Aces Win Heated Affair, 4-1, Lead Series 2-0
Published on May 11, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Lance Galbraith, Alexandre Imbeault, and Luke Erickson all contributed a goal and an assist as Alaska rolled past Las Vegas 4-1 in front of 4,595 Sunday at Sullivan Arena.
The Aces lead the best-of-seven National Conference Finals two games to none, with the series shifting to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for Tuesday's Game Three at 6:30 p.m. AT. Game Four will be held in Vegas Thursday at 6:30 and, if necessary, Game Five will be played at the Orleans Friday night. All games in Las Vegas will be simulcast live on KFQD 750 AM and GCI Channel 1, with coverage getting underway at 6:15 p.m. AT.
Galbraith began Sunday's game in similar fashion to Saturday, when his power play goal was all J.P. Lamoureux would need in an eventual 2-0 win. On this occasion, Galbraith absorbed relatively little punishment in scooping up a rebound and flicking home his sixth goal of the playoffs on an Alaska power play less than three minutes into the game. Erickson's goal came in truly bizarre fashion, when directly after taking a face-off, the second-year pro watched as the puck popped high in the air, ticked off Las Vegas goalie Glenn Fisher's glove, and rolled a few inches behind him over the goal line at 10:44.
Fisher kept the score 2-0 until less than eight minutes remained in the second period, when he gave up a juicy rebound on an Erickson drive, allowing Imbeault to pounce on the loose puck for a 3-0 Aces lead. Fisher was pulled immediately after stopping 16 of 19 shots, but the Wranglers fell further behind when replacement (and former Ace) John DeCaro allowed Vladimir Novak's wrist shot to beat him on Alaska's first shot of the third period at 6:02.
Dan Spang denied Lamoureux (23 saves) a record-tying fifth shutout of the postseaon by scoring shorthanded with 7:05 left in regulation and ending his scoreless streak at 146:53. The game degenerated after that, as the two teams combined for 67 minutes in penalties over the last 10 minutes. The Aces have won 12 straight home games dating to a March 6 loss against Vegas and have captured their first six home tilts in the playoffs by a combined score of 21-3. Alaska took three of five meetings between the two clubs in Las Vegas this season.
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