Anchorage Daily News

Among the ambitions that lured Colin Hemingway back to North America were a desire to play hockey with his younger brother, Brett, and a yearning to win a championship.

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Colin Hemingway

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Mission accomplished.

The Hemingway boys, including oldest brother Shaun, lit up the Adult Safe Hockey League in Langley, British Columbia, last summer with their team called the Tigers.

Cue "We Are the Champions'' and memories of hoisting the hardware.

"Yes, I held up the ... whatever it was called,'' Colin said with a laugh.

"It was an actual cup,'' Brett said. "We all took a sip out of it. (League officials) quickly rinsed it out and took it away.''

Ah, glory -- she is a fleeting mistress, even in the beer league.

Still, Colin isn't doing too badly in the opening months of his quest for a trophy with more lasting significance than the Whatever Cup. He's helping spearhead the Alaska Aces' drive toward their annual goal of seizing the ECHL's Kelly Cup.

As the Aces (14-7-1) prepare to open a three-game series tonight against visiting Idaho (13-8-2), Colin Hemingway leads the league in scoring, owns a 10-game point streak, and lives and plays with brother Brett, a returning Ace who comes off the injured list tonight.

After spending last season in Scotland, thriving for the Edinburgh Capitals in the Elite Ice Hockey League -- his 41 goals in 57 games ranked third on the United Kingdom's top circuit -- the former NHLer looked to return to North America.

Colin, 28, and Brett, 25, talked about playing together, something they had never done at an elite level because of their age difference. Their years at the University of New Hampshire did not overlap.

Brett, who was traded twice as a rookie last season before landing in Anchorage, liked playing with the Aces -- he scored 26 points in 25 games for them last season. Colin knew something about the Aces -- he played five regular-season games for them in 2005-06, when they were captained by Keith McCambridge and won the Kelly Cup. And McCambridge, now the Aces' head coach, knew Colin still could play, so he asked Brett if his big brother would be interested in coming back to Alaska.

Phone calls were made, deals struck, and the Aces ended up with sibling wingers.

"I really wanted to play with my brother,'' Colin said. "And having a good team here was important -- I want to win a championship.''

Brett thinks the situation is perfect. He and his brother share an apartment, obviously have the same work schedule and are almost inseparable.

"We'd trained together in summers, played golf together,'' Brett said. "We figured we'd had fun in the summer, so we'd have fun in the winter.

"We figured we'd give it a try. So far, so good.''

Besides, Colin figured, maybe he could take one more stab at reaching the NHL, or at least the American Hockey League.

"My NHL dreams are fading away every day, but if you get in the right situation, do well and some injuries happen, you might get your shot,'' he said.

Colin turned down a promotion to the AHL's Peoria Rivermen earlier this season. The offer came when the Aces were in Victoria, British Columbia, and the Hemingways' parents, Wendy and Hugh, were in town to see him. Between his parents' presence and word he would have to rush to the airport, Colin declined the promotion, chalking it up to bad timing.

He could easily get another offer. Colin has flourished on the first line and first power-play unit with winger Cam Keith and an assortment of centers, whether the pivot was Josh Soares, Alexandre Imbeault or Luke Erickson. He's the league's top scorer with 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points in 22 games.

"They bring you in here to score goals -- I wondered, 'What happens if I struggle early?' " Colin said. "You might begin to doubt yourself, not believe.

"But I got off to a great start and my confidence was sky high.''

No one's happier about that than McCambridge, who said Colin helps lead the team off the ice as well as on it.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, I envisioned him being an 8 or 9,'' McCambridge said. "He's been a 13 to 15, in his professionalism, his work ethic, his leadership for younger guys, his skill level.''

Now all Colin has to do is keep it up.

Well, that, and continue his quest to lift a Cup that actually has a name.

Shuffling the deck

An injury to St. Louis Blues goaltender Manny Legace on Wednesday prompted movement throughout the organization, and that meant goalie Marek Schwarz turned into "Sky Miles'' Marek.

Schwarz, who arrived in Anchorage on Tuesday after the Blues sent him down from Peoria, was right back on a plane in the wee hours Thursday morning to rejoin the Rivermen. Schwarz's return journey was necessary because the Blues promoted rookie goalie Ben Bishop from Peoria. Schwarz hooked up with the Rivermen in Hamilton, Ontario, where they beat the Bulldogs 2-1 Thursday night.

Aces goalie Chris Holt, called up to Peoria earlier this week, racked Thursday's win with 24 saves. Schwarz served as backup. The game-winning goal was scored by Aces call-up Josh Soares, whose six goals have come in the last seven games. At this rate -- Soares' six goals tie him for fourth among Rivermen even though he has played 11 of their 26 games -- Alaska fans shouldn't expect to see him again soon. Thought for the future, though: Soares' nine games with the Aces are more than the minimum of five necessary to qualify him for the team's playoff roster.

With Schwarz gone, rookie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux will make the starts this weekend. Jeff Barney will serve as emergency backup goalie.

Brett Hemingway will return to the lineup tonight after missing 13 games following ankle surgery. He was injured in Idaho on Nov. 6 when his ankle was sliced by an opponents' skate blade during a collision.

Defenseman Corbin Schmidt, who has missed six games with a high ankle sprain, is unlikely to play this weekend.

Find Doyle Woody's blog online at adn.com/hockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.

IDAHO STEELHEADS

13-8-2

at

ALASKA ACES

14-7-1

WHEN: Tonight and Saturday night, 7:15; Sunday, 5:05 p.m.

WHERE: Sullivan Arena (cap. 6,251)

TICKETS: $12-28, www.alaskaaces.com; all Fred Meyer locations; Aces offices (15th and Gambell), or by phone, 562-4800

RADIO: AM-750 KFQD

TRENDS: The Aces are 9-0-1 in their last 10 games against Idaho, dating back to last season.

The Steelheads have won two straight and are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games. Idaho rookie wing Kris Sparre owns 4-1--5 totals in his four-game point streak.

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