Woody on Hockey

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 29 years.

Contact: dwoody@adn.com

Aces v. Idaho

Alaska's Zach Harrison races Idaho's Jace Coyle into the corner in the first period. The Alaska Aces played the Idaho Steelheads in Anchorage on Friday, January 20, 2012.

The Alaska Aces played the Idaho Steelheads in Anchorage on Friday, January 20, 2012.

Aces 3 Stockton 1

Lured out of retirement to aid his injury-depleted former team, Matt Shasby celebrates after scoring the first goal of the game for the Alaska Aces during first-period action against the Stockton Thunder Friday evening January 13, 2012 at Sullivan Arena. Shasby had last scored a goal April 24, 2009, and had last played a game June 5, 2009, the seventh game of the Kelly Cup finals.

Matt Shasby scores a goal and Jim Dahl earns an assist in a 3-1 Alaska Aces win over Stockton January 13, 2012 at Sullivan Arena.

The Blog Is Going Dark For A Spell - 2/6/2012 11:00 pm

This Aces Roadie Isn't Like The Last One - 2/6/2012 5:05 pm

Aces Lose, Seawolves Win - 2/4/2012 11:01 pm

Pre-Game Brawl In Utah; Plus, Minor-League Notes - 2/4/2012 6:32 pm

Where The Aces Stand Historically At The Two-Thirds Pole - 2/3/2012 10:25 pm

J.T. Brown 4, UAA 1 - 2/3/2012 10:18 pm

Coleman's Killer Performance Leads Our Roundup Of Aces In The AHL - 2/3/2012 7:00 pm

An Injury And Its Trickle-Down Effect On Alaska Goalies Conklin And Pearce - 2/3/2012 11:39 am

Remember UAF's Steve Moria From Waaaayyyyy Back In The Day? Dude's Still Lighting It Up

So, any of you dinosaur puckheads like me remember Steve Moria, who scored a million points back in the day for the UAF Nanooks?

He's 48, a few months older than moi, so surely he's been long retired, no?

Um, not to put too fine a point on it, but Moria is definitely still ambulatory -- actually, the center just won the Player of the Year award and was named first-team all-league in the English Premier League, a second-level circuit in that country. As player/coach of the Slough Jets, Moria tied for the league lead in points with 42-58--100 totals in 44 games (the dude he tied with played in 51 matches). Oh, the Player of the Year nod was Moria's second straight.

Putting up ridiculous numbers is nothing new to Moria. In his senior season at UAF in 1984-85, he racked 43-66--109 totals in just 34 games and was named a Division I second-team West All-American -- all three marks stand as single-season school records. In just 86 career games in three seasons as a Nanook, Moria rocked 108-163--271 totals, all of which stand as school records, right there with his 10 career hat tricks, his four-goal period as a senior and his three seven-point games.

In Moria's first two seasons at UAF, in which he played 26 games in each campaign, he earned 29-46--75 and 36-51--87 totals.

After UAF, Moria, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, played a season and a half in the American Hockey League -- he earned 19-37--56 totals in 74 games as a New Haven Nighthawks rookie -- then headed over to England. He's played there since, and has represented the country in international play.

Consider how long Moria's been playing. He played against UAA Seawolves defenseman Tim Molle, whose sons Dustin and Bryant, currently play for UAF.

To check out Moria's career numbers, you can click here or here.

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