Three times earlier this hockey season, the Alaska Aces lost a game by four goals and each time they responded with a victory at the next opportunity.
Friday night in Boise, Idaho, there was no such bounce-back from them, just a 4-1 loss to the Idaho Steelheads at CenturyLink Arena.
That setback, on the heels of Wednesday's 6-1 defeat to the Steelheads that marked Alaska's most lopsided loss this ECHL season, gave the Aces (18-9-5) consecutive losses in regulation for the second time. It also marked the second time the Aces were limited to one goal or less in consecutive games — not surprisingly, the other instance came the other time they lost two straight in regulation.
In any event, Idaho (20-11-3) used 31 saves from Philippe Desrosiers, one goal and one assist from both Jefferson Dahl and Anthony Luciani, and three helpers from Will Merchant to win its fourth straight game.
The Aces can make amends in Saturday night's finale in the three-game series.
Aces goaltender Kevin Carr (27 saves) dropped his third straight decision. He surrendered four goals in each of those starts but received scant goal support in that stretch — two total goals.
Idaho got off to a quick start — Dahl struck on the game's first shift, 28 seconds in.
Still, Danny Moynihan's breakaway backhander forged the Aces a 1-1 tie midway through the period. And even though Connor Chatham furnished the Steelheads a 2-1 lead late in the first period, the Aces weren't in bad position.
But they could not crack Desrosiers again, and David Glen's goal three minutes into the third period gave Idaho a 3-1 cushion. Luciani struck with the teams skating 4-on-4 less than five minutes later to blow open the game.
Shuffling the deck
Aces coach Rob Murray said winger Collin Valcourt, traded to Greenville earlier this week, has decided to retire, negating the trade in which Alaska would have received future considerations.
Valcourt suffered an upper-body injury in the first game of the season and was only recently cleared to play. Valcourt last season generated 10-16—26 totals in 37 games after being acquired from Quad City.
Aces leading scorer Peter Sivak generated seven shots on goal, which marked the seventh time in 32 games he has fired seven or more shots in a game. His season-high is 10.
Dahl's goal marked the fifth time the Aces or their opponent has scored in the opening 42 seconds or quicker this season. Opponents have scored three such goals and Alaska center Stephen Perfetto has turned the trick twice.
The Aces dropped to 9-5-3 on the road.
Aces 1 0 0 — 1
Idaho 2 0 2 — 4
First Period — 1, Idaho, Dahl 11 (Merchant, Baldwin), :28; 2, Aces, Moynihan 9, 11:06; 3, Idaho, Chatham 3 (Lain, Luciani), 17:08. Penalties — Faust, Idaho (hooking), 1:56; Luciani, Idaho (tripping), 8:56; Bell, Idaho, major (fighting), 15:03; Hunt, Aces, major (fighting), 15:03.
Second Period — None. Penalties — Sivak, Aces (hooking), 2:50; Anselmini, Idaho (tripping), 9:56; Lake, Aces (tripping), 11:55; Anselmini, Idaho, major (fighting), 14:41; Hunt, Aces, major (fighting), 14:41.
Third Period — 4, Idaho, Glen 4 (Dahl, Merchant), 2:51; 5, Idaho, Luciani 12 (Merchant), 6:27. Penalties — Troock, Idaho (tripping), 6:13; Chatham, Idaho (roughing), 6:27; Tarasuk, Aces, double-minor (roughing), 6:27.
Shots on goal — Aces 11-10-11—32. Idaho 10-11-10—31.
Power-play Opportunities — Aces 0 of 4. Idaho 0 of 3.
Goalies — Aces, Carr, 8-7-3 (31 shots-27 saves). Idaho, Desrosiers, 2-3-1 (32-31).
A — 4,337 (5,006). T — 2:29.
Referee — Chris Pontes. Linesmen — Scott DeBaugh, Brendan Gormley.