The Alaska Aces avenged a home loss Friday to the Evansville IceMen with a 4-1 win Saturday in the second of three games this weekend at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.
The Aces dominated the first 20 minutes of play, as Alaska outshot Evansville 17-7. Defenseman Gleason Fournier gave the Aces a 1-0 lead when he buried a rebound on the backhand at 4:21 of the first period. The IceMen were unsuccessful on a four minute power-play, afterJoe Perry cut Evansville forward Justin MacDonald with a high-stick. Alaska carried its 1-0 lead into the first break.
The IceMen power-play continued its struggles in the second period, as Garet Hunt was given a major penalty for boarding. Evansville generated five shots on the man-advantage, but could not score on Alaska goaltender Steven Summerhays. IceMen goalie Cody Reichardstopped 15 shots in the frame to keep the score 1-0.
Alaska scored its second goal moments after Evansville killed off a penalty early in the third period, when Collin Valcourt chipped a shot over the block of Reichard. 91 seconds later, the Aces scored on their third power-play of the night, when Garrett Haar fired a wrist shot through a screen from the point to make it 3-0.
Tyson Fawcett scored the only IceMen goal on a spin-o-rama at the end of a power-play to cut the Aces lead to 3-1, but Fournier added his second of the game on a point shot four minutes later to put the game out of reach. Reichard stopped 42 shots in his first Evansville loss, as Summerhays made 26 saves in the win.
The IceMen and Aces play the rubber match of the three game weekend series in Anchorage Sunday at 3:05pm locally (6:05pm in Evansville). Coverage begins at 5:50pm on www.evansvilleicemen.com and ECHL TV. Fans can also watch the game at Bar Louie in Evansville, the official headquarters for IceMen away games.
