Wandered down to Sullivan Arena, where the Alaska Aces and Las Vegas Wranglers went through pretty light practices in anticipation of Tuesday night's Game 4 -- Las Vegas leads the best-of-7, ECHL Western Conference Finals 2-1 after Sunday night's 3-2 OT win.
Talking to a few folks on both sides, the word "fun'' came up in several conversations.
As nail-biting as this series has been for fans of both clubs, the players are loving how tight the games have been, as well as the high-tempo pace and, Sunday for sure, the quality of play.
"We thought we played a pretty good game,'' Aces winger Garry Nunn said of Sunday's match. "It was a good game all-around, and we know we can beat these guys. That's not saying we're going to win (Tuesday), but we're going to come out and play hard, and we believe we can win.
"There's so much talent on both teams. It's just really fun.''
Wranglers winger Josh Lunden, the former Seawolf, said the teams appear to be well-matched.
"It's been a high-quality series,'' Lunden said. "It's a sense of urgency you need in the playoffs because every game can be so tight.''
And Aces alternate captain Steve Ward said this kind of hockey is what players covet.
"This is what you play hockey for,'' Ward said. "You can't get down. You can't worry. You just have to think about what to bring to the next game and have fun with it.
“They’re playing with confidence and coming after us, wave after wave. We just have to do the same thing – match it.’’
By the way, can't help but notice a couple folks chirping in comments section of stories on adn.com about attendance at Sullivan Arena. Sunday's crowd of 4,899 -- for a 7:15 p.m. game on a Sunday, mind you -- gives the Aces an average playoff crowd of 5,111 in three home games. That's more than 600 fans above the regular-season average of 4,450, and ranks second on the circuit.
That average of 5,111 per home playoff game so far compares to an average of 5,043 in the first three home playoff games at Sullivan in 2011. So, what exactly is the complaint?
Seemed like a good Sunday crowd to The Blog. And the atmosphere seemed to rock -- a notion seconded by Las Vegas bench boss Ryan Mougenel.
