Alaska Home Opener On Friday Already Sold Out

Published on October 27, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Alaska Aces have announced that the home opener against San Diego on Friday has sold out. The Aces also announced that approximately 800 tickets remain for the game on Saturday and more than 3,000 tickets have already been sold for the game on Sunday. Alaska plays in Sullivan Arena with a capacity of 6,251.

In their first season in the ECHL in 2003-04, the Aces had four sellouts during the regular season and raised their average attendance more than 42 percent to 4,340. Alaska sold out two of their three games in the Kelly Cup Playoffs and ranked second in average postseason attendance with 5,768.

Friday will be the first game in an Aces uniform for two-time Stanley Cup winner and 2000 NHL Rookie of the Year Scott Gomez, a native of Anchorage who signed with the team on Monday. Selected in the first round (27th overall) by the New Jersey Devils in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, the 24-year-old Gomez has a one-year contract with the Devils and would return to New Jersey if the NHL lockout ends. In 2003-04, Gomez finished tied for the NHL lead with 56 assists while scoring 70 points and finishing with a career-best plus-minus rating of +18.

The opponent for all three games will be the San Diego Gulls, who won the ECHL regular season title in 2003-04 but were swept in the 2004 Kelly Cup Playoff Pacific Division Semifinals by Alaska. Alaska is 0-2-0 in 2003-04 after dropping back-to-back games on the road against defending Kelly Cup Champion Idaho while San Diego is 1-1-0, losing 3-0 at Long Beach and winning 7-2 at home against Fresno. San Diego drew 11,922 for its home opener on October 23, the largest crowd in the Gulls ECHL history and the seventh-largest crowd in team history.

The ECHL had seven sellouts and four record crowds during its opening weekend October 22-24. There were 17 home openers the first weekend drawing an average of 6,196 per game, up more than 14 percent from the first weekend of home openers a year ago. In addition to Alaska, Atlantic City, Dayton and Gwinnett will all play their home openers on Friday while Charlotte, Pensacola, Texas and Wheeling will play theirs on Saturday. Las Vegas plays its home opener on Tuesday and Louisiana plays its first home game on November 6. The last ECHL team to play a home game will be Victoria (British Columbia) which opens on December 5.

ECHL Stories from October 27, 2004

• Condors Goaltender Petruk Honored by ECHL - Bakersfield Condors
• Salmon Kings Sign Another Former Lethbridge Hurricane - Victoria Salmon Kings
• Ice Pilots Team Up With NEXTEL Cans For A Cause - Pensacola Ice Pilots
• ECHL Transactions - ECHL
• Alaska Home Opener On Friday Already Sold Out - ECHL
• Cunningham Placed On Injured Reserve, Lush Activated - Mississippi Sea Wolves
• Good Time Tours Offers Bus Trip To Mississippi On Tuesday - Pensacola Ice Pilots
• Former NFL All-Pro linebacker to appear at upcoming Bombers game - Dayton Bombers
• 'Blades To Broadcast On Internet Only This Weekend - Florida Everblades

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.