Special teams lone bright spot in 5-2 loss
Published on December 10, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release
SAN DIEGO â B.J. Young scored in his return to pro hockey after a 20-month hiatus, but little else went right for the Alaska Aces in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Gulls at the San Diego Sports Arena.
Alaska mustered just five shots in the first period, allowing San Diego to take control, as Brian Gornick opened the scoring by weaving his way through a number of Aces before deking Peter Aubry and giving the Gulls a 1-0 lead just 2:10 into the game. An Alaska turnover in its own end led directly to the game's second goal, scored by Curtis Brown off a perfect feed from Sean O'Connor at 7:16. The goal marked Brown's first since joining San Diego three weeks ago in light of the NHL lock-out. Brown had signed a free-agent contract with the Chicago Blackhawks this summer after several years in Buffalo and one in San Jose.
Young, playing his first game since March 23, 2003 (also at San Diego), gave the Aces some life with a power play goal at 3:38 of the second period, but the comeback quickly turned sour. Mark Pederson pushed the margin to 3-1 at 7:12 when he escaped Louis Mass behind the Alaska net and lifted the puck over a prostrate Aubry. Less than two minutes later, Guillame Fournier punched in a Mike Garrow rebound for a three-goal bulge, and a power play tally by Max Birbraer with 3:45 left in the period gave San Diego a commanding 5-1 lead heading into the dressing room.
The Aces made the score somewhat more respectable with another power play goal late in the third, as Chris Minard tapped in a Mike Scott shot for his 11th of the year with 6:18 left to play. Coming into the game, Alaska ranked dead last among 28 ECHL teams with a power play clicking at less than 10 percent, but scored twice in five attempts against San Diego (9-6-2). The Aces have yet to win any of the four games that Scott Gomez has missed. Gomez will return to Alaska for next week's three-game series at home after participating in a charity hockey event in Russia this weekend.
The Aces, who remain tied for second place in the West Division at 11-9-1 overall, will resume their three-game series with the Gulls Saturday at 6:05 p.m. and Sunday at 4:05 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on flagship station KFQD 750 AM and also made available on a pay-per-view basis at www.alaskaaces.com, courtesy of B2 Networks. Coverage begins 20 minutes prior to the opening face-off.
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