Wandered down to the rink for a few minutes this morning to check in on the Alaska Aces before they open a three-game series with the visiting Idaho Steelheads on Wednesday night at Sullivan Arena.
Not much to report. Captain William Wrenn took practice off as a maintenance day. Winger David Eddy (lower-body injury) is still shelved -- he missed Sunday's series finale with Missouri.
Coach Rob Murray said defenseman Gleason Fournier, who sat out Sunday with a lower-body injury, could return to the lineup as soon as Wednesday. Rookie defenseman Mitch Jones is back on the ice, and available.
The Aces started the season 1-2-0 last weekend -- beating Missouri 3-1 (with an empty-net goal) on Friday, falling 3-0 on Saturday and 3-1 (Missouri ENG) on Sunday. Four goals in three games is obviously not enough. Should goal-scoring continue as a concern, expect Murray to act sooner rather than later on making roster moves.
After last season's poor start -- 0-4 to open and 2-8-0 in the first 10 games, including 2-5-0 at home -- and a playoff DNQ, patience won't be high in the organization, or among the fan base.