Novak out for the year
March 20, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release
BOISE, Idaho - Alaska Aces center Vladimir Novak, currently second in the ECHL with a +30 rating and tied for third with six shorthanded goals among his 18 on the year, has been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season and the 2007 Kelly Cup playoffs.
Novak suffered a tibial plateau fracture in a knee-on-knee collision with a Long Beach player in the third period of Alaska's 3-2 shootout loss to the Ice Dogs last Saturday. His totals of 18 goals, 20 assists, and 38 points entering that game all marked career-highs for the third-year pro, who joined the Aces after graduating from the University of Alaska-Anchorage in 2004. He will undergo surgery Thursday, with an expected full recovery by the time Alaska opens training camp for the 2007-08 season.
The 26-year-old Novak scored the game-winning goal 52 seconds into overtime to beat Gwinnett in a Kelly Cup Finals rematch on January 30, and contributed two other game-winners this season. He also had the game-winner on the night Alaska clinched its first ever division title, April 5, 2005, at Las Vegas by a score of 3-2. Prior to enrolling at UAA, Novak played on the 1999 Czech Republic team that won the World Junior Championships.
Alaska (45-14-5) already has clinched its third straight West title heading into tomorrow's series opener with division rival Idaho at 5:10 p.m. ADT, but Sunday's loss in Fresno, coupled with a Las Vegas win over Long Beach, leaves the Aces with just a five-point lead in the race for the best overall record in the ECHL. The Aces took five of a possible six points from the Steelheads (35-23-5) in a three-game series in Anchorage just before Christmas. The two clubs meet again Friday and Saturday at 5:10 p.m. ADT.
Tickets for Alaska's three-game series against Utah at Sullivan Arena, beginning April 4 at 7:15 p.m., are now available at participating Fred Meyer locations or by logging onto www.alaskaaces.com. 2007 Kelly Cup playoff tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday, March 26.
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