Coleman Returns to Aces from AHL

March 22, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release


Alaska Aces goaltender Gerald Coleman has been loaned to the Aces by the Lake Erie Monsters of the ECHL, Aces Head Coach Rob Murray announced on Thursday. Coleman, who was loaned by the Aces to Lake Erie on January 11, spent the last two-plus month with the AHL club. Since then he signed an AHL contract with the Monsters, but is set to return to the Aces lineup this weekend for a pivotal pair of games in Ontario. The Aces will continue their season-ending road trip with a key visit to play the Reign on Friday and Saturday night. Alaska's lead over Ontario for the Western Conference and league lead currently sits at three points with even games played. The Aces will return back home for the postseason in April. For more information, please call the Aces at 907.258.ACES or visit them online at www.facebook.com/alaskaaceshockey.

Coleman, 26, returns to Alaska this season as the ECHL's league leader in goals against average and save percentage. The 2011 ECHL Goaltender of the Year is 17-4-2 this year with the Aces. He has a 1.80 GAA and a .931 save percentage and three shutouts. He claimed two Goaltender of the Week awards in the opening two weeks of the season, and was named October's Goaltender of the Month. At the time of his call to Lake Erie in January, Coleman ranked in the top five of every major statistical category in the ECHL.

He continued his stellar play in the AHL, garnering an 11-4-2 record, a 2.56 GAA and a .922 save percentage with the Monsters. At one point Coleman appeared in 12 straight games for the Monsters from late January through late February. Last year the Evanston, IL native put up a 30-15-1 record, with a league-best 2.19 GAA and .913 save percentage. He tied for the league-high in wins, becoming one of just 46 goaltenders in the 23-year history of the ECHL to reach the 30-win plateau in a season. He also tied for the most shutouts in the league with four. He was named to the All-ECHL First-Team and was the ECHL Goaltender of the Month for March. The 6'5", 210 lbs. goaltender only got better in the post-season, with an 11-1 record, a 1.73 GAA, and a .938 save percentage. He led the playoffs with three shutouts.

Coleman is in his seventh year as a pro, and has spent time in the AHL each season. He played at least one AHL game in his first five seasons, and last year was recalled to Peoria for nearly a month, though he never saw action. The Monsters were the sixth AHL team that Coleman has dressed for in his career, joining Springfield, Portland, Worcester, Lowell, and Peoria. In addition to his 98 career games in the AHL, Coleman also played two games for the Tampa bay Lightning in the NHL in the 2005-2006 season. Coleman was a seventh round pick of the Lightning in the 2003 NHL Draft.

The Aces will continue their season-ending road trip with a key visit to Ontario on Friday and Saturday night. Alaska's lead over Ontario for the Western Conference and league lead currently sits at three points with even games played. The Aces will return back home for the postseason in April. For more information, please call the Aces at 907.258.ACES or visit them online at www.facebook.com/alaskaaceshockey.



ECHL Stories from March 22, 2012


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