Everything's unraveling for the Alaska Aces, and their 5-2 loss to the Rapid City Rush on Saturday night was just the latest string to be pulled.
The Aces' loss at Sullivan Arena stretched their winless streak overall to six games (0-4-2). It also extended their franchise-worst, home-ice winless streak to 10 games (0-8-2), double the previous longest slice of home-ice hell, a five-game losing streak to start the 2014-15 season.
And their ECHL playoff positioning is tenuous. The Aces' defeat, combined with victories by the Missouri Mavericks and Utah Grizzlies earlier Saturday, reduced them to a fourth-place tie in the Mountain Division with Missouri and sliced their lead on Utah to one point.
Matters became more undone postgame. As coach Rob Murray walked across the rink toward the gate leading to a hallway and the team's dressing room, a man in the south stands shouted at him. Murray stopped, turned and exchanged words with the man.
Murray eventually continued toward the gate. A man in the north stands then shouted at him — witnesses said the man repeatedly called Murray an expletive. Murray eventually marched into the stands, apparently to confront the man, who descended a couple steps in Murray's direction. Murray's progress was stopped by Louis Mass, his former assistant coach and a current UAA assistant coach, and security intervened with the fan.
Murray could face discipline from the ECHL. Possible sanctions include a suspension and fine.
Murray declined comment about the confrontations.
It was less than three months ago — Jan. 2, to be exact — that the Aces, currently 30-25-10, were 18-7-5, one point out of first place and 14 points on the safe side of playoff positioning. But they've gone 12-18-5 since.
They enjoyed a strong road trip (5-3-2) directly after management last month announced financial losses will prompt them to fold the club at season's end after 14 seasons in the ECHL. Since that three-week, 10-game road trip, though, they are 0-4-1, all at home.
Granted, their leading goal scorer, Peter Sivak, missed 19 games with a lower-body injury and has only been back for the last four games. Stephen Perfetto, still their leading scorer, missed games with injury and is currently up in the American Hockey League. Top-six forward Tim Wallace is also up in the AHL, as is goaltender Michael Garteig.
Still, injuries and promotions hit most ECHL teams — that's life on the circuit two rungs below the NHL.
And it's not as if the Aces have lacked opportunity. They unleashed 50 shots Friday in a 2-1 loss to Rapid City, but Rush goalie Adam Morrison delivered his ECHL career-high for saves with 49. Saturday, Rush goalie Luke Siemens won his pro debut with 43 saves.
"Miserable, miserable,'' said Aces center Tim Coffman. "When you can't score, it just gets frustrating.''
Alaska has been held to two or fewer goals in five of six games in its winless streak. Their power play, which got a goal from Yan-Pavel Laplante on Saturday, has converted twice in 23 chances in that span.
"When you're outshooting teams 2-to-1 and only putting in one or two goals, that's tough,'' said Aces rookie defenseman Chase Van Allen. "Guys have to find a way to step up and get a greasy goal, myself included. I could have had two goals tonight.
"You get frustrated and it starts to build. We've got to find a way to alleviate that.''
Saturday marked the fourth time in Alaska's six-game winless skid that it never led. In that stretch, the Aces have also lost a shootout in a game in which they led for nearly 53 of 65 minutes played. And they've lost an overtime game in which they never trailed until Colorado plunged in the OT dagger.
Laplante's power-play goal cut Rapid City's lead to 3-2 with 2:53 to go.
But the Rush, who earlier received Geoff Fortman's first pro goal, Marcus Ortiz's first pro goal and a goal from Mike Monfredo, regained a two-goal lead on a strike from rookie winger Hunter Fejes of Anchorage with 1:08 to go. Fejes was also awarded an empty-net goal just before the buzzer.
"We weren't good enough,'' Murray said.
Rapid City's victory extended its faint playoff hopes for the second straight night. The next point the Rush surrender will eliminate them from playoff contention.
The Aces and Rush close their three-game series Sunday with a matinee at 3:05 p.m.
Now, the Aces are enduring a tenuous position in the race to the playoffs.
And they are not trending well.
Shuffling the deck
Murray pulled goaltender Kevin Carr after he surrendered Ortiz's goal midway through the third period, which furnished Rapid City a 3-1 lead. Into the game went Drew O'Connell of Anchorage, a firefighter who played at Colorado College and has occasionally worked for the Aces and for visiting teams in a pinch.
Rookie forward Jory Mullin made his pro debut after the Aces signed him out of Neumann College, where his 26 goals as a senior lead all Division III players.
Saturday's loss snapped a strong of five consecutive one-goal losses for the Aces.
Rapid City 0 2 3 5
Aces 0 1 1 2
First Period — None. Penalties – Walters, Rapid City (hooking), 8:37; Laplante, Aces (hooking), 18:38.
Second Period – 1, Rapid City, Fortman 1 (Walters, Horn), 1:36; 2, Aces, Moynihan 21 (Olczyk, Lake), 6:55; 3, Rapid City, Monfredo 4 (Horn, Wallin), 14:19. Penalties – Weselowski, Rapid City (hooking), 10:58; Cooper, Rapid City (tripping), 15:10.
Third Period – 4, Rapid City, Ortiz 1, 10:18; 5, Aces, Laplante 8 (Sivak, Coffman), 17:07 (pp); 6, Rapid City, Fejes 15 (Rothstein, Fortman), 18:52; 7, Rapid City, Fejes 16 (Cooper), 19:59 (en). Penalties – Grant, Rapid City (holding), 5:40; Navin, Aces (slashing), 7:42; Aces bench minor, served by Navin (too many men), 12:51; Descoteaux, Aces (tripping), 14:01; Fortman, Rapid City (hooking), 15:52.
Shots on goal – Rapid City 5-12-5—22. Aces 18-11-16—45.
Power-play Opportunities – Rapid City 0 of 4. Aces 1 of 4.
Goalies – Rapid City, Siemens, 1-0-0 (45 shots-43 saves). Aces, Carr, 16-19-5 (19-16); O'Connell, enter 10:18 3rd period (2-1).
A – 4,403 (6,399). T – 2:20.
Referee – Chris Pontes. Linesmen – Scott Sivulich, Josh Ellis.