Alaska Aces (ECHL)

Alaska Aces
2015–16 ECHL season
City	Anchorage, Alaska
League	ECHL
Conference	Western
Division	West
Founded	1989 (In the PSHL)
Home arena	Sullivan Arena
Colors	Black, glacier blue, green, silver, white
Owner(s)	Terry Parks, Steve Adams, Al Haynes, Dan Coffey, Rod Udd, Jerry Mackey
General manager	Terry Parks
Head coach	Rob Murray
Affiliates	Independent
Franchise history
1989–2003	Anchorage Aces
2003–present	Alaska Aces
Championships
Regular season titles	5 (2005–06, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14)
Division Championships	8 (2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14)
Conference Championships	4 (2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2013–14)
Kelly Cups	3 (2005–06, 2010–11, 2013–14)

For the Filipino professional basketball team, see Alaska Aces (PBA).

The Alaska Aces, known as the Anchorage Aces until 2003, are a minor league ice hockey team in Anchorage, Alaska. Home games are played at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. The Aces have won three Kelly Cup championships, most recently in 2013–14.

The Aces were formed as a semi-professional team in the Pacific Southwest Hockey League (PSHL) in 1989 and became a charter member of the professional West Coast Hockey League (WCHL) in 1995. When the WCHL was absorbed by the East Coast Hockey League in 2003, the team joined the merged ECHL. As of the 2015–16 ECHL season, the Aces play in the West Division of the ECHL's Western Conference.

The Aces official team mascot is a polar bear named Boomer. Aces fans are known for using small, ceremonial cow bells painted with the Aces insignia to show their support during games.

Franchise history

Early semi-professional days (1989–1995)

The team was established in 1989 as the Anchorage Aces. They were originally a semi-professional club in the Pacific Southwest Hockey League organized by Dennis Sorenson, as a senior men's ice hockey team to compete against the established Alaska Gold Kings in Fairbanks.

The Aces played four unofficial games during in the 1989-90 season. During the 1990–91 season, Keith Street led the team on a 22–game schedule, which included 20 games against teams registered with USA Hockey. The 1990–91 season ended with the Aces winning the Senior Men's Open National Championship held in Fairbanks. In 1993 and 1994, they won the National Amateur Championship. They finished second in 1992 and 1995.

The Aces joined the Pacific Northwest Hockey League (PNHL) for the 1991–92 season, playing six of their home games at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage and eight at the Central Peninsula Sports Center in Soldotna. The Aces finished second in the PNHL with a 16–12–2 regular season record, and were the runners-up in the national USA Hockey tourney after a 0–4–1 tourney run.

In the 1992–93 season, new head coach Mike Ashley led the Aces to a 19–3–0 regular season record. In the USA Hockey Senior Men's Open Tournament, the Aces finished second for the second year in a row after compiling a 4–1 record in the tourney, losing the tiebreaker to the Chicago Chargers. Ashley resigned following the season.

For the 1993–94 season, the Aces played as an independent team. Steve Gasparini took over as head coach, and led the Aces to a 22–9–1 regular season record. The Aces also won their second championship in the USA Hockey Senior Men's Open National Tournament with a 5–0 run highlighted by the 6–0 rout of the Fresno Falcons. In 1994–95, the Aces joined the Pacific Hockey League (PHL), formed by a merger of the PSHL and PNHL.^[1] The team went 27–9 and lost in the championship game to the Gold Kings.

West Coast Hockey League (1995–2003)

The PHL folded after only one season. After an unsuccessful attempt to form a new Pacific Rim Hockey League, the Aces joined the new West Coast Hockey League (WCHL) for the 1995–96 season. Mike Cusack, Jr. became sole owner of the franchise following the 1995–96 season.

In the 1996–97 season, the Aces initially lost in the league playoffs to the Fresno Falcons, three games to one. The WCHL commissioner determined that their 2–4 loss in game four would be changed to a 1–0 victory due to forfeit by the Fresno Falcons, when they failed to meet the minimum roster requirement due to injuries and suspensions. The Aces won the deciding fifth game 5–3 and advanced to the Taylor Cup finals, but were defeated by the San Diego Gulls.

Stirling Wright

In the 2000–01 season, Stirling Wright was brought in to serve as assistant coach. He was instrumental in bringing in former NHL players when the Aces signed former NHL goalie Vincent Riendeau and right wing Kevin Brown. The Idaho Steelheads defeated the Aces 3–0 in the first round of the playoffs. Overall, the Aces finished in third place with a 34–30–4 record and advanced to the semifinals, only to be ousted by the Tacoma Sabercats in three games.

In 2001–2002, Wright was promoted within the franchise and began serving as the new General Manager. He hired former NHL coach and player Butch Goring as the team's new head coach. In effort to revamp the team, Wright only extended the contracts of four players from the previous season. The Aces additionally signed five former NHL players, including defenseman Jim Paek, goaltender Scott Bailey, wingers Todd Harkins and Daniel Goneau, and center Clayton Beddoes.

Clayton Beddoes retired just a few games into the season due to a previous shoulder injury. The Aces promoted a "Guaranteed Win Night" where if they lost the game, the fans in attendance would receive free Aces tickets.

Mike Cusack

After a 10–18–4 season start, Aces' owner, Mike Cusack, fired Goring and Lou Corletto, who served the franchise as Vice President of Business Operations. He brought back former head coach, Walt Poddubny. Stirling Wright stepped down as general manager, due to his disapproval of the owner's decisions. The Aces went on to win only a few more games and the mass exodus of players soon followed, after Wright left the team. The team itself was making a profit, but the owner's other financial ventures continued to drain the team of its revenue.

In May 2002, the team owner filed personal bankruptcy. Cusack included his ownership of the Anchorage Aces franchise in the filing. According to the filing papers, the team was almost $2 million in debt.

In June 2002, Cusack put the team up for sale on eBay. The club's owner, Cusack, accepted a $1.862 million bid from Duncan Harrison, owner of Alaskan Automotive Distributing in Anchorage, but U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge Donald MacDonald converted the Aces' bankruptcy case to Chapter 7, which allowed him to reject the Harrison bid.

The listing was withdrawn when it was discovered that a US$2.3 million bid was a college student's prank.^[2]

The club was eventually sold for $1.05 million to a seven-member group. As of 2015 the Aces and Idaho Steelheads are the only former WCHL teams still playing in their original markets.

ECHL (2003–present)

Alaska Aces playing on October 27, 2006.

The Aces joined the ECHL for the 2003–04 season following a merger between the WCHL and the East Coast Hockey League. They were renamed the Alaska Aces after the league switch, and unveiled a new logo and new uniforms.

The team gained national prominence in 2004 when it signed New Jersey Devils all-star and Alaska-born Scott Gomez during that season's NHL lockout. Gomez went on to lead the ECHL in scoring and win league Most Valuable Player honors.^[2]

The Aces' 2006 triple overtime win against the Las Vegas Wranglers was at the time the third-longest game in ECHL history, concluding after 113 minutes, 30 seconds.

In 2006, the Aces became only the second team in ECHL history (joining the South Carolina Stingrays of Charleston, SC) in winning both the Brabham Cup and Kelly Cup championships in the same season. In 2008, the Cincinnati Cyclones became the third team to accomplish this feat. In 2011 the Alaska Aces did it again, becoming the first team to ever do it twice.

In 2006, Alaska won the ECHL Kelly Cup title in five games over the Gwinnett Gladiators. This was the first professional sports title won by an Alaskan team since the Anchorage Northern Knights won the Continental Basketball Association championship in 1980. Mike Scott received the ECHL Kelly Cup MVP award after the Aces' 4-3 win over the Gladiators in Game Five of the series.

In 2009, the Aces stormed through the first three rounds of the Kelly Cup Playoffs, winning in five games against both the Utah Grizzlies and the Victoria Salmon Kings in the first two rounds, and sweeping the Las Vegas Wranglers in the National Conference Finals. They were in the Kelly Cup Finals for the first time since their championship season in 2006, but they lost 4 games to 3 to the South Carolina Stingrays.

In 2010–11, the Aces dominated the entire season, winning the Brabham Cup by earning the best record in the league, as well as leading the league in points scored. Wes Goldie lead the league in goals scored. In the Kelly Cup Playoffs, they swept the Idaho Steelheads and Victoria Salmon Kings, and then won the Kelly Cup Championship over the Kalamazoo Wings in five games. The Aces won a third Kelly Cup in 2014, defeating the Cincinnati Cyclones in the finals four games to two.

On August 22, 2013, the Aces announced their affiliation with the Calgary Flames.^[3]

In 2014–15 the Aces defended their Kelly Cup championship playing in the Pacific Division of the ECHL's Western Conference,^[4] but failed to make the playoffs for the first time since the team's WCHL days.

The Aces are by far the northernmost and westernmost team in the ECHL, located 2,731 miles (4,395 km) from their closest geographical rival, the Idaho Steelheads. As a result the team spent over $300,000 in travel-related costs during the 2014–15 season despite playing road games in only six different locations.^[5]

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, PCT = Winning percentage, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes. Records as of 2015.^[6][7]

Season	League	Division	GP	W	L	T	OTL	SOL	Pts	PCT	GF	GA	PIM	Coach(es)	Result
1995–96	WCHL	WCHL	58	24	29	0	5	0	53	0.414	271	299	1758	Steve Gasparini	Out of playoffs
1996–97	WCHL	WCHL	64	41	18	0	5	0	87	0.641	349	260	2142	Walt Poddubny	Lost in Finals
1997–98	WCHL	WCHLN	64	36	20	0	8	0	80	0.562	308	261	2075	Walt Poddubny	Lost in round 2
1998–99	WCHL	WCHLN	71	46	22	0	3	0	95	0.648	332	260	1759	Walt Poddubny	Lost in round 2
1999–00	WCHL	WCHLN	74	31	34	0	9	0	71	0.419	272	334	1828	Walt Poddubny, Bob Wilkie, Derek Donald, Steve MacSwain	Out of Playoffs
2000–01	WCHL	WCHLN	72	27	41	0	4	0	58	0.375	264	324	1820	Walt Poddubny, Stirling Wright	Out of Playoffs
2001–02	WCHL	WCHLN	72	19	44	0	9	0	47	0.264	222	350	1573	Butch Goring, Stirling Wright, Walt Poddubny	Lost in round 1
2002–03	WCHL	WCHL	72	21	46	0	5	0	47	0.292	210	327	1926	Rod Davidson, Perry Florio	Out of Playoffs
2003–04	ECHL	Pacific	72	38	28	6	0	0	82	0.569	220	210	1648	Davis Payne	Lost in round 2
2004–05	ECHL	West	72	45	19	8	0	0	98	0.681	233	187	1389	Davis Payne	Lost in round 3
2005–06	ECHL	West	72	53	12	7	0	0	113	0.785	289	168	1786	Davis Payne	Kelly Cup Champions
2006–07	ECHL	West	72	49	16	7	0	0	105	0.729	270	176	1972	Davis Payne	Lost in round 3
2007–08	ECHL	West	72	41	26	0	4	1	87	0.604	245	249	1319	Keith McCambridge	Lost round 2
2008–09	ECHL	West	72	45	24	1	2	0	93	0.646	232	181	1537	Keith McCambridge	Lost in Finals
2009–10	ECHL	West	72	36	28	0	4	4	80	0.556	232	240	1566	Brent Thompson	Lost in round 1
2010–11	ECHL	Mountain	72	47	22	0	2	1	97	0.674	241	174	947	Brent Thompson	Kelly Cup Champions
2011–12	ECHL	Mountain	72	43	18	0	3	8	97	0.674	224	172	929	Rob Murray	Lost in round 3
2012–13	ECHL	Mountain	72	49	15	0	4	4	106	0.736	228	172	1086	Rob Murray	Lost in round 2
2013–14	ECHL	Mountain	71	45	19	0	3	4	97	0.683	243	164	989	Rob Murray	Kelly Cup Champions
2014–15	ECHL	Pacific	72	35	30	0	3	4	77	0.535	237	233	1211	Rob Murray	Out of Playoffs
2015–16	ECHL	West	72	27	38	—	4	3	61	0.424	189	237	1171	Rob Murray	Out of Playoffs

Current roster

Updated February 23, 2016.^[8][9]

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace	Contract
3		Breton, JustinJustin Breton	F	L	26	2014	Fitchburg, Massachusetts	Aces
6		Coffman, TimTim Coffman	F	R	28	2013	Elverson, Pennsylvania	Aces
10		DeLuca, AnthonyAnthony DeLuca	LW	L	21	2015	Rosemere, Quebec	Aces
31		DeSerres, JacobJacob DeSerres	G	L	26	2016	Calgary, Alberta	Aces
22		Eddy, DavidDavid Eddy	RW	R	26	2015	Woodbury, Minnesota	Aces
5		Haar, GarrettGarrett Haar	D	L	22	2015	Huntington Beach, California	Aces
20		Harlow, MattMatt Harlow	LW	L	23	2016	Bridgewater, Massachusetts	Aces
24		Hunt, GaretGaret Hunt	LW	L	28	2015	Maple Ridge, British Columbia	Aces
2		Johnston, DanielDaniel Johnston	D	R	23	2015	Calgary, Alberta	Aces
47		Jones, MitchMitch Jones	D	L	21	2015	Rochester, Michigan	Aces
15		Lake, BenBen Lake	LW	L	25	2015	Calgary, Alberta	Aces
29		Levesque, Marc-AndreMarc-Andre Levesque	D	R	25	2016	Longueuil, Quebec	Aces
44		Perfetto, StephenStephen Perfetto	LW	L	24	2015	Woodbridge, Ontario	Aces
4		Poulin, Felix-AntoineFelix-Antoine Poulin	D	L	25	2015	Ste-Julie, Quebec	Aces
30		Redmann, TroyTroy Redmann	G	L	29	2015	Brea, California	Aces
		Sarig, ZachZach Sarig	D	R	25	2016	Wyomissing, Pennsylvania	Aces
97		Sivák, PeterPeter Sivák	RW	L	34	2015	Cheb, Czechoslovakia	Aces
12		Stewart, LiamLiam Stewart	C	L	21	2015	London, England	Aces
13		Tesink, RyanRyan Tesink	F	L	22	2016	Saint John, New Brunswick	St. Louis Blues
11		Traversa, TommasoTommaso Traversa	C	L	25	2015	Torino, Italy	Aces
28		Vandane, DavisDavis Vandane	D	R	24	2015	Yorkton, Saskatchewan	Aces
21		Valcourt, CollinCollin Valcourt	LW	L	23	2015	Prince George, British Columbia	Aces
17		Wamsganz, ScottScott Wamsganz	LW	L	24	2016	Anchorage, Alaska	Aces
33		Wellar, PatrickPatrick Wellar	D	L	32	2015	Carrot River, Saskatchewan	Aces
19		Wrenn, WilliamWilliam Wrenn (C)	D	R	25	2015	Anchorage, Alaska	Aces

Team officials

Updated December 8, 2013^[10]

Title	Staff Member
Head Coach	Rob Murray
Assistant Coach/Strength and Conditioning Coach	Louis Mass
Head Athletic Trainer	Tyson Salley
Equipment Manager	Michael Burkhead
Play-by-Play Announcer	Mike Benton

Notable players

Player	Position	GP
Chris Beckford-Tseu	G	56
Wade Brookbank	LW/D	72
Joey Crabb	RW	35
Kimbi Daniels	C	557
Brandon Dubinsky	C	17
Wes Goldie	RW	165
Scott Gomez	C	76
Stefan Grogg	F	7
Derek Gustafson	G	91
Barrett Heisten	LW	182
Ty Jones	W	12
D. J. King	LW	5
Doug Lynch	D	30
Marek Schwarz	G	19
Nate Thompson	C	27
Matt Underhill	G	66
B. J. Young	RW	144

Retired numbers

• Keith Street – #8
• Wes Goldie – #16
• Dean Larson – #18

References

1. Pacific Hockey League (1994-1995) history and statistics, hockeyDB.com. (accessed 11 June 2015)
2. Stott, Jon C. (2006). Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South. Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd. pp. 180, 182. ISBN 978-1-894974-21-9.
3. "Flames, Heat announce affiliation with Alaska Aces". Calgary Flames. August 21, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
4. "Annual ECHL Board of Governors Meeting concludes", ECHL, June 24, 2014. (accessed 24 June 2014)
5. Woody, Doyle. "Aces' 2015-16 schedule: Diversity and distant travel", Alaska Dispatch News, April 27, 2015. (accessed 11 June 2015)
6. "Anchorage Aces season statistics and records 1995–2003". Hockeydb.com. 2012-03-04. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
7. "Anchorage Aces season statistics and records 2003-Present". Hockeydb.com. 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
8. "Aces player roster". alaskaaces.com. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
9. "Alaska Aces Elite Prospects". Elite Prospects. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
10. Alaska Aces Staff Listing

External links

Media related to Alaska Aces at Wikimedia Commons

• Alaska Aces official website