Just a quick thought before settling into the couch for some quality Philly-New Jersey time on the first day of the "offseason'' following the Alaska Aces' elimination from the ECHL's Kelly Cup playoffs with Wednesday night's 3-1 loss to Las Vegas, which wrapped the Western Conference finals in five games.

In eight previous ECHL seasons, the 2011 Kelly Cup champion Aces have twice won the Cup, been beaten once in the Finals and three times lost in the playoffs to the eventual Cup winners. Also, in 2008, the Aces lost out to Las Vegas, which went to the Finals and lost to Cincy.

So, in eight seasons, the road to the Cup has either been completed by the Aces or gone through the Aces in six of those seasons, and in seven of those seasons they have either been to the Finals or been beaten by the team that made it to the Finals.

The only time the Aces didn't have some connection to the determination of the Cup, then, was in 2010, when it lost in the first round to Stockton, still the only time in nine seasons the Aces have been eliminated in the first round.

Hey, that's a noteworthy accomplishment.

And, now, The Blog is headed to some quality couch time.