Clutch Aces rally from 2-0 down, nip Idaho 3-2
January 12, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release
Anchorage, AK - Charles Linglet scored the game-tying goal with 6:18 left in regulation as Alaska continued its mastery in one-goal games with a 3-2 shootout verdict over Idaho before 3,260 Tuesday at Sullivan Arena.
The Aces now boast a 10-2-2 record in one-goal games this season, including 4-1 in shootouts. Alaska goaltender Peter Aubry stopped 23 shots in regulation and overtime before out-dueling ECHL All-Star Frank Doyle (29 saves) in the shootout for the second time this season.
After a scoreless first period, Idaho threatened to take complete command, grabbing the lead on Darrell Hay's drive from the top of the circles at 4:24 of the second and padding the margin on a power play six minutes later when Frank Lukes scored. Trailing 2-0 against Doyle, who had allowed just three goals in his previous four starts against the Aces, seemed a huge deficit, but a mistake by the rookie allowed Alaska back into the game.
Following a successful poke check against Chris Minard, Doyle attempted to rake the loose puck back into his body but instead flicked it into the net himself with 1:39 left in the middle frame. The Aces built on that momentum, out-shooting the Steelies 11-4 in the final period and notching the equalizer when Doyle got a piece of Linglet's one-timer but saw the puck trickle home for a 2-2 tie.
The teams battled through a scoreless overtime, and when Minard's goal in the first round of the shootout was answered by Bobby Russell's in the fifth, B.J. Young added a touch of mustard to the hero's role, beating Doyle on a deke that he deliberately banked off his skate back to his forehand, allowing him to slip the puck just inside the right goalpost for the winner. The Aces have taken the last three meetings with the Steelheads after dropping the first three, and sit just one point out of second place in the West Division at 19-12-2.
Minard proved to be an easy choice as the ECHL Player of the Week for January 3-9, racking up nine goals and four assists to go along with a +7 rating in four wins over Victoria, including a club record five-goal outburst January 8 (also an ECHL season-high) as well as a four-point night (2g-2a) January 5. He will represent the Aces at the 2005 Coors Light ECHL All-Star Game.
Alaska has won six in a row for the first time since its club-record streak of seven straight in March of 1999. The Aces clash with the Steelheads (16-13-3) tomorrow at 7:15 p.m. before welcoming Fresno to Sullivan Arena for the first time this year Friday and Saturday at 7:15 p.m. All three games will be broadcast live on flagship station KFQD 750 AM and at www.alaskaaces.com, where Alaska's home games and selected road contests also can be seen on a pay-per-view basis, courtesy of B2 Networks. Coverage begins 20 minutes prior to face-off.
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