Alaska Wins Kelly Cup to Claim National Supremacy!!

ACES FINISH OFF GLADIATORS TO CLAIM CUP


'I can't wait to party with Alaskans, Alaska style,'

DULUTH, Ga. -- Misery to ecstasy in four years.

With a coach and a small group of players brought to Anchorage three seasons ago to rebuild a once-bankrupt franchise, the Alaska Aces went from joke to ECHL champion Thursday.
And they became Alaska's second professional championship team, joining the Anchorage Northern Knights, who won the Continental Basketball Association title in 1980.

Kelly Cups Finals most valuable player Mike Scott scored twice, including the game-winner in the second period, and Matt Underhill made 40 saves to lead Alaska to a stirring 4-3 win over the Gwinnett (Ga.) Gladiators in Game 5 of the Kelly Cup Finals. The Aces won the best-of-7 series 4-1 and in the process set off a wild party inside the Arena at Gwinnett Center, some 4,400 miles from Anchorage.

"Back home, I hope people's shirts are coming off and they are going bananas," said Mike Lee, one of seven Aces born in Alaska. "We worked so long and so hard for this. It couldn't be any better."

Aces write off Falcons after two extra periods

Overtime delight
By MATT NEVALA Anchorage Daily News
Published: May 23, 2006 Last Modified: May 24, 2006 at 04:01 AM

At 11:12 p.m. Monday, Chris Minard started a party of epic proportions inside sauna-like Sullivan Arena.

Minard's howitzer from the top of the left circle at 1 minute, 7 seconds of double overtime lifted the Alaska Aces to a scintillating 3-2 win over the Fresno Falcons in Game 7 of the National Conference finals -- and sent them to the ECHL Kelly Cup Finals in less than two days. A standing-room only crowd of 6,331, burst into hysteria when Minard's second goal of the night soared past Fresno goaltender Jamie Holden.

"It's the biggest goal I've ever scored -- ever," Minard said as he stood on the ice near the spot he fired in the game-winning goal. "Unbelievable. I finally hit the net, and looked what happened."

Now, Georgia is on Alaska's mind.

Alaska hosts the Gwinnett (Ga.) Gladiators in Game 1 of the best- of-7 final series Wednesday night at 7:15. Game 2 is Thursday.
The Aces advanced to their first championship series in nine years and their first as a member of the 25-team, cross-country ECHL.

Aces win in 3 OT

Third-longest game in ECHL history eliminates the Wranglers.
By MATT NEVALAAnchorage Daily News
Published: May 3, 2006 Last Modified: May 3, 2006 at 03:00 AM

After 113 minutes and 30 seconds of exhausting hockey played in almost five hours, it ended -- it finally ended.

Cam Keith scored 13:30 into triple overtime early Wednesday morning, lifting the Alaska Aces to a 4-3 win over the Las Vegas Wranglers in Game 6 of the ECHL West Division finals and a 4-2 victory in the best-of-7 series.

The playoff game was the third-longest played in the 18-year history of the ECHL.
What remained of a standing-room only crowd of 6,451 went bonkers when Keith knocked in his own rebound with his stick positioned just below the cross-bar of Las Vegas goaltender Marc Magliarditi's net.

Keith, the former UAF power forward, reacted as though he was in stunned amazement. His goal went in at 12:06 a.m., and Keith skated behind the Las Vegas goal, up the center of the ice and fell to his back -- sliding along until his teammates jumped all over him.

"This whole thing is surreal, it's like a dream," Keith said minutes later. "I was waiting for them to disallow it or something because I thought this game would go on forever."
Alaska advanced to the National Conference finals for the second straight year. Game 1 of that best-of-7 series is Monday at Sullivan against either the Fresno Falcons or Bakersfield Condors.