Aces win 3-1, Wellar promoted to AHL
Published on October 29, 2005 under ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska scored three first period goals and goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu ensured that lead would hold up, stopping 29 of 30 shots to beat Bakersfield 3-1 before 5,069 at Sullivan Arena.
Earlier in the day, defenseman Patrick Wellar, who had an assist in last Saturday's 4-3 win over San Diego, became the first Ace to be called up this season, joining Alaska's AHL affiliate in Peoria for a road trip. He could suit up for the Rivermen as soon as Saturday night against the San Antonio Rampage.
The Aces took control of Friday's game against the Condors midway through the first period, as Alex Leavitt buried a drive from between the circles with Alaska on the power play for his first professional goal at 10:02. Two minutes later, Zack Fitzgerald simply dumped the puck into the corner of the attacking zone, but when Bakersfield goaltender Davis Parley overplayed the bounce, the disc wound up being stuffed into an open net by Mike Lee for a 2-0 Aces lead. Vladimir Novak, a healthy scratch in each of Alaska's first three games, flipped a backhander by Parley with 1:35 left to cap the first period scoring and give the Aces a comfortable 3-0 bulge.
Alaska (now 3-1) took 17 of the game's first 22 shots on goal, including the first seven of the second period, but never put the Condors away, and a power play goal by Scott Basiuk at 13:07 of the middle frame seemed to give Bakersfield life entering the final period. The Condors out-shot the Aces 13-4 over the final 20 minutes, but Beckford-Tseu held sway on a night when Fitzgerald, Lee, Peter Metcalf, and captain Keith McCambridge all dropped the gloves for five-minute fighting majors.
Tomorrow's rematch against Bakersfield (1-1) comes on Military Appreciation Night, as Share-A-Ride will hand out commemorative Mr. Potato Heads, dressed in Aces attire, of course. The game begins at 7:15 p.m., with Sunday's series finale scheduled for 5:05 p.m. Sunday marks the first of five KeyBank "Skate with the Aces" games, where fans can go out onto the ice with players after every Sunday home game and collect autographs and pictures. All games, home and away, will be broadcast live on KFQD AM 750 and at www.alaskaaces.com. In addition, all games (excluding road contests at Long Beach and Victoria) will be available on a pay-per-view basis on the internet, courtesy of B2 Networks.
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