Aces blitz Bako 8-3, take over first place in West

March 16, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release


BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Alaska raced to a 4-0 first period lead and never looked back, taking sole possession of first place with its 16th win in 18 games, 8-3 over Bakersfield Saturday before 5,834 at Rabobank Arena.

The opening frame onslaught began when F.P. Guenette tucked a backhander five-hole on Yutaka Fukufuji after being set up on a breakaway at 4:17. Michael Lambert followed with another deke, this time to the forehand, and his first of two in the period gave the Aces a two-goal margin at 7:52. Less than two minutes later, Ryan Reaves forced a turnover and then buried a pass from Vladimir Novak for his second goal in as many nights, one that chased Fukufuji, who gave up three goals on 10 shots. Lambert greeted his replacement, Michel Robinson, with his second goal of the period, flicking home a rebound of a Derick Martin shot at 16:35. Alaska out-shot Bakersfield 19-6 in the opening 20 minutes.

The second period saw almost a complete reversal, with the Condors holding a 20-7 advantage in shots and scoring three times in a span of 3:02 to get back in the game. Alexander Naurov re-directed a shot from the point past Chris Beckford-Tseu at 3:33 to put Bakersfield on the board. A couple of Aces penalties led to a five-on-three, and power play goals by Steve Slonina and Andrew Ianiero 53 seconds apart brought the Condors within 4-3. But only 36 seconds after Ianiero's goal, Derick Martin responded with his second in an Alaska sweater, a wrist shot roofed just underneath the crossbar to give the Aces a 5-3 cushion. Josh Soares hit the 30-goal plateau with his first of two at 15:48 of the middle frame, and Alaska had regained control heading to the final period.

Kimbi Daniels put the game out of his reach with his 23rd goal of the season, a wrist shot directly off a draw, at 11:21, and Soares capped the scoring with his second of the night 1:14 later. Beckford-Tseu finished with 31 saves and has won nine straight starts in an Aces uniform. His regular season record with the club now stands at 32-2-2. Alaska has won 16 of its last 18 games and nine of its last 10 on the road to overtake idle Victoria and Idaho in the West Division. The Aces completed their season series with the Condors at a perfect 6-0 and have lost only three of 27 games against Pacific Division teams.

Alaska, back in first place for the first time since November 11 at 37-21-5 overall, travels to Las Vegas tomorrow, practices Monday, and opens a three-game series against the Pacific Division-leading Wranglers (40-11-12) Tuesday, with the other tilts scheduled for Thursday and Friday. All three contests begin at 6:00 p.m. ADT and will be broadcast live on AM 750 KFQD, with coverage beginning 15 minutes prior to the opening face-off. The Aces swept a three-game series at home against Las Vegas Feb. 22-24, with each of those victories coming in shootouts.



ECHL Stories from March 16, 2008


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