Anchorage Daily News

In a hockey game flush with contradictions, the Alaska Aces opened their three-game California road swing with a 4-3 loss to the Stockton Thunder on Friday night.

The Aces entered the match undefeated in the six ECHL games this season in which they scored first, yet Cam Keith's power-play goal less than three minutes into the game did not prevent a blemish on that front.

The Aces scored the first goal for the first time in the franchise's 12 games at Stockton Arena, yet that departure from the norm did not earn them success.

Alaska's penalty-killing unit entered as the second-stingiest among 23 league teams, yet Stockton's previously impotent power play struck for two goals with the man advantage. The last power-play goal, Toby's LaFrance's strike midway through the third period, proved the game winner.

And while we're on the subject of the third period, the Aces had outscored opponents 18-11 in the final 20 minutes of regulation this season. Yet Stockton claimed that mini-battle, 2-1.

"Going into the third period, you've got to give yourself a chance to win, and we didn't,'' Aces coach Keith McCambridge said.

Still, the Aces (12-4-1) gave the announced crowd of 5,103 at Stockton Arena reason to rise in the final two minutes, when the Thunder led 4-2. McCambridge prompted the excitement by pulling goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux (26 saves) for an extra attacker.

Aces winger Colin Hemingway, whose turnover led to the Ryan Huddy breakaway goal that gave Stockton a 3-2 lead early in the period, bagged his second goal of the game, and team-high 12th, to cut the margin to 4-3 with 89 seconds left.

The Aces sent a few deliveries into the crease of Stockton goalie Bryan Pitton (27 saves) in the waning seconds, but to no avail.

Stockton (7-8-3), which played just five of its first 17 games on home ice, picked up its second win this season in Stockton Arena.

The Aces may have lost defenseman Lee Green to an undisclosed injury -- Alaska radio announcer Jack Michaels said on his broadcast that is appeared as if Green injured his wrist. In any event, Green didn't play most of the third period, and the Aces are banged up on the blue line.

Rookie winger Erik Felde, who has considerable experience playing defense at lower levels of hockey, played defense Friday because Corbin Schmidt is out with an ankle injury. Veteran blueliner Ed Hill remains out with a knee injury, and Derick Martin has been in the American Hockey League since last season.

"The back end always seems to be the first to go,'' said McCambridge, a former defenseman.

The Aces did get a boost from winger Lance Galbraith, the two-time Kelly Cup winner who joined them this week. On his first shift of the game, he set up Keith's goal. Long renowned as a player who can both score and agitate opponents, he also picked up two roughing penalties and was in the midst of a scrum between the teams in the first period.

All in all, he was Lance Galbraith.

"It's not surprising,'' McCambridge said.

After Keith opened the scoring, Stockton countered with Mike Lalonde's power-play goal and Huddy's end-to-end dash to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Hemingway forged a 2-2 tie with his second-period goal.

The Aces continue their road trip with games Sunday and Monday against the Ontario Reign.

Shuffling the deck

Keith's goal extended his point streak to 12 games and gives him the longest streak in the league this season. He owns 4-13--17 totals in that span and his 5-16--21 season totals tie him for fifth in league scoring.

Keith also earned an even rating -- he has yet to be saddled with a minus rating in 17 games, a feat no one else in the league has matched.

Hemingway's two goals give him 12-14--26 totals and tie him for the league scoring lead. He has furnished points in 15 of 17 games.

Center Luke Erickson assisted on two goals to run his points streak to six games. He owns 4-7--11 totals in that span.

Defenseman Matt Shasby recorded an assist. He leads the league's blueliners in scoring with 5-13--18 totals.

Coming off the 30-day injured list, where he was stashed because the Aces had a glut of players late last month, winger Erik Fabian played his third game of the season.

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

Aces1 1 1 -- 3

Stockton2 0 2 -- 4

First Period -- 1, Aces, Keith 5 (Galbraith, Erickson), 2:50 (pp); 2, Stockton, Lalande 6 (Bates, Goulet), 11:18 (pp); 3, Stockton, Huddy 6, 16:48. Penalties -- LaFrance, Stockton (holding), 1:34; Hunt, Stockton (roughing), 5:35; Galbraith, Aces (roughing), 5:35; Huxley, Stockton, double minor (roughing), 8:03; Galbraith, Aces (roughing), 8:03; Hunt, Stockton (roughing), 8:03;Burt, Aces (roughing), 8:03; Chewedoruk, Stockton (roughing), 8:03; Tuzzolino, Aces (roughing), 8:03; C. Hemingway, Aces (interference), 10:49; Maslonka, Stockton, major (fighting), 11:21; Richards, Aces, major (fighting), 11:21; Lamoureux, Aces, served by Curry (delay of game), 14:07; Hunt, Stockton (boarding), 17:06.

Second Period -- 4, Aces, C. Hemingway 11 (Erickson, Shasby), 3:22. Penalties -- Gauthier, Aces (boarding), 11:09; Salekin, Stockton (roughing), 14:34; Burt, Aces (roughing), 14:34; Bates, Stockton (slashing), 16:43.

Third Period -- 5, Stockton, Huddy 7, 3:16; 6, Stockton, LaFrance 2 (), 8:57 (pp); 7, Aces, C. Hemingway 12 (Miller, Felde), 18:31. Penalties -- Lamoureux, Aces, served by Curry (slashing), 7:14; Shasby, Aces (hooking), 14:49.

Shots on goal -- Aces 12-11-7--30. Stockton 8-6-16--30.

Power-play Opportunities -- Aces 1 of 4; Stockton 2 of 5.

Goalies -- Aces, Lamoureux 11-3-1 (30 shots-26 saves). Stockton, Pitton 3-6-1 (30-27).

A -- 5,103 (9,737). T -- 2:28.

Referee -- Andy Thiessen. Linesmen -- Tim Digby, Steven Berry.

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