
Soares, Metcalf Named First Team All-ECHL
April 4, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release
VICTORIA, BC - The Alaska Aces landed two of the six first team all-ECHL spots, as rookie winger Josh Soares and veteran defenseman Peter Metcalf earned the accolades in an announcement issued Friday by the league.
Despite seeing his 14-game point streak (the fifth-highest in the league this season) come to an end Wednesday in Alaska's 6-4 win at Victoria, the 26-year-old Soares remains tied for fourth overall in the ECHL scoring race with 81 points in 60 games. He also ranks fourth in the league with 36 goals and tied for sixth with six game-winners. Named to the ECHL All-Rookie team on Thursday, Soares also earned a trip to the 2008 ECHL All-Star Game in Stockton, Calif.
Metcalf makes second straight appearance on the all-ECHL first team, having earned the honor last year as well, when he finished second in voting for Defenseman of the Year and finished with a career-high 61 points. The 29-year-old Metcalf again leads all ECHL defensemen this year with 53 assists and 60 points in 60 games after handing out four helpers in Wednesday's victory over the Salmon Kings. He ranks third overall in assists and owns a +17 rating. Metcalf was named second team all-ECHL after the 2005-06 season, when he won the Plus Performer of the Year award at +44 and helped lead Alaska to the Kelly Cup.
Metcalf's partner on the blue line, Derick Martin, will share the PaySourceUSA ECHL Plus Performer of the Month award for March after finishing with a plus-minus rating of +13. Martin, who scored the game-tying goal with 11:44 left in the third period of Wednesday's eventual win over Victoria, finished plus or even in 10 of his 13 games during the month, including a season-high +4 in a 5-1 rout of Idaho on March 5. Despite playing just 25 games for the Aces this season, the 26-year-old Martin leads the Aces at +20 and owns another key, game-tying goal against the Salmon Kings back on March 7, when Alaska rallied for a 3-2 victory at home.
Another Aces triumph in Victoria tonight, coupled with a Fresno victory at Idaho, would cement a fourth consecutive West Division title for Alaska, which trailed the Salmon Kings by 16 points in the division race as recently as February 9. Alaska owns a 34-9-4 record head-to-head against Victoria since 2004, including a first-round playoff series victory last year and a 6-4 mark this year. Tonight's game will be broadcast live on the flagship home of Aces hockey, AM 750 KFQD, with coverage beginning at 5:45 p.m. ADT. The teams meet again in the regular season finale tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. ADT.
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