Just when it appeared the Alaska Aces would begin the post-holiday break just as forlornly as they entered it – by blowing a two-goal, third-period lead at Sullivan Arena and tasting a little slice of hockey hell – Ryan Walters rode to the rescue.
After the Aces were badly outplayed in the third period and the opening sequences of overtime Wednesday night, Walters snapped home a tap-in at the right post at 3 minutes, 26 seconds of extra time to furnish a 4-3 victory over the Utah Grizzlies.
The game-ending, tic-tac-toe rush before an announced crowd of 5,467 on New Year's Eve began with defenseman Brad Gorham entering the Grizzlies zone on right wing. Gorham flicked a pinpoint pass across to Greg Wolfe in the left circle and the rookie center delivered a pass to Walters, who racked his second strike of the night. Utah goaltender Igor Bobkov had no chance.
Walters' game-winning strike came on Alaska's only shot on goal in extra time. Utah buzzed Aces goalie Niklas Lundstrom for three shots in the opening 64 seconds of OT. That included a shot by Kevin Lind that required Lundstrom to reach behind his body to smother for a whistle.
The 4-3 ending was considerably better than Alaska's 4-3 game on Dec. 20 – that shootout loss to Bakersfield came after the Aces owned a 3-1 lead with six minutes remaining in regulation.
The Aces (13-13-1), playing for the first time in 11 days, returned to .500 hockey for the first time since Dec. 6. Utah (13-13-4) played its fourth game in the last six nights, and snatched a point in the standings with a spirited third period in which it outshot Alaska 15-6. The teams meet again Friday and Saturday nights at Sullivan.
Alaska's victory came with some largesse. Utah appeared to score a go-ahead, power-play goal with the teams tied 3-3 and about eight minutes remaining in regulation. Referee Andrew Wilk emphatically signaled goal. He reconsidered and ruled no goal, and his explanation to Grizzlies coach Tim Branham at the Utah bench did not appear to appease the bench boss.
In any event, Walters, who did not score in his first nine games for the Aces, bagged two goals Friday. That gives him three goals in the last three games.
Likewise, Aces center Tim Coffman continued to emerge from his goal funk. Coffman scored twice in Alaska's last game before the break to snap his 19-game goal drought, and scored again Wednesday, giving the Aces a 2-1 lead in the final minute of the second period.
Veteran winger Brendan Connolly pushed Alaska's advantage to 3-1 two minutes into the third period. He stripped a Utah player of the puck in neutral ice, blew in on Bobkov and whistled a wrister past the Russian goaltender's blocker.
Aces goaltender Niklas Lundstrom – the Swede was shaky in stretches -- stopped 30 shots. Bobkov made 19 saves.
After Connolly's goal, Utah tilted the ice against Alaska. Barry Almeida's tap-in at the left post off a Mathieu Aubin cross-ice feed, which marked Almeida's second goal of the night, cut Alaska's lead to 3-2. That goal came on Utah's rush after Alaska defenseman Colten Hayes rang a shot off the iron.
Utah defenseman Jacob Johnston forged a 3-3 tie in short order, snapping a high shot past Lundstrom. Johnston's goal came after Lundstrom made a save and Hayes, stationed at the top of the crease, flicked a blind, backhanded pass up the middle of the ice in an attempt to skirt danger. The puck went directly to Johnston.
The Aces won in large part because their penalty-killing continued to shine, just as it had going into the holiday break. They killed all five Utah power plays and have killed all 17 they have faced in the last four games.
Alaska did not surrender a shot on goal during Utah's first three power plays. Utah was credited with one shot on goal during its fourth power play, but that was generous. The shot appeared to glance off the outside of the net along the ice.
Meanwhile, the Aces experienced a rarity – they did not receive a single power play in 63-plus minutes.
The teams skated through a scoreless, uneventful first period. The Aces opened the scoring midway through the game when Walters snapped home a shot off Chris Francis' feed. That marked just the ninth time in 27 games the Aces have scored the first goal of the game. That's the fewest opening goals among the 28 teams on the circuit.
Still, Utah gained the equalizer 94 seconds later. Lundstrom got a piece of his glove on Vinny Scarsella's bid and the puck ricocheted behind the goalie and just wide of the right post. Almeida appeared to push the puck to the front of the net, where it seemed to glance off Gorham's skate and past Lundstrom.
Coffman answered in the final minute of the second period, snapping a shot from the low slot past Bobkov after accepting a pass from Aces leading scorer Olivier Archambault.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockey-blog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr
Utah 0 1 2 0 3
Aces 0 2 1 1 4
First Period -- None. Penalties – Hayes, Aces (tripping), 4:03; Connolly, Aces (roughing), 20:00.
Second Period – 1, Aces, Walters 2 (Francis, Connolly), 9:46; 2, Utah, Almeida 4 (Scarsella, Folkes), 11:20; 3, Aces, Coffman 5 (Archambault, Bussieres), 19:30. Penalties – Connolly, Aces (holding the stick), 12:40; Bussieres, Aces (boarding), 16:51.
Third Period – 4, Aces, Connolly 8, 1:59; 5, Utah, Almeida 5 (Aubin, Krushelnyski), 3:35; 6, Utah, Johnston 6, 6:20. Penalties – Gorham, Aces (cross-checking), :36; Lind, Utah (roughing), :36; Hayes, Aces (roughing), 3:35; Aubin, Utah (roughing), 3:35.
Overtime – 7, Aces, Walters 3 (Wolfe, Gorham), 3:26. Penalties -- None.
Shots on goal – Utah 7-8-15-3—33. Aces 8-7-6-1—22.
Power-play Opportunities – Utah 0 of 5. Aces 0 of 0.
Goalies – Utah, Bobkov, 3-3-1 (22 shots-19 saves). Aces, Lundstrom, 11-10-1 (33-30).
A – 5,467 (6,399). T – 2:35.
Referee – Andrew Wilk. Linesmen – Travis Jackson, Josh Ellis.