Yes, puckheads, it’s December and we all know what that means: Time for the annual Scott Gomez trade rumors!

The latest speculation – and that’s a kind description, given zero sourcing or attribution – comes from this New York Post story. The story centers on a straight up swap of unrestricted-free-agents-to-be Gomez of the New Jersey Devils and Airport Heights for Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings. The swap is sort of, well, proposed? Alleged? Dangled? Produced out of thin air? Something to fill column inches?

Being .500 usually isn’t anything to crow about, but in the case of rebuilding, resurgent UAA, it rates the Seawolves as Team Turnaround.

Despite three straight losses heading into the holidays, the Seawolves hit the break at 8-8-2 overall and 6-8-0 in the WCHA, where they sit in a tie for fifth place. The top five teams at regular season’s end earn home ice for the first round of the playoffs, an advantage the Seawolves haven’t earned since joining the league as a full member in 1993-94.

Sunday was a pretty sweet day in the American Hockey League for Alaskans and players with Alaska connections.

Rookie forward Tim Wallace of Anchorage is doing his part to stay in the A and put off a return to the ECHL – he scored the game-winning goal in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ 3-2 win at Syracuse. Wallace, 22, is 2-2—4 and +3 in six games with the Penguins.

Rookie center Brandon Dubinsky of Anchorage scored Hartford’s goal on the power play in a 2-1 loss at Manchester. Dubinsky, 20, is 6-5—11 in 25 games.

Goaltender Ty Conklin of Anchorage resurfaced in the NHL on Saturday after his fellow Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Fredrik Norrena was buried – well, metaphorically speaking.

After the Chicago Blackhawks strafed Norrena for five goals on 16 first-period shots, Conklin took over in the second period and stopped seven of eight shots he faced in Columbus’ 6-4 loss.

The game marked Conklin’s first NHL appearance since last spring’s Stanley Cup Finals, when his puck-handling error for the Edmonton Oilers in a 5-4 Game 1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes was treated in Canada like Conklin had made a public pass at the prime minister’s old lady. Anyhow, good to see Ty, 30, back in the big leagues after spending the season thus far with the Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League.

Scott Gomez's long goal drought is finally history.

The New Jersey Devils' center from Anchorage -- the King of Airport Heights, to pinpoint it -- scored a power-play goal in a 2-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. That snapped Gomez's 13-game goal drought -- he did have 9 assists in that span -- that stretched back to Oct. 24. Why so long? Well, he missed eight games with a strained groin and the Devils have been struggling to score goals.

Gomez's goal was his fourth of the season and gives him 4-17--21 totals in 23 games. Not bad, but he can do better. Granted, his career-high 33 goals last season were a bit of an aberration -- Gomez is first and foremost an elite playmaker -- but he should be good for 20+ goals every season. That's why they pay him $5 million.

Both Anchorage teams – the pro Alaska Aces of the ECHL and the college UAA Seawolves of the WCHA – lacked their best lineups Friday, but they didn’t lack fortitude.

The Aces beat the Utah Grizzlies on the road, 3-1, thanks to a goal and a helper from gimpy veteran center Kimbi Daniels, who skated with a strained groin but nonetheless prospered – and we’ll give him a mulligan for his failed penalty shot. Goaltender Derek Gustafson stopped 31 shots, and his early-season miseries seem to have subsided – he’s won three straight and stopped 82 of 85 shots in the process. And how about the Aces on the road? They’re 9-3-0 Outside.

Defenseman Cody Butcher of Anchorage has been selected to play in the British Columbia Hockey League All-Star Game in South Surrey on Jan. 17.

Butcher, 19, owns 7-23--30 totals in 35 games for the Merritt Centennials. Also selected to the All-Star Game were forward Winston DayChief, the UAA recruit who owns 19-30--49 totals in 36 games for the Cowichan Valley Capitals and next fall will have one of, if not THE, coolest name in Seawolves history. Of course, another UAA recruit set to begin play here next fall is the wonderfully named Kane Lafranchise, a defenseman from the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. By the way, UAF recruit Jordie Benn, a defenseman who owns 3-19--22 totals in 25 games for the Victoria Grizzlies, will also be in the BCHL All-Star Game.

Suffice to say, no UAA forwards will even think private thoughts about lack of ice time Friday night.

That's because the Seawolves will only have nine forwards (three shy of the usual college complement) available in their series opener against visiting Denver -- six Seawolves will serve one-game suspensions received after a brawl last Saturday night on the road against Colorado College.

If the Seawolves can muster a point or two Friday, given their short-handed crew, that would be quite the coup.

As for the Alaska Aces, they might find themselves short-handed, too, when they play at the Utah Grizzlies on Friday. Whether the Aces are short-handed will depend on the availability of center Kimbi Daniels, who missed the team's previous game with a strained groin, and winger Jeff Smith, whose back spasms kept him from practicing Tuesday and Wednesday.

After spending the season thus far in the American Hockey League, goaltender Ty Conklin of Anchorage is back in the big league with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets.

Conklin, 30, was recalled from the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL after Blue Jackets tender Pascal LeClaire suffered a sprained left knee Sunday.

Conklin had been playing for the Syracuse Crunch, and after a miserable start to the season, has turned around his campaign. In his first seven appearances for Syracuse, which is last in the AHL, Conklin went 0-5-1 with a 4.31 goals-against average and .872 save percentage. In his last seven appearances, though, he is 2-5-0 with a 2.44 goals-against average and .933 save percentage. That's put his overall stats at 2-10-1, 3.33, .905.

Let's hand out some late-night props to Alaskans (and one guy with AK connections) in the American Hockey League, but we've got to hustle -- the cleanup crew here at Sullivan Arena is closing in after the Aces' 2-1 ECHL win over Fresno.

Congrats to Tim Wallace, the rookie forward from Anchorage who scored his first AHL goal and first AHL assist, and was +2, in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' 5-3 win over visiting Chicago. The game was just Wallace's third in the 'A' -- he's on callup from the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL.

Meanwhile, rookie center Brandon Dubinsky of Anchorage scored his fourth goal of the season for Hartford, on the power play, in a 5-3 win over Lowell. Lowell's Jason Ryznar, a winger from Anchorage who last season made his NHL debut, registered an assist.

Meanwhile, up north, Kyle Greentree is absolutely lighting it up for the UAF Nanooks. He pocketed two goals and an assist in Friday night's 4-3 win over Bowling Green.

That gives him 14-11--25 totals in 15 games, which ranks him first in the nation in goals per game (.93) and tied for fourth in the nation in points per game (1.67). Greentree's eight power-play goals are second in the nation. Looks like the junior winger is on his way to leading the Nanooks in scoring for the third straight season.

Justin Bourne had only played one college game for UAA before I realized he was a reporter's gold mine -- an athlete who didn't fall back on every hoary cliche in the book, but instead was witty and glib, while still being analytical.

Bourne scored a bizarre goal in his first college game -- his score in a 3-2 win at UAF ricocheted high off the goalie and tumbled into the net after the goalie (Keith Bartusch) and the defenseman (current Aces blueliner Corbin Schmidt) missed in their attempts to glove the puck.

Out in the Eastern Time Zone, a trio of college defensemen from Alaska -- two men, one woman -- are flourishing.

Senior Jake Luthi of Palmer, who skates for Rensselaer, leads the nation in scoring among defensemen with 2-15—17 totals in 14 games. (Puckheads may recall that Matt Carle, then of Denver and now of the San Jose Sharks, led the nation’s blueliners in scoring last season on the way to collecting the Hobey). Luthi’s 15 assists are one more than he had in 69 career games entering this season. He’s shining under first-year coach Seth Appert, the former Denver assistant and one of the many good guys in the college game (even if he does look like he never ages, while the rest of us get wrinkles deeper than gouges left in the ice by sharp skates).

Wanna see a sick goal? Check out this jaw dropper Minnesota freshman Kyle Okposo dropped on Minnesota State-Mankato last weekend. Gee, wonder why the Islanders made him the seventh pick overall in last summer’s draft? And get a load of that no-look pass furnished by Ryan Stoa, the 2005 second-round pick of the Avalanche? (Aces fans may remember Keith Street pulling off the same move as Okposo).

All Chris Minard did in major junior was score goals. All he did in the Central Hockey League was score goals. All he did in the ECHL was score goals. And now all he's doing in the American Hockey League is scoring goals.

Not to put to fine a point on it, but you'd think he could crack the Lowell Devils' AHL lineup a little more frequently. The former Alaska Aces sniper scored two goals and cranked off a game-high seven shots on goal for Lowell in a 4-2 win at Springfield on Wednesday night. That gives Minard nine goals in 15 games this season -- the Devils have played 25 games. Even though he's missed 10 games as a healthy scratch, Minard is tied for the team lead in goals and is first on the team with seven even-strength goals.

According to USA Hockey, the governing body for the sport (south of Canada, at least), the Ben Boeke Hockey League at the Anchorage arena of the same name was the third largest adult league in the country in the 2005-06 season.

Our local rec/beer league circuit counted 1,340 registered players -- no doubt, 1,112 of whom habitually extend their shifts too long, because that's how beer leaguers roll. Anyhow, that leaves us just shy of No. 1, which is the Adult Hockey Association in Minneapolis, with 1,576 players. Coming in at No. 2 was Michigan Sports Enterprises in Fraser, which registered 1,363 players.

Reinforcements are on the way to the Alaska Aces of the ECHL.

The Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League have sent the Aces defenseman Stephen Wood and winger Ryan MacMurchy for a three-game homestand against the Fresno Falcons. The series between the teams with matching 11-7-0 records drops Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at Sullivan Arena. Both players are expected to arrive in Anchorage this afternoon.

Both players have split time this season between Peoria and Anchorage. Wood is 2-0--2 in 5 games with Alaska and 0-0--0 in 8 games with Peoria.

Kudos to Tim Wallace , the rookie right wing from Anchorage who was called up to the American Hockey League on Monday.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin summoned Wallace, 22, who has flourished in the ECHL debut, recording 5-9—14 totals in 16 games with the Wheeling Nailers – he’s fourth among Nailers in points.

Wallace, who in the spring completed his career at Notre Dame, played one game previously this season in the AHL – pretty sweet for an undrafted guy who went to the Pittsburgh Penguins camp on a tryout.

More than 300 players who have played in the ECHL, the AA minor hockey league in which the Alaska Aces play, have ascended to the NHL, the best league in the world.

Will former Aces winger Charles Linglet be next? Honestly? I haven’t a clue. All I know is Linger the Winger scored two goals and ripped off a game-high six shots on goal Saturday night to propel the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League to a 3-1 win at Iowa. That gives Linger a team-high 11 goals in 18 games this season, and ties the 24-year-old for 12th in the ‘A’ in goals.

OK, we’ve officially reached the point where Alaska Aces goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu’s numbers are just plain stupid sweet. He’s 5-0-0, 0.79 goals-against average, .969 save percentage. In other words, he is pretty much as effective as a sheet of 4-footx6-foot plywood in front of the goal.

Friday night, Becks stopped 24 shots and the Aces earned a 3-0 win in Victoria. That makes Alaska (10-7-0) 4-1-0 on the six-game road trip that wraps tonight in Victoria. But Becks is headed to the Midwest to rejoin the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League, which is where he belongs. He has nothing left to prove in the ECHL, not after going 16-1-2 last season and helping the Aces to the Kelly Cup. Besides, the “E’’ isn’t exactly challenging him this season. And he’s 2-0-1 for Peoria.