Aces Dig Early 3-0 Hole, Rally For 5-3 Win
January 9, 2010 - ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alexandre Imbeault registered his second hat trick in less than two weeks while Eric Boguniecki scored twice, leading Alaska back from a 3-0 deficit in a 5-3 triumph over Utah in front of 4,951 Friday at Sullivan Arena. The Aces can climb back to the.500 mark with a win in tomorrow night's rematch at 7:15 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on KFQD 750 AM, with the Peanut Farm Pre-Game Show getting underway at 7:00 p.m. Meanwhile, after a 12-4 start, the Grizzlies have dropped back to.500 (15-15-3) and have just one victory in their last 13 games.
Utah jumped on Alaska early, with Tom May firing home a rebound at 3:20 of the first period for his fourth goal in five games against the Aces this season. Three minutes later, after Alaska goaltender Frank Doyle failed to control a relatively routine rebound, Grizzlies captain Ryan Kinasewich scored the first of his two goals, with the other coming on a two-on-one well-executed by Hugo Carpentier, who fed Kinasewich for a tap-in with 6:46 remaining in the opening period. Aces head coach Brent Thompson called a time-out to settle his club down, and the second period showed a definite shift in momentum.
Alaska forced Utah into an early penalty in the middle frame, and Imbeault put the Aces on the board by going coast-to-coast, then working a give-and-go with Anchorage native Merit Waldrop (signed before the game) before beating Grizzlies starter Beau Erickson top shelf at 4:57. Alaska took the first nine shots on goal of the second period, and another Utah penalty led to Boguniecki's first goal with 6:38 left in the frame. Erickson survived the rest of the period, but before the Grizzlies reached their dressing room, leading 3-2, several brawls broke out, leading to six game misconducts and 94 minutes in penalties.
Alaska killed a Utah power play to start the third period and Imbeault promptly tied the game, beating Erickson with a wrist shot at 2:39. Two minutes later, with the Grizzlies again shorthanded, Imbeault scored his third goal (the third on the power play for the Aces) and the home team had its first lead at 4-3. Boguniecki's second of the night and fifth in his last six games came when Nick Mazzolini fed him a cross-crease pass off the rush with 9:56 left in regulation. Erickson gave up three goals on five Alaska shots over the final 20 minutes.
Alaska (16-17-3) has gone 5-1-1 on its current 10-game homestand while outscoring the opposition 17-5 in the third period in those seven games. Meanwhile, Utah has been out-scored 16-4 in the third period of its last seven games, including 7-1 in its two games against the Aces this week (Alaska rallied from a 2-1 deficit for a 5-3 win Wednesday). Doyle finished with 29 saves, the last 22 consecutively. Alaska has gone 6-for-9 on the power play in winning its last three games, the first time the team has won three straight since opening the year 4-0. Neither Scott Burt (who was injured Wednesday) nor Colin Hemingway suited up for the Aces, who are now 22-2-1 lifetime against the Grizzlies at Sullivan Arena.
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