Scott, Heisten Retire; Benson Lands AHL Deal
May 21, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Captain Mike Scott and winger Barrett Heisten officially announced their retirement from pro hockey at Saturday's Fan Appreciation Party in Sullivan Arena, while rugged forward Hans Benson has been signed to an AHL contract by Alaska's affiliate in Peoria for the 2007-08 season.
The 30-year-old Scott's crowning moment in four years with the Aces was being named the Kelly Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player in Alaska's run to the 2006 ECHL championship. He scored 11 of his 34 career postseason goals during that title run, including the game-winning goal as the Aces beat the Gwinnett Gladiators to claim the championship June 1, 2006.
Scott never missed a game during his five-year pro career or in a four-year span at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, finishing with 332 points (124g-208a) in 359 pro games. He led his ECHL teams to the conference finals in five of six playoff trips as a pro, including Mississippi in 2003 and Atlantic City in 2002, when he joined the Boardwalk Bullies fresh out of UAA. Scott, originally from Calgary, led the Seawolves in scoring in each of his last two years in college and landed on the WCHA All-Academic team as a senior.
Scott and former Aces teammate Olivier Filion have been nominated for the Professional Hockey Players' Association Ironman Award, presented annually to a PHPA member who has participated in all 72 of his club's regular season games while contributing on a regular basis both offensively and defensively. 2006-07 marked the second straight year in which the 24-year-old Filion (who has signed with a team in France for the 2007-08 season) also played in every regular season game for Alaska, finishing with a career-high 29 goals, 39 assists, and 68 points this season.
Heisten, the 20th pick in the first round of the 1999 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres, wraps up his six-year career after 390 professional games, including 10 with the New York Rangers during the 2001-02 campaign. He scored 12 goals for the 1999 NCAA champions at the University of Maine (where he was teammates with Peter Metcalf and his brother and former Ace, Chris) and spent four full seasons in the AHL before joining Alaska prior to the 2005-06 season. Three of his five goals during the Aces run to the 2006 Kelly Cup proved to be game-winners. The 27-year-old Heisten, a native of Anchorage and Dimond High School product, enjoyed his two best seasons as a pro with Alaska, scoring 43 of his 78 career goals and 121 of his 201 career points as an Ace.
The 23-year-old Benson earned his AHL contract for 2007-08 by putting up 54 minutes in penalties, including six fighting majors, in 15 games with the Rivermen over the last month and a half of the 2006-07 campaign. He scored twice and assisted on three other goals while accumulating 205 PIM in 33 games with the Aces this season. Prior to signing with Alaska, Benson played two years in the Central Hockey League with Laredo, winning a championship in 2006.
In 2007, Alaska became just the second team in league history to reach the ECHL's Final Four (and the first in 15 years) in three consecutive years and only the third team in league history to record back-to-back 100-point regular seasons. Idaho eliminated the Aces in five games in the best-of-seven National Conference finals and will meet the Dayton Bombers in the Kelly Cup Finals, beginning Wednesday. 2007-08 Alaska Aces season tickets are now on sale; please call 258-ACES or visit www.alaskaaces.com for more details.
ECHL Stories from May 21, 2007
- Grizzlies Press Conference Tuesday To Announce NHL Affiliation - Utah Grizzlies
- Condors Community Update - Baby Cal Attends Children's Miracle Network Fundraiser Wednesday - Bakersfield Condors
- Scott, Heisten Retire; Benson Lands AHL Deal - Alaska Aces
- Idaho Hosts Dayton In Kelly Cup Finals Opener Wednesday - ECHL
- ECHL Opening Day Is Wheeling At Johnstown October 18 - ECHL
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