adn_aces's blog

First things first: Save the Friday the 13th references. We can come up with enough cliches on our own.

Still, tough one for the Alaska Aces tonight, and not just because they fell 3-2 in overtime to the Bakersfield Condors, and not just because former Aces center Gino Guyer -- one of the really good guys -- authored the game winner for Bako.

Nope, the bigger deal is the Aces lost defenseman Tyson Marsh to a cut above his right ankle late in the third period. He left the arena with his leg in a boot and using crutches, and was headed to the hospital for further evaluation. He's a tough guy -- he tried to hop to the bench on one leg -- but right now we'd have to say he's out indefinitely.

Unable to find a trade partner for Brett Hemingway, the Alaska Aces released the third-year right winger today.

Hemingway, who played for the Aces in each of his three seasons, becomes a free agent.

Here's to hoping he finds a soft landing.

Justin Bourne, the former UAA and Alaska Aces winger turned master of the blogosphere, chimes in today, writing that former Aces bench boss Davis Payne was the best coach he ever had.

Justin raves about how Payne prepared his club for games, leaving nothing to chance. You can check out Justin’s musings here. Um, a little warning -- there's some blue language in this particular blog entry because Justin is apparently a tad disappointed with his fantasy goaltender, Jose "The Floodgates Are Now Officially Open'' Theodore.

Frankly, if hockey's your thing, you should bookmark Justin's blog. It remains one of my favorites, or as Justin would write, "favourites.'' (He's basically Canadian, though he lives in the Phoenix area, both of which are commendable).

Get ready to bump into an old friend -- former Alaska Aces center Gino Guyer has been signed by the Bakersfield Condors in time to join the club for its two-game series against the Aces at Sullivan Arena starting Friday night.

Guyer played as a rookie for the Aces in 2006-07 before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He came back to the club in 2007-08 for a brief stay before getting moved to now-defunct Phoenix of the ECHL.

In any event, Guyer last season earned 14-24--38 totals in 71 games with Phoenix. Taking a glance at hockeydb.com, looks like this Bako gig will be Gino's first a

Former UAF blueliner Tyler Eckford is off to a fast start to his second season as a pro in the American Hockey League, and that's notable because he's something there's not a lot of -- offensive defensemen.

Eckford, property of the New Jersey Devils, and plays for the Lowell Devils. He started tonight tied for 13th in the league in points by a defenseman, and that standing will rise after he bagged three assists in a 7-3 win at Worcester. Eckford owns 3-8--11 totals and a +5 rating in 16 games.

Just FYI -- one of the guys Eckford was tied for at 13th in points by a D was Jeff Penner, the former Nanook and third-year pro from the Providence Bruins.

Alaska Aces winger Brett Hemingway wasn't on the ice at practice today, and coach Brent Thompson said the ECHL club is seeking to trade the third-year pro.

"We're working to trade him to somewhere he can play,'' Thompson said . "He's been a good player, and good for the organization, and we want to find him a place to play.''

Hemingway has played in half the Aces' games this season -- six of 12 -- and registered one assist. Last season, he earned 10-32--42 totals and a +4 rating in 58 games, and after coming to Alaska in a trade his rookie season bagged 11-15--26 and +6 totals in 25 games.

Former Alaska Aces center Luke Erickson, who bagged 21 goals and was a shootout demon for the club last season but released in training camp this time around, has landed in the Central Hockey League. (Thanks to reader Michael Horvatin for the heads-up).

Erickson is with the Rapid City (S.D.) Rush. He has furnished three assists in his first three games, and gone +2 with 14 shots on goal.

Speaking of the CHL, let's take a look at how Alaska connections are faring on that circuit:

Amarillo Gorillas: Former Aces goaltender Mike Brown is 4-3-0 with a 2.96 goals-against average, a .914 save percentage and one shutout.

Alaska connections collected three awards today when the Western Collegiate Hockey Association announced its weekly honors.

UAA junior winger Sean Wiles and North Dakota junior winger Evan Trupp of Anchorage shared the Offensive Player of the Week award, and Colorado College freshman winger William Rapuzzi of Anchorage snagged the Rookie of the Week accolade.

Wiles racked three goals, six shots on goal and a +4 rating in last weekend's split with visiting Denver. Trupp scored three goals in a sweep at Michigan Tech, and fired seven shots and finished +2 in the series. Rapuzzi furnished two goals and one assist, six shots and a +3 rating in a split with Minnesota-Duluth.

Good news for the Alaska Aces today: They're getting a player back from the American Hockey League.

Nope, not center John Lammers, but still a nice addition. Headed back this way is defenseman T.J. Fast, who the St. Louis Blues assigned back to Alaska from AHL Peoria.

Fast played two games for Peoria and earned a +1 rating. In the first four games of the Aces' season, he earned an assist and a -1 rating. Figure on Fast being put on a power-play unit.

Fresh off a home-ice split with Notre Dame (ranked No. 8 in both national polls), UAF leaped to a No. 9 ranking in both Division I national polls released today.

The Nanooks (6-1-1, 3-1-0 CCHA, third place) leaped to No. 9 from No. 14 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll, and rose to No. 9 from No. 13 in the USCHO.com/CSTV Poll. (For what it's worth, off the top of my balding head, I don't remember a higher ranking for UAF).

UAF rebounded Saturday with a 3-1 win over the Irish after falling for the first time all season, 3-2 to Notre Dame, on Friday.

Of course, all eight of the Nanooks' games have been played in Alaska, including six at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks. UAF finally hits the road this week, and its upcoming schedule, despite three of the next four series on the road, is as appealing as possible.

Cruising around the series of tubes today and came across some updates:

Newday's Steve Zipay Twittered that a source told him New York Rangers center Brandon Dubinsky is out three weeks with a broken hand suffered blocking a shot in a 3-1 loss at Calgary on Saturday. The New York Post's Larry Brooks one-ups that and writes that the third-year pivot could miss six weeks.

And according to various accounts, including one from tsn.ca, Calgary winger Curtis Glencross, the former UAA standout, has been suspended three games for his blind-side hit that concussed Rangers center Chris Drury in the opening minute of Saturday's match.

New York Rangers center Brandon Dubinsky of Anchorage was injured in Saturday's 3-1 loss at Calgary, and that setback could snap his ironman streak -- he has played 182 straight games in the last two-plus seasons.

Dubinsky hurt either his right wrist or arm blocking a shot in the second period. The Rangers haven't definitively announced the nature or severity of Dubinsky's injury, but published reports quoted New York coach John Tortorella indicating Dubinsky could be out for a spell.

Dubinsky owns 3-7--10 and +7 totals in 18 games, and had been centering his club's top line with wingers Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal.

Wisconsin-River Falls junior goaltender Cassi Campbell of Anchorage backstopped her Division III team's season debut Friday night, and rocked a 41-save bagel in a 1-0 win over St. Thomas.

Campbell helped snuff eight power plays by St. Thomas.

Her effort was one of several notable performances by Alaskans in college hockey Friday. (By the way, today River Falls sophomore goalie Melissa Deardorff of Anchorage made her season debut and bagged a 17-save shutout in a 5-0 win over Augsburg).

Let's take a quick run-through:

In men's Division I action, Colgate freshman defenseman Nathan Sinz of Anchorage picked up his first college point, an assist on the game-winning goal in a 5-4 win over visiting Harvard.

Former Alaska Aces goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, who last season set an ECHL record when he bagged eight regular-season shutouts for the club as a rookie, tonight racked his first American Hockey League shutout.

Lamoureux stopped 28 shots for the Portland Pirates in a 7-0 win over visiting Hershey.

Lamoureux, Portland's No. 2 goalie, improved to 2-1-0 with a 2.90 goals-against average and .903 save percentage.

Add another Anchorage hockey player to the list of those gaining international experience -- forward Austin Wuthrich is playing for Team USA in the 2009 Under-17 Four Nations Cup in Slovakia.

Wuthrich, 16, also represented the U.S. in the Five Nations Cup in August.

Wuthrich racked an assist today in a 7-6 win over Slovakia. The Americans (2-0-0) on Thursday beat Russia, 5-2. They close the tournament Saturday with a game against Switzerland.

Aside from this international gig, Wuthrich plays for the Team Illinois Midget Major squd in the Tier I Elite League. In 16 games on that circui

Winger Moises Gutierrez of Anchorage, released by the ECHL's Alaska Aces earlier this week after a short stint with the club, debuted with the league's Johnstown Chiefs tonight in their 4-3 win at Cincinnati.

Gutierrez was even with three shots on goal.

Since we're referencing former Aces, former Alaska blueliner Peter Metcalf racked two assists and was +2 with, get this, a fighting major, for Florida tonight in a 7-0 ECHL win at Charlotte. Former Aces goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu bagged a 28-save shutout. (And Florida's Jacob Micflikier, no real Aces connection, furnished three goals and three assists to give him ridonkulous 6-8--14 and +10 totals in a mere six games).

Here's the deal: If you've run your skates across a sheet of ice in Anchorage, from youth leagues to the high-school circuit to adult rec leagues, you owe belated thanks to Gene Williams.

Williams, once honored by the Alaska State Legislature as the "Grandfather of Adult Hockey in Alaska,'' was that and more. He died Sunday at 83, but his legacy lives on all around this town.

It's hard not to think of Gene as an irresistible force once you realize that, from the time he hit town with his wife and their family in 1955 --Gene grew up in New York, played college football and lacrosse, was a World War II veteran and became a lawyer and judge -- he helped create and develop not just rec hockey, but high school hockey and high school football.

Well, skate with the Seawolves after their WCHA series finale with Denver on Saturday night at Sullivan Arena, that is -- pretty sure UAA coach Dave Shyiak isn't gonna give you a shift during the actual game. I mean, it's a league game, after all, and he's probably already got his line combinations set.

In any event, bring your blades and get on the big sheet with the big boys after the league tilt. The first 250 skaters will be given a Seawolves beanie -- there's swag, and how cool is that? -- and the players will sign autographs during the skate.

Enjoy.

The ever-changing active roster of the Alaska Aces is undergoing more transition.

As the team prepares to leave town Thursday for a three-game road trip to California, here is the latest:

Veteran forward Eric Boguniecki has been put on the seven-day injured-reserve list -- he's back in Massachusetts picking up his family (wife, three children) and coming back to Alaska. He still needs time to get in game shape, according to both Boguniecki and Aces coach Brent Thompson.

Meawhile, forwards Curtis Fraser (shoulder), Tomas Kana (shoulder) and Nick Mazzolini (knee) are coming off the 21-day IR and will play on the road trip. Rookie forward Jack Combs has been put on the 3-day IR.

The Alaska Aces, their roster jam-packed to overflowing, today released winger Moises Gutierrez of Anchorage, whose debut with the team last Friday was a tough one.

Gutierrez, a third-year pro, played just 9:50 in his Aces debut -- tons of family and friends were in the Sullivan Arena stands -- before getting a major interference penalty and game misconduct. He subsequently was suspended two games by the ECHL, and now he's been released.

In other Alaska hockey news, UAF goaltender Scott Greenham was named the CCHA's Player of the Month. He's 5-0-1 with a 1.14 goals-against average and .949 save percentage.