Alaska is hockey heaven -- the Alaska Aces are perennial ECHL contenders, the UAA Seawolves play in the nation's premier college league and NHL star Scott Gomez headlines a contingent of pros. Join the conversation about the Aces and Alaska hockey with Doyle Woody, who has covered the game here at all levels for 25 years.
Contact: dwoody@adn.com
Imbeault Bags Game Winner (Aces In The AHL) - 11/21/2008 7:21 pm
Crabb Promoted to NHL Atlanta - 11/21/2008 1:09 pm
Long-Term Commitment: UAA Gets Center For 2011 - 11/21/2008 9:57 am
Former Aces Winger Robinson Done For Season - 11/20/2008 8:49 pm
Scratch That: Hemingway Stays, Imbeault And Kana To Peoria - 11/20/2008 9:57 am
Tough Times For Becks - 11/19/2008 10:00 pm
The Nate Lawson Bandwagon Rolls On - 11/19/2008 4:20 pm
Merit Waldrop Rocks His Pro Debut - 11/18/2008 8:24 pm
ECHL Phoenix Signs Waldrop - 11/18/2008 11:05 am
Aces: Holt Headed Back From Peoria - 11/18/2008 10:55 am
Congrats To The Conklins (Plus, NHL Injury News; Kronschnabel Up To AHL - 11/17/2008 3:25 pm
Minard's Streak Is Sweet, But Check Out These Former Streakers - 11/16/2008 5:00 pm
Our College Goalies Are A Stingy Bunch - 11/15/2008 7:02 pm
Aces: Soares, Fast Headed To Peoria - 11/15/2008 6:01 pm
Filion Bests Daniels In Meeting Of Former Aces - 11/14/2008 11:23 pm
Check Out The Anchorage Kids At Shattuck-St. Mary's - 11/13/2008 5:26 pm
Gutierrez Headed Back To ECHL After AHL Stint - 11/13/2008 4:18 pm
Welcome To The World, Linden Craig Keith - 11/13/2008 3:29 pm
Justin Bourne Lives! - 11/12/2008 7:40 pm
Jump Aboard The Nate Lawson Bandwagon - 11/12/2008 5:00 pm
David Carle's Got an ESPN.com Gig - 11/12/2008 4:32 pm
Ex-Aces Winger Robinson Heating Up - 11/12/2008 4:03 pm
NOVEMBER 21, 2008 - 7:21 PM
Alaska Aces center Alexandre Imbeault, on promotion to Peoria of the American Hockey League, made his 'A' season debut a memorable one Friday night, bagging the game-winning goal in the Rivermen's 3-1 win at Rockford.
He was assisted on his power-play strike by Josh Soares, another Aces center on promotion. Yet another Ace on promotion, winger Tomas Kana, did not register a point -- Kana was sent down to Alaska after starting the season in Peoria.
NOVEMBER 21, 2008 - 1:09 PM
Big news today -- third-year right winger Joey Crabb of Anchorage was called up to the NHL by the Atlanta Thrashers.
Crabb, 25, owns 5-5--10 totals in 16 games with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League. The former Colorado College standout has scored two short-handed goals, which ties him for second in the league, and has furnished a +10 rating that ties him for 13th.
Atlanta entertains Columbus on Saturday.
NOVEMBER 21, 2008 - 9:57 AM
Plenty of NCAA Division I hockey programs have been recruiting years ahead for a while now, and it looks like UAA has adopted that philosophy: The Seawolves apparently have an oral commitment from a center to join the club in 2011.
According to Chris Heisenberg’s reliable 2009 college hockey recruiting site, the Seawolves have a commitment from Sam Mellor of the Kimberley Dynamiters (great name) in the British Columbia-based Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. Mellor turns 16 today.
NOVEMBER 20, 2008 - 8:49 PM
Bummer news out East -- former Alaska Aces winger Matt Robinson is done for the season after suffering a knee injury.
The ECHL's Johnstown Chiefs placed Robbie on the 30-day injured reserve this week, which is never a good sign. A call to former Aces center Kimbi Daniels, who now plays for the Phoenix RoadRunners and keeps in close touch with his old road roomie, revealed Robinson suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament recently.
NOVEMBER 20, 2008 - 9:57 AM
Body by body, the ECHL's Alaska Aces continue to get thinned out by promotions to the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League.
Word out of Peoria was that the latest guy headed to the 'A' was veteran winger Colin Hemingway, who is the ECHL's No. 2 scorer with 9-12--21 and +13 totals in 14 games. He is tied for fourth in the league in assists, tied for sixth in goals and tied for second in plus-minus.
NOVEMBER 19, 2008 - 10:00 PM
As a fan favorite among the Cowbell Crew -- after all, he helped the Alaska Aces to the 2006 Kelly Cup -- goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu is beloved in these parts.
Alas, Becks is having a rough go of it in his new gig with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League. It doesn't help that the Americans are the worst team on the 29-team circuit, falling to 2-14-1 after Wednesday night's 5-2 loss to visiting Toronto.
NOVEMBER 19, 2008 - 4:20 PM
I missed this while taking Tuesday night off -- namely, that Nathan Lawson certainly didn't take the night off.
The former UAA Seawolves goaltender remained perfect in the American Hockey League this season -- well, actually in any league, for that matter. Lawson stopped 28 shots for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in a 3-1 win at San Antonio to improve to 4-0-0 for the Tigers.
NOVEMBER 18, 2008 - 8:24 PM
Damn, was there anything Merit Waldrop didn't do in his pro debut Tuesday night?
OK, that's an exaggeration, but the former UAA Seawolves center from Anchorage who played for the Phoenix RoadRunners enjoyed one very memorable first game in a 7-6 ECHL shootout win over visiting Las Vegas.
Merit, who was a late cut from Alaska Aces training camp, not only racked the primary assist on Mitch Carefoot's game-tying goal with 41 seconds left, but his shootout goal clinched the win. Oh, and he fought former NHLer Chris Ferraro in the second period. Oh, and he was +2.
NOVEMBER 18, 2008 - 11:05 AM
Former UAA Seawolves center Merit Waldrop of Anchorage, who was in training camp with the Alaska Aces, has been signed by the ECHL Phoenix RoadRunners.
Waldrop played the last four seasons at UAA, earning 23-30--53 totals in 138 games.
The RoadRunners tonight entertain the Las Vegas Wranglers. If Merit plays, it will mark his pro debut -- he played in the exhibition season for Alaska, but that doesn't count. And although he was signed by the Aces last spring after finishing at UAA, he did not play.
NOVEMBER 18, 2008 - 10:55 AM
Looks like goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, who has played every second for the Alaska Aces this season, will get a break sometime this week in a three-game series at Victoria. That's because Chris Holt, who attended training camp with the ECHL Aces but has been up in the American Hockey League and NHL, is being shipped to the Aces from AHL Peoria.
NOVEMBER 17, 2008 - 3:25 PM
Congrats to Detroit Red Wings goaltender Ty Conklin of Anchorage -- he and his wife, Erika, on Saturday welcomed their third child, and second son, when Erika gave birth to Nash, who weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces.
Conklin here in a few minutes is scheduled to start against one of his former teams, Edmonton. (UPDATE: Conklin snagged his fifth career shutout with 21 saves in a 4-0 victory).
Meanwhile, also in the NHL, New York Rangers center Scott Gomez of Anchorage tonight is sitting out his third straight game with an injury. The Rangers aren't say what that injury is, but various reports peg it as an ankle injury.
NOVEMBER 16, 2008 - 5:00 PM
Former Alaska Aces sniper Chris Minard furnished one goal and one assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-3 loss Sunday to Syracuse, which extended Minard's points streak to an American Hockey League season-best 14 games -- or every AHL game he has played this season.
Minard, who played two NHL games for Pittsburgh earlier this season, owns 14-10--24 AHL totals and a +10 rating in his streak, and he leads the league in goals and is tied for second in points.
NOVEMBER 15, 2008 - 7:02 PM
Goaltenders Cassi Campbell and Melissa Deardorff of Anchorage combined efforts Saturday to help the Division III Wisconsin-River Falls women earn a 5-3 win over Lake Forest, and that was indicative of several Anchorage goalies who are flourishing in college.
Campbell played 31 minutes Saturday, stopping 4 of 5 shots. This season, the sophomore is 2-0-0 with a 1.32 goals-against average and .941 save percentage. Deardorff, a freshman, stopped 13 of 15 shots in 29 minutes. She's 1-0-0 with a 1.36 goals-against average and .946 save percentage.
The most established Anchorage goalie in college is Notre Dame senior Jordan Pearce, who backstopped the Irish to the national championship game last season. Saturday, he stopped 20 shots in a 5-2 win over Lake Superior to improve to 6-3-1 with a 2.10 goals-against average and .920 save percentage.
NOVEMBER 15, 2008 - 6:01 PM
Alaska Aces leading scorer Josh Soares, the team's No. 1 center, and defenseman T.J. Fast each have been promoted to Peoria of the American Hockey League and will not play for the ECHL Aces tonight, when they entertain the Utah Grizzlies.
Soares, a second-year pro who last season was All-ECHL, owns 10-7--17 totals and a +9 rating in nine games with Alaska. Fast, a rookie who began the season in Peoria, had one assist and went +3 in seven games with the Aces.
NOVEMBER 14, 2008 - 11:23 PM
In an ECHL meeting of former long-time Alaska Aces centers Friday night, Olivier Filion furnished the Victoria Salmon Kings with two goals, a helper and a +1 rating in a 4-1 home-ice victory over Kimbi Daniels and the Phoenix RoadRunners.
Filion's breakout night extended his points streak to four games -- he owns 3-3--6 totals in that span, and 3-6--9 totals in 10 games since returning from a short stint in France, where he started the season.
NOVEMBER 13, 2008 - 5:26 PM
Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn., has been turning out some of the nation's best young hockey players for years now, and this season at least eight skaters from Anchorage -- six boys and two girls -- are playing on various Sabres teams.
(And, hey puckheads, if I've missed someone in the list below, holler to dwoody@adn.com.)
On the girls front, senior forward Jessica Cohen is tearing it up for the prep team with 20-37--57 totals in 23 games to rank third on the club in goals, second in assists and second in points.
NOVEMBER 13, 2008 - 4:18 PM
Second-year right winger Moises Gutierrez of Anchorage is headed back to ECHL Elmira after playing a couple games for the Binghampton Senators of the American Hockey League.
Gutierrez was released by Binghampton today after two games. He didn't score any points in those matches.
In eight games for Elmira, Gutierrez still is tied for the team lead with five goals and owns 5-2--7 totals.
As a rookie primarily with ECHL Texas last season (9-16--25 in 42 games), Gutierrez also played six games for AHL Houston and furnished 1-1--2 totals.
NOVEMBER 13, 2008 - 3:29 PM
Welcome to the world, Linden Craig Keith, the son born Tuesday to Alaska Aces winger Cam Keith and his fiancee, Jenner Maher.
Jenner gave birth at 7:14 a.m., and it turns out that she and the new father known as "The Big Rig'' produced a son that, all things being relative, isn't that little of a rig. Linden weighed in at 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and measured 22 inches.
Big hands and big feet on the kid, reported dad, who is 6-3, 225.
And, yes, that name Linden is just as hockey-related as some of you puckheads no doubt deduced. The kid's named after Trevor Linden, the recently retired former captain of the Vancouver Canucks. Linden was Cam's favorite player growing up in British Columbia. And when Jenner was at the University of Portland, Cam said, she and her friends occasionally went up to Vancouver to watch the Canucks, and Linden was her favorite player.
NOVEMBER 12, 2008 - 7:40 PM
Good to see our old friend Justin Bourne get on the scoresheet.
After starting the ECHL season without a point in eight games -- one with Reading, seven with Idaho after a trade -- the former UAA Seawolves and Alaska Aces skater finally cashed in Wednesday night.
Bourne scored for the Steelheads on his 21st shot of the season, which came in a 4-3 overtime win against visiting Fresno. The goal, and the win, probably felt a little better since Bourne's delay of game penalty led to the game-tying goal by Fresno's Kenny MacAulay with less than six minutes to go in regulation.
NOVEMBER 12, 2008 - 5:00 PM
We'll keep this Nathan Lawson Bandwagon rolling until the former UAA Seawolves goaltender gets tagged with a loss in the American Hockey League.
Didn't happen Wednesday. Lawson stopped 26 shots to backstop the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (that's the New York Islanders' affiliate) to a 6-2 win over the visiting Binghampton Senators.
That bumps the second-year pro's AHL numbers to 3-0-0 with a 1.22 goals-against average and .944 save percentage since his promotion from ECHL Utah. He went 2-0-0 with a 2.28 goals-against average and .918 save percentage for the Grizzlies.
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