By Andrew Chernoff
November 19, 2016
The Alaska Aces (6-4-0-1) take on the Wichita Thunder (7-3-0-0) tonight, in the second game of three this weekend, and hope for a different result, than last night, in Wichita.
Last night, the Aces outshot Wichita 47-25, but faced a hot goaltender in a 5-1 loss to begin their 3 game weekend at the Intrust Bank Arena.
It was the Aces 3rd consecutive loss, after losing last Friday and Saturday games against the Indy Fuel back in Anchorage.
Steve Tarasuk, got his second goal of the season for Alaska; and Aces goalie Kevin Carr stopped 20 of 25, in the loss.
Scott Greenham had 46 saves for Wichita.
The Thunder got two goals from Nathan Moon; and singles from Gabriel Gagne, Alexis Loiseau, and Alexis Vanier.
The Aces sit in 4th place in the Mountain division, 2 points behind the Utah Grizzles, with 3 games in hand. They are also, 5 points behind first place Idaho Steelheads, with 4 games in hand on the Steelheads.
Canucks prospect and Aces goalie Michael Garteig has the 12th best GAA in the ECHL (min 6 GP) with a 2.52 average, and has a .916 SV% (14th best). Kevin Carr is 16th, with a 2.77 GAA, and has a .899 SV%.
Stephen Perfetto is 10th in ECHL scoring with 17 points (6-11=17 pts).
Garet Hunt is 2nd in the ECHL in penalty minutes with 59; and Peter Sivak leads the league in game winning goals with 4.
Alaska and Wichita will play tonight at 7:05 pm local, 4:05pm Alaska time.
The Aces, proud affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks and AHL’s Utica Comets, signed Hunt last season after seven seasons with Stockton. Hunt, 28, played 61 games in Glacier Blue, scoring 11 goals with 12 assists for 23 points and a whopping 277 penalty minutes to lead the ECHL for the second time. But don’t assume the tough-guy stuff is the only thing Hunt brings to the table. The 5-9, 190 pound dynamo is an adroit locker room leader according to Murray.
Hunt last season played in his 500th professional game (AHL and ECHL) and when the season ended, he had 502 ECHL games under his belt. And proving that age is just another number, Hunt has scored double-digit goals in each of the last three seasons.