Aces cruise to fourth straight Mountain Division title
March 29, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release
LAS VEGAS - Brendan Connolly earned a goal and an assist in his first game back from the American Hockey League and the Alaska Aces (43-17-6, 92 points) scored four times in the first period to claim the Mountain Division title, cruising to a 5-1 victory over the Las Vegas Wranglers before 5,851 fans at Orleans Arena on Friday.
With plenty of Aces fans in attendance to witness the win, the Aces claimed their record fourth straight division crown and eighth in the last ten seasons. Rookie goaltender Aaron Crandall improved to 3-0-0 with 28 saves and the Aces exploded for a season-high 51 shots on goal.
Counterpart Travis Fullerton stopped two quality chances in the opening minutes but the Aces finally broke through on Peter Sivak's 28th goal of the season at 7:22, a backhander from the right circle, for a 1-0 lead.
Evan Trupp then took Tyler Mosienko's feed off the boards, veered to the left circle and found Turner Elson in the slot for a 2-0 lead with 8:27 left in the period.
Crandall kicked away Chris Kushneriuk's blast from the right circle on an outnumbered attack and the Aces countered with Jordan Morrison's 16th goal with 4:09 left for a 3-0 lead, when he took Alex Belzile's cross-ice pass and hammered a one-timer past Fullerton from the right circle.
Connolly then beat Fullerton at the right circle, under the crossbar and off the rush with 1:21 to play for a 4-0 lead.
Shawn Skelly's deflection from a Matt Tassone centering pass got Las Vegas on the board, trailing 4-1 in the second period but after a pair of brilliant saves by Crandall, the Aces motored ahead, 5-1 on Zach McKelvie's second ECHL goal with 5:30 left in the second period on a one-timer from inside the blueline.
The Aces outshot Las Vegas, 14-7 in the third period to close the game.
• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...
ECHL Stories from March 29, 2014
- Grizzlies Score at Buzzer to Beat Colorado 2-1 - Utah Grizzlies
- Eagles Fall in the Final Second to the Grizzlies 2-1 - Colorado Eagles
- Gladiators Overcome Early Deficit to Overpower Road Warriors - Atlanta Gladiators
- Peter Boyd's Hat Trick Powers Stingrays Past Komets - South Carolina Stingrays
- K-Wings punch playoff ticket with shootout loss to Walleye - Kalamazoo Wings
- Royals Finish Regular Season Series Perfect for Elmira, 6-3 - Reading Royals
- Cepis, Goggin Each Score Twice in Solar Bears' 5-4 Victory - Orlando Solar Bears
- Everblades Blank Cyclones, 4-0 - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Elmira Falls to Royals - Elmira Jackals
- Road Warriors Score Three in First Three Minutes But Lose to Gwinnett - Greenville Swamp Rabbits
- ECHL Transactions - March 29 - ECHL
- Thunder Renew Rivalry with Ontario - Stockton Thunder
- Game Preview - Ontario Reign vs. Stockton Thunder - Ontario Reign
- Cyclones Game Preview - Cincinnati at Florida - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Game Preview: Solar Bears vs. Evansville IceMen - March 29 - Orlando Solar Bears
- Royals Sign Forward Greg Wolfe - Reading Royals
- Elmira Jackals Game Preview vs. Reading - Elmira Jackals
- Countdown to Face-Off: Kalamazoo Wings vs Toledo Walleye - Kalamazoo Wings
- Preview: Star Wars, Cure Childhood Cancer, $5 Fan Gear Frenzy Night - Atlanta Gladiators
- IceMen Sign Mark Anthoine - Evansville IceMen
- Jason Missiaen Recalled to Hartford - Greenville Swamp Rabbits
- ECHL Today - March 29 - ECHL
- Stingrays Game Preview: the Stanley Cup Visits Today as Stingrays Faceoff against Fort Wayne - South Carolina Stingrays
- Aces cruise to fourth straight Mountain Division title - Alaska Aces
- Hayes Scores Again But Thunder Fall 4-1 - Stockton Thunder
- Steffes Scores Twice But Condors Fall 3-2 in a Shootout - Bakersfield Condors
- Reign Hang on to Beat Condors 3-2 - Ontario Reign
- Steady Steelheads Top Stockton - Idaho Steelheads
- Wranglers Can't Climb out of Early Hole, Fall to Aces 5-1 - Las Vegas Wranglers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
