Alaska Aces goaltender Marek Schwarz is outta here -- and in a major way.

Schwarz, the former first-round draft pick of the NHL St. Louis Blues who is in the last year of his NHL entry contract, is returning to his native Czech Republic, according to Aces coach Keith McCambridge.

That leaves the ECHL Aces with one goalie, standout rookie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, who is set to play in the ECHL All-Star Game this week. And with Chris Holt, the other goalie who has played for the Aces this season, firmly set in Peoria of the American Hockey League, McCambridge is hunting for another goalie.

"I've got a couple of calls out there,'' McCambridge said. "I'm definitely in the market.''

The Aces, who have won five of their last six games, next play Friday at Bakersfield and Saturday at red-hot Stockton (the Thunder have gone 7-0-1 since former Fresno bench boss Matt Thomas took over).

Schwarz, who spent a couple stints with the Aces last season and went 2-1-1 for them recently with a 3.15 goals-against average and .904 save percentage, becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

He struggled in Peoria this season, going 4-4-0 with a 3.56 goals-against average and .868 save percentage.