Alaska is hockey heaven -- the Alaska Aces are perennial ECHL contenders, the UAA Seawolves play in the nation's premier college league and NHL star Scott Gomez headlines a contingent of pros. Join the conversation about the Aces and Alaska hockey with Doyle Woody, who has covered the game here at all levels for 24 years.
Contact: dwoody@adn.com
You're On Your Own, Puckheads (Here's Some Tips) - 5/8/2008 9:18 pm
Florida Panthers Sign Beaverson - 5/6/2008 10:33 am
Dubinsky Headed To World Championships - 5/5/2008 3:44 pm
So, Chris Minard Skates Into Overtime And... - 5/3/2008 6:48 pm
Heads-Up Aces Fans: Appreciation Event Monday Is At CellularOne Sports Center - 5/3/2008 5:08 pm
So Long, Aces; But Other Alaska Connections Live - 5/2/2008 11:31 pm
Aces' Lambert Hurt In Game 4 - 5/1/2008 11:22 pm
Thursday's Wild Night In Pro Pucks - 5/1/2008 11:14 pm
Local Picked In WHL Bantam Draft - 5/1/2008 5:35 pm
2 More Recruits For UAA - 4/30/2008 6:10 pm
Alaska-Connected Skaters Advance In AHL Playoffs - 4/29/2008 8:55 pm
Welcome To The World, Gabrielle Antoinette Filion - 4/29/2008 11:30 am
Nate Thompson Breaks Through - 4/28/2008 3:01 pm
A Tale Of Two Goalies Alaskans Know - 4/26/2008 6:51 pm
Around The Rinks (ECHL, NHL, AHL) - 4/25/2008 10:56 pm
An Epic (5 Overtimes) For The Ages In The AHL - 4/24/2008 8:58 pm
David Carle Ranked 60th By Central Scouting - 4/24/2008 5:33 pm
Beagle Helps Hershey Stay Alive After Minard Almost Makes The Kill - 4/23/2008 8:41 pm
UAA Gets 3rd Recruit For Next Season - 4/23/2008 10:07 am
Carle Joins The Rush Of Alaskans To NHL's 2nd Round - 4/22/2008 9:35 pm
Greentree Sparks Philly In AHL - 4/22/2008 9:02 pm
Las Vegas Wranglers' Alaska Connections Abound - 4/22/2008 8:53 pm
MAY 8, 2008 - 9:18 PM
The blog is gonna take a hiatus for a week or two, but there's plenty of Alaska-connected stuff still going on in the pucks world, so here's some things to keep an eye on (and links, in blue, for info):
On the NHL level, the only Alaskan left is Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Ty Conklin of Anchorage, who is backing up Marc-Andre Fleury as the Pens take on the surprising Philadelphia Flyers starting Friday in the Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
New York Rangers center Brandon Dubinsky of Anchorage made his debut at the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Championships on Thursday, firing two shots and earning an even-rating in 12:38 of ice time in Team USA's 6-4 victory over Germany in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
MAY 6, 2008 - 10:33 AM
Former UAA Seawolves captain Luke Beaverson, who played six games in the American Hockey League after finishing his senior season, has signed an entry-level deal with the Florida Panthers.
The Panthers, who owned Beaverson's NHL rights after selecting him in the ninth round of the 2004 draft, had until June 1 to get his signature. Otherwise, Beaverson would have been a free agent.
Beaverson, 23
MAY 5, 2008 - 3:44 PM
No official word from USA Hockey yet, but New York Rangers center Brandon Dubinsky of Anchorage is headed to Nova Scotia to join Team USA for the World Championships, his father said today.
Bill Dubinsky said his son, fresh off two rounds of the Stanley Cup before the Rangers were eliminated in overtime of Game 5 by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, is headed to Nova Scotia on Tuesday.
Team USA (2-0) plays Canada (2-0) today in Halifax.
Brandon Dubinsky, a rookie, was fourth among Rangers in playoff scoring with 4-4--8 and +2 totals in 10 games. In the regular season, he ranked sixth in team scoring with 14-26--40 and +8 totals in 82 games.
MAY 3, 2008 - 6:48 PM
Well, we've seen this movie: Former Alaska Aces sniper Chris Minard was up to his OT tricks again Saturday night, pulling the trigger on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' 5-4 overtime victory against the Philadelphia Phantoms.
Minard's strike just 2:07 into extra time evened the American Hockey League series at 11, marked his second goal and third point of the game and tied him with teammate Tim Brent for the Calder Cup lead in goals -- 7 goals in 7 games. Wilkes-Barre on Saturday forged a 4-4 tie with an extra-attacker goal with just 46 seconds left.
MAY 3, 2008 - 5:08 PM
A heads-up to fans from the Alaska Aces: Their Fan Appreciation Event, scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, is at the CellularOne Sports Center. That's located off O'Malley between the Seward Highway and Old Seward Highway (11111 O'Malley Centre Drive).
The event is free and fans are encouraged to attend.
The team will be available for autographs and photos.
Enjoy.
MAY 2, 2008 - 11:31 PM
The last game of the season at Sullivan Arena ended with a 6-3 Las Vegas Wranglers win that snuffed the Alaska Aces' ECHL playoff run -- Las Vegas won the best-of-7 series, 4-1 -- but Alaska connections remain alive throughout North American pro hockey.
San Jose Sharks defenseman Matt Carle and his club live for another day after beating Dallas, 3-2 in overtime, in Game 5. San Jose, once down 3-0, has bounced back to trail 3-2. Carle was -1 in 15:47 of ice time, with two hits and three blocked shots. Also in the NHL, New York Rangers centers Scott Gomez and Brandon Dubinsky of Anchorage try to stave of elimination Sunday at the hands of Pittsburgh, which includes backup goaltender Ty Conklin of Anchorage.
MAY 1, 2008 - 11:22 PM
Alaska Aces' winger Michael Lambert left the team's 6-5 overtime victory Thursday against the Las Vegas Wranglers with an injury in the second period.
Lambert said he injured either his back or his hip when he made a twisting motion slightly more than midway through regulation. Several minutes later he left the ice for the training room and did not return.
His status is unknown. Lambert said his back loosened up a bit after a while, but he was still wincing after the game.
With Lambert out, the Aces played the rest of the game with nine forwards. Center Vladimir Novak, obstensibly the club's 10th forward, centered the third line and center Olivier Filion moved over to left wing.
MAY 1, 2008 - 11:14 PM
Hard to say what the craziest contest of the evening.
Perhaps the Alaska Aces' 6-5 overtime victory over Las Vegas to stave off elimination in Game 4 of the ECHL National Conference semifinal series? The Aces needed F.P. Guenette's overtime strike, not to mention Cam Keith's short-handed goal in the last minute of regulation to force OT. Oh, and that three-goal, power-play rally from a 3-1 deficit early in the third period didn't hurt, did it?
MAY 1, 2008 - 5:35 PM
For whatever it's worth -- and, really, the blog has no idea how much it is -- Anchorage winger Austin Wuthrich was selected by the Everett Silvertips in the Western Hockey League bantam draft on Thursday.
One, we're really not that well versed in the WHL, one of three Canadian-based major junior leagues that supply a ton of eventual NHLers. Two, don't know Austin, so certainly don't know whether he's planning on going the college route that most Alaskans choose, or going the WHL route, which worked so nicely for Scott Gomez and Brandon Dubinsky, the two New York Rangers center from Anchorage. Three, Austin is 14 (he turns 15 in August), so presumably he and his family don't yet have his future totally mapped out.
APRIL 30, 2008 - 6:10 PM
Looks like the UAA Seawolves have picked up a couple more recruits in two Canadian forwards.
Jake Portwood, a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder from the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League -- that's the junior team of former UAA sniper and current NHLer Curtis Glencross -- is a 19-year-old with modest stats, for whatever that's worth. He earned 14-26--40 totals in 60 games for a team that went 23-30-9. Pencil Portwood in for next season, since he turns 20 early next season.
The other recruit is Matthew Bailey of the Neepawa Natives in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
APRIL 29, 2008 - 8:55 PM
A couple more Alaska-connected players -- former UAA Seawolves defenseman Chad Anderson and former UAF Nanooks winger Kyle Greentree -- advanced in the American Hockey League playoffs Tuesday night when their Philadelphia Phantoms eliminated the Albany River Rats, 2-0, in Game 7.
APRIL 29, 2008 - 11:30 AM
The daughter of Alaska Aces center Olivier Filion and his wife, Alysha, checked in for her shift at about 4:30 a.m. today at Providence Alaska Medical Center.
Gabrielle Antoinette Filion -- spelling courtesy (and correctly, we hope) of Aces radio man Jack Michaels because we didn't want to wake the sleeping dad with a phone call this morning -- weighed 8 pounds, 1 ounce, according to Aces captain Matt Shasby. The captain doubles, he joked, as Olivier's "Lamaze coach -- not hers, his.''
APRIL 28, 2008 - 3:01 PM
Providence Bruins center Nate Thompson of Anchorage finally broke through in the American Hockey League's playoffs over the weekend, scoring the first Calder Cup goal of his three-year pro career.
Thompson, 23, who in 2006-07 made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins, scored in a 4-0 Game 1 victory over Portland in the second round. The game was his 21st career Calder Cup match.
Thompson added an assist in Sunday's 7-1 win, as Providence remained unbeaten in the Calder Cup (6-0). The Bruins dispatched first-round opponent Manchester in four straight, albeit three in overtime.
APRIL 26, 2008 - 6:51 PM
Two goaltenders Alaskans are familiar with squared off in the International Hockey League semifinals Saturday night, which was a short one for former Alaska Aces backstop Isaac Reichmuth and an easy one for former UAA Seawolves backstop Kevin Reiter.
APRIL 25, 2008 - 10:56 PM
The Las Vegas Wranglers certainly made their point Friday night.
Wranglers 8, Alaska Aces 0: pretty much says it all. Game 2 is Saturday night in Vegas.
Elsewhere in the ECHL, there was another playoff ambush. Utah marched into Victoria and won the opener 6-0 behind 31 saves and a second postseason shutout from former UAA Seawolves goaltender Nathan Lawson.
APRIL 24, 2008 - 8:58 PM
Former University of Minnesota forward Ryan Potulny ended the longest game in American Hockey League history Wednesday night -- an epic that featured former UAA Seawolves defenseman Chad Anderson and former UAF Nanooks winger
APRIL 24, 2008 - 5:33 PM
Defenseman David Carle of Anchorage, headed to the University of Denver in the fall, is ranked 60th among North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting's final rankings for this summer's draft.
Carle, 18, moved up from his position at No. 74 in Central Scouting's mid-term rankings.
What all this means is open to debate. The ranking at No. 60 doesn't necessarily mean he's going to be selected about 60th. The North American rankings don't take into account European skaters or goaltenders from throughout the world -- international skaters, North American goalies and international goalies are ranked separately.
APRIL 23, 2008 - 8:41 PM
Hershey, with an assist by former UAA Seawolves center Jay Beagle, staved off elimination in the American Hockey League playoffs Wednesday night with a 3-2 overtime win against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. But Penguins forward Chris Minard, the former Alaska Aces sniper, made it interesting.
APRIL 23, 2008 - 10:07 AM
According to Chris Heisenberg’s college recruiting web site, the UAA Seawolves have secured a commitment from a third recruit for the 2008-09 season.
Headed here is August Aiken, a forward for the Trail Smoke Eaters of the British Columbia Hockey League. The 20-year-old earned 17-29--46 totals in 58 games to finish second among scorers on a team that went 23-30-7. Aiken scored two goals in three playoff games.
APRIL 22, 2008 - 9:35 PM
With the San Jose Sharks' 5-3 elimination of Calgary in Tuesday night's Game 7 of the opening-round playoff series, Sharks defenseman Matt Carle joined the rush of Alaskans into the second round of the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs.
Carle logged just 9:51 of ice time Tuesday, but went +1. He played in six of the seven series games. No points for him, but he earned a +2 rating. San Jose moves on to play Dallas beginning Friday.
Already qualified for the second round were four other Alaskans.
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