5:11; Cole, Aces (high-sticking), 12:38; Marciano, Bakersfield (tripping), 14:53; Hayes, Aces (tripping), 18:14.

Third Period – 5, Aces, Wolfe 9, 7:55; 6, Bakersfield, Pageau 1 (Abney), 8:19; 7, Aces, Wolfe 10 (Walters, Baldwin), 14:54. Penalties – Currie, Bakersfield (tripping), 2:56; Connolly, Aces (roughing), 8:34; Craig, Bakersfield (holding), 8:34; Johnson, Aces (unsportsmanlike conduct), 20:00.

Shots on goal – Bakersfield 11-9-6—26. Aces 8-6-14—28.

Power-play Opportunities – Bakersfield 0 of 4. Aces 0 of 3.

Goalies – Bakersfield, Rimmer, 7-8-1 (28 shots-22 saves). Aces, Lundstrom, 9-10-0 (26-25).

A – 3,350 (6,399). T – 2:21.

Referee – Stephen Reneau. Linesmen – Scott Sivulich, Steve Glines.

Doyle Woody

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

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