After surrendering at least four goals in five consecutive hockey games, the Alaska Aces regained their defensive groove Friday night with a 4-2 victory over the Orlando Solar Bears at Sullivan Arena.
Buoyed by Kevin Carr's 29 saves and center Stephen Perfetto's sixth two-goal outburst, the Aces never trailed, killed all three Orlando power plays and protected a 3-2 third-period lead until the final minute, when Peter Sivak delivered his ECHL-leading 27th goal into an empty net.
All that served as a measure of redemption for Wednesday's 6-2 loss to Orlando and a five-game stretch in which the Aces allowed 24 total goals.
Alaska also got a boost from defenseman Mitch Jones, who had an assist and was plus-1 in his first game in nearly 11 months. He suffered two broken bones in his right leg playing for them last February and underwent several surgeries.
"I just think we played a solid game – I don't know how else to say it,'' said Aces coach Rob Murray. "We had good goaltending, penalty kill was good. The power play didn't score, but had some good looks. And we got 40 shots.''
And the Aces (20-10-5) avoided consecutive losses – only twice this season, which hits the halfway point with Saturday's series finale against the Solar Bears (19-13-6), have they lost back-to-back games.
"Look at the best teams in the NHL – they rarely lose two in a row,'' Carr said. "If we want to be in first place, the best team in the league, that's what we have to do.''
The Aces sit fourth in the seven-team Mountain Division, three points behind co-leaders Allen and Idaho, but they've played fewer games and their .643 winning percentage ranks second in the division to Idaho (.649).
Jones assisted on Perfetto's goal to open the scoring eight minutes into the game. He said he talked to his father, former NHLer Brad Jones, before the game and heeded his father's advice.
"He told me to keep it plain and simple,'' Jones said. "So that's what I tried to do. I had that mindset of picking up where I left off last season.''
Orlando, which received 36 saves from Kasimir Kaskisuo after he made 49 stops Wednesday, furnished Alaska ample pushback.
After Perfetto's opening goal, Darik Angelo banked the puck in off Carr from behind the goal line for a 1-1 tie midway through the second period. Perfetto answered three minutes later when an Orlando pass ricocheted off Sivak's skate and sprung Perfetto on a short-handed breakaway. He rifled a wrister through Kaskisuo's pads for his 19th goal and a 2-1 edge.
Perfetto's two-goal game was his 15th multiple-point game in 29 games this season. Perfetto, who skated with Sivak and Danny Moynihan on his wings, is fifth in league scoring with 19-25—44 totals, just four points shy of matching his total of 48 points in 72 games as a rookie last season.
Sivak said Perfetto is benefiting from enhanced ice time and reaping the benefits of his offseason training and his in-season nutrition and conditioning.
"You can see guys who are ready in training camp,'' Sivak said. "He wants to get better.''
Orlando defenseman Chris Bradley forged a 2-2 tie three minutes after Perfetto's shortie by one-timing a dipping slapper of Alex Gacek's cross-ice pass. Carr said he got a piece of his glove on the laser.
Yet in the last minute of the second period, the Aces received crucial secondary scoring when Ben Lake lifted a dart from the slot over Kaskisuo's glove after attacking defenseman Eric Baier 1-on-1 in the middle of the ice. Baier tried to poke-check Lake and lost his stick as Lake pivoted to the inside and fired his shot. Lake might have been able to get in alone on Kaskisuo, but opted to unload a shot from the hash-marks.
"It's a pretty good place to shoot,'' Lake said. "If I go in and lose the puck, I'm getting an earful from Mur.''
Lake helped seal victory in the final minute, when Kaskisuo raced to the bench and Orlando employed an extra attacker. Lake pitch-forked a backhand out of his zone and Sivak won the race to the puck in neutral ice, and skated into to push the puck into an empty net with 45 seconds left.
Shuffling the deck
Sivak, who will play in the ECHL All-Star Classic in Glens Falls, New York, on Wednesday, ranks fourth in the league in plus-minus at plus-19.
Sivak's two-point game was his 17th multiple-point game. He's tied for second in league scoring with 27-22—49 totals in 35 games.
Sivak fired a game-high eight shots on goal Wednesday to give him a league-leading 175, an average of 5.0 per game. This season, he's had a 10-shot game, a nine-shot game, two eight-shot games and four seven-shot games.
Jones' brother Max, the Anaheim Ducks' first-round draft pick, returned from a broken arm to furnish the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights four shots in goal in a 5-1 win over Saginaw on Friday. "Big night for the Joneses,'' Mitch said.
Orlando's Kaskisuo has stopped 85 of 90 shots in the series (.944 save percentage).
Orlando 0 2 0 2
Aces 1 2 1 4
First Period – 1, Aces, Perfetto 18 (Trenz, Jones), 7:52. Penalties – Lauwers, Aces, double-minor (roughing), 6:02; Carrier, Orlando, double-minor (roughing), 6:02; Faille, Orlando (slashing), 10:26; Crane, Orlando (interference), 13:18; Olczyk, Aces (high-sticking), 17:40.
Second Period – 2, Orlando, Angeli 5 (Carrier, Baier), 9:05; 3, Aces, Perfetto 19, 12:11 (sh); 4, Orlando, Bradley 1 (Gacek, Danford), 15:19; 5, Aces, Lake 6 (Wallace, Hunt), 19:37. Penalties – Block, Orlando (hooking), 4:48; Tarasuk, Aces (closing hand on puck), 5:21; Moynihan, Aces (interference), 10:43; Danford, Orlando (tripping), 16:17.
Third Period – 6, Aces, Sivak 27 (Lake), 19:15 (en). Penalties — None.
Shots on goal – Orlando 3-16-12—31. Aces 18-10-12—40.
Power-play Opportunities – Orlando 0 of 3. Aces 0 of 4.
Goalies – Orlando, Kaskisuo, 8-7-4 (39 shots-36 saves). Aces, Carr, 9-7-3 (31-29).
A – 3,279 (6,399). T – 2:25.
Referee – Mike Sheehan. Linesmen – Scott Sivulich, Josh Ellis.