Alaska Outlasts Victoria in Shootout

Published on February 15, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release


ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Luke Erickson scored the only goal of the shootout while Kevin Regan stopped all five Victoria attempts to give Alaska a 3-2 win over the Salmon Kings before, 5,574 Saturday at Sullivan Arena.

The Aces have won all four games that have gone past regulation against Victoria, including three shootouts at Sullivan Arena since mid-January. With one game remaining in the season series (tomorrow at 5:05 p.m. in Anchorage), each team has accumulated 14 points against one another head-to-head, with Alaska sporting a 7-5 record and the Salmon Kings sitting at 5-3-4.

As was the case Friday, the teams battled to a scoreless tie in the first period. The action proved to be far more heated, however, with a combined 36 minutes in penalties, 12 more than in the first two games of the series put together. Matt Kelly scored on a rebound to put Victoria in front at 2:38 of the second period, but a sloppy turnover led to the equalizer scored by Erik Fabian with just six seconds left in the frame, after a perfect backdoor pass from Scott Burt.

Seemingly seizing the momentum, the Aces grabbed their first lead when Ryan Turek blasted a slap shot past Salmon Kings starter Julien Ellis six and a half minutes into the third period, but Victoria quickly answered, as Chris St. Jacques knotted the game 2-2 with a backhander from between the circles less than two minutes later.

Neither club gave up quality chances down the stretch in regulation or in overtime, leaving the shootout heroics to Erickson, who has now scored on all four of his attempts in the skills competition this year, including twice against Ellis. Regan finished with 34 saves in 65 minutes, evening his record in an Alaska sweater at 2-2.

The Aces (29-19-3 overall) are now 7-3 in games decided in overtime or a shootout, while West Divsion leader Victoria (30-16-6) dropped to 2-6 in such contests and saw its advantage over Alaska trimmed to five points. Tomorrow's series finale at Sullivan Arena between the two clubs will be broadcast live on KFQD AM 750, with Peanut Farm Pre-Game Show coverage beginning at 4:45 p.m.

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