Notes From The Flight Deck

January 16, 2005 - SPHL (SPHL)
Asheville Aces News Release

RECORD TO DATE: 12-20 (24 points)

7th place in SPHL

THIS WEEK:

FRI January 21 ACES @ Huntsville 8:30 p.m. Von Braun Arena

Asheville and Huntsville meet for the sixth time this season. Huntsville has dominated the Aces, beating them in all five meetings this season. The Aces look to break that streak when they travel to Huntsville for this Friday night contest.

Season Series: Huntsville leads 5-0 (Last Meeting: 4-2 loss @ Huntsville, 12/18/04)

All Time Series: Huntsville leads 5-0

SAT January 21 Winston-Salem @ ACES 7:30 p.m.

The Aces look to grab another win from the Polar Twins as they return to Asheville for a Saturday night game at the Civic Center.

Season Series: ACES lead 3-1 (Last Meeting: 8-3 win in Asheville, 1/14/05)

All Time Series: ACES lead 3-1

LAST WEEK:

THU Jan. 13 ACES @ Jacksonville (6-1 LOSS) 7:05 p.m. Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena

[JACKSONVILLE, FL] - The Asheville Aces made several roster moves prior to tonight's game at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena but were unable to pull out a win. The Aces added defenseman Greg Snitowski, forward R.J. Roy and resigned forward Chad Brandimore. Out of the lineup for Asheville are defenseman Chris Cloutier and forward Janis Tomans who were both placed on team suspension effective today. The final score tonight was 6-1 in favor of the Barracudas.

The Barracudas started off strong, finishing the first period up 2-0 with goals from Glen Crawford and Shawn Roed. Peter Bournazakis brought the Aces to within one early in the second with a power play goal. An even strength goal at the 7:31 mark, from new Barracuda Darren Partch, put Jacksonville up 3-1 and they never looked back.

Snitowski, who completes the other half of the Sergei Visegorodcevs trade, had a feisty night in his first game against his former team. Unfortunately, his feistiness resulted in a double minor for spearing in the second. With Snitowski in the box, Asheville defenseman Michal Pscheidt was sent off for high sticking resulting in a five-on-three shorthanded situation. Jacksonville's Greg Lecolst made it 4-1 on the power play, and then, with Pscheidt still serving his minor, Jason Silverthorn put the Cudas up 5-1. A late third period goal by Jim Murphy finished the Aces off and the game ended in a 6-1 loss. Jacksonville goalie Tyler Nilsson stopped 28 of 29 shots for the win. Asheville's Ryan Person had the loss with 23 saves on 29 shots.

FRI Jan. 14 Winston Salem @ ACES (8-4 WIN) 7:30 p.m. Asheville Civic Center

[ASHEVILLE, NC] - Joel Petkoff's hat trick sparked the Aces to their first victory in seven games over a surging Winston Salem squad tonight in front of 2,121 fans at the Asheville Civic Center. With the Aces up 1-0 on a shorthanded goal by Peter Bournazakis, Petkoff broke loose and buried the puck past Polar Twin starter Jomar Cruz. It was to be Petkoff's night as he lit the lamp two more times in the third period for the hat trick.

But Petkoff was not the only Ace ready to put the puck in the net on this night. Recent addition Chad Brandimore potted two goals of his own and also added an assist and Captain Peter Bournazakis was definitely on his game tonight with four assists in addition to his goal to open the scoring.

In net, Mark Scally was exceptional again stopping 43 of the 47 shots thrown at him for the win. Winston Salem goalie Jomar Cruz (19 saves on 23 shots) was replaced after the Aces made it 4-1 by Rick Nichol who played very well in relief but, like Cruz, had very little support from his team. Nichol allowed four goals on 21 shots.

Also contributing to the Aces scoring tonight were Brett Roat and new addition R.J. Roy who showed the kind of heart, grit and character Coach Brubaker has been searching for over the past few weeks. On an offensive zone face-off, the Aces won the draw and the puck went to point man Martin Viazanica who ripped a slap shot towards the net. The shot hit Roy in the back of the leg and he fell to the ice in obvious pain. Seeing that the Aces were still in possession of the puck, Roy got back on his feet, received a pass from line mate Jan Kentos, hobbled towards the Polar Twin net and made a great move to beat Nichol. After he scored, he skated to the Aces bench bent over in agony.

And it was that kind of night for the Aces. Defenseman Dan Pszenyczny was hit hard into the boards and after being attended to on the ice for quite some time, was helped off to the dressing room. Five minutes later, he returned to the game and did not miss a step for the rest of the evening. Greg Snitowski was involved in a serious knee to knee collision with Polar Twin Rhett Dudley leaving both players needing medical attention - neither player returned. Like his teammates, Snitowski does not plan on missing any action tomorrow night.

SAT Jan. 15 Knoxville @ ACES (5-2 LOSS) 7:30 p.m. Asheville Civic Center

[ASHEVILLE, NC] - Playing their third game in three nights, the Aces ran out of gas in the third period and could not battle back from a 2-1 deficit, eventually losing tonight's game 5-2 in front of a very supportive crowd of over 3,000 at the Asheville Civic Center.

The Aces played a very strong game from start to finish and kept things very close throughout the game. Aces goalie Mark Scally was solid in net, stopping 42 of the 47 shots sent his way but Knoxville proved to be the better team on this night.

It was a game of "who could make the least mistakes" as both teams played a defensive style of hockey. Both teams, despite being very careful in their own end, managed lots of scoring chances but the Aces players just could not bury the puck. Knoxville goalie Terry Dunbar played well stopping 24 of 26 shots for the win.

Knoxville goals came from K.J. Voorhees (2), Kevin Swider, and K.C. Caudill (2). Asheville's Peter Bournazakis and Joel Petkoff had the two markers for the Aces.

ACES NOTES:

BOY SCOUT NIGHT AND SLEEPOVER - January 22 Winston Salem @ ACES

Area Boy Scouts receive ticket to game, scout patch, breakfast voucher to Bojangles, skate with Aces after game, player autograph session, movie before sleepover for $10. Friends and family receive game tickets for $9.

UNCA NIGHT & HAYWOOD COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NIGHT - January 28 Fayetteville @ ACES

TEAM APPEARANCES:

Wednesday, January 19: Player autograph session - Greg Snitowsky and R.J. Roy at Texas Roadhouse Restaurant 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 22: Post-game autograph session - Michal Pscheidt and Greg Snitowsky

Wednesday, January 26: Player autograph session - Mark Scally, Martin Viazanica and Jan Kentos at Texas Roadhouse Restaurant 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.

*players attending subject to change*

TEAM NOTES:

Aces forward Peter Bournazakis had a strong weekend with 7 points (3G, 4A) as did line mate Joel Petkoff who tallied 6 points (4 G, 2A) Asheville has a 9-7 record at the Civic Center but they have struggled on the road only posting 3 wins in 15 games.

• Discuss this story on the SPHL message board...

SPHL Stories from January 16, 2005

Notes From The Flight Deck - Asheville Aces

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.

Notes From The Flight Deck

SPHL Stories from January 16, 2005

Other Recent Asheville Aces Stories