Alaska Aces win the Kelly Cup Championship

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The gloves came off, the sticks thrown aside, and a riot

ensued. But it wasn’t a fight, it was a celebration. The Alaska Aces defeated the Kalamazoo Wings 5-3 on Saturday night in Game Five of the Kelly Cup Finals – winning the series 4-1 and raising the Kelly Cup to the rafters in front of family, friends, and fans who happily made the 3700 mile journey from Anchorage to Kalamazoo.
Captured in that moment of hugs, high-fives, and handshakes was every lesson and experience the Aces earned this season.
“One of the great traits of our hockey team this year was our resilience,” Aces Head Coach Brent Thompson said. “We never, ever doubted ourselves through times when we were down. And not just this series, but season long. It was a grueling season.”
For Kalamazoo, it might just be too early for them to truly appreciate all their remarkable success in only their second year as an ECHL franchise.
“I think it’s too early to rate a season. It stings too much right now to think about it. I mean, at some point I think we’ll be pretty happy to get to wherewe have been after two years in this league as an organization,” Kalamazoo Head Coach Nick Bootland said.
“Our goal every single day is to win a championship. I wouldn’t say it was successful because I’ll never say that until we win, but at the same time we made great strides and this is a great group.”
The K-Wings knew they needed a better effort than the night before when they gave up five unanswered goals in the first period.
The Aces expected it too.
“They’re a good team. They’ve always kept coming. Even yesterday, last night’s game they came at us too when were up. We knew it was going to be a task at hand and we couldn’t just take them lightly again,” said Aces forward Chris Langkow who scored two goals, including the game-winner in the third period.
With his team up 3-2 and the K-Wings pushing their momentum ever closer to the tying goal, Langkow corralled a turnover by the Kalamazoo defense and skated in two-on-one against goaltender Ryan Nie.
“I just wanted to get a shot on net,” he said. “I think he maybe thought I was going to pass or something and I just let a quick shot go and it went in the net. It couldn’t have worked out any better.”
The goal proved to be the key moment for the Aces after Kalamazoo pulled back within one only 1:32 later when Trent Daavettila forced a loose puck through a crowd in the crease.
The celebration was short-lived. With 3:31 left in the game and only 28-seconds after Daavettila’s goal, forward Curtis Fraser slipped a puck along the right post just outside the reach of Nie to push the lead back to two goals.
Alaska’s ability to respond quickly to Kalamazoo’s momentum proved to be the key to victory.
Only 32-seconds after K-Wings forward Brian McGuirk opened the scoring inthe second period, Aces defenseman Steve Ward tied the score at 1-1, deflecting a shot off the foot of Kalamazoo defenseman Sam Ftorek.
“This was a war. To me, I thought this was obviously the hardest [series],” Thompson said. “Their speed and the depth they have was scary.”
Kalamazoo had their depth on full display against Alaska.
Ten different players scored for Kalamazoo in the five-game series – becoming the first team in the post-season to beat goaltender Gerald Coleman (a 4-3 win in Game Three) and put a dent in his otherwise remarkable statistics.
“I started off well down in Alaska, but here… Kalamazoo is a really good team. They played really well in this arena. They just threw pucks on net and found ways to get a lot of tips,” said Coleman after his 27-save performance. “I didn’t do the best but our team made sure we found a way to win games.”
In 2005, Coleman started in net for the Memorial Cup Champion London Knights.
“This is a lot more fun. You have guys of different ages and you have guys with kids and families. The organization here in Alaska has been unbelievable,” he said. “It’s a first class organization.”
Forward Scott Howes was named the 2011 Most Valuable Player for thechampionship team. He led the Aces in the playoffs with seven goals, 19 points, and a +11 rating in 11 games.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said about winning the award. “It’s a team game. I had guys around me all year, all playoff long that definitely helped. The coach gave me a chance and an opportunity and confidence in me to do the things that I was able to do.”
Defenseman AJ Thelen also scored for Kalamazoo, tying the score at 2-2 in the second period before Aces defenseman Chad Anderson put his team back in the lead with 1:07 left.
Daavettila held his head high in the locker room after the game.
“It was a great season. You leave with a little bit bitter taste but when you look back, we made such a nice run,” he said. “We came so far from thebeginning of the season.”
And he knows they left it all on the ice tonight.
“From the drop of the puck tonight we played with everything we had. We played with that Game Seven mentality. In the end, the score was just 5-3 Alaska unfortunately.”
Bootland agreed and had nothing but praise for his opponents.
“Right from the drop of the puck to the end of the game, there was no quit. I’m pretty proud of the effort of these guys,” he said. “[The Aces] just don’tstop. They don’t stop working, they don’t stop skating, and they stick to their gameplan like nobody else.”
So with the final horn sounded and reality sinking in, how will the Aces celebrate back in Anchorage?
“Party,” Coleman said with a laugh. “I imagine we’re going to have thousands and thousands of people waiting for us at the airport to cheer us on. The first thing will be to celebrate with all of our fans back in Alaska.”
Contact the writer: Ryan.Loren@ProHockeyNews.com
Contact the photographer Larry.Burdick@prohockeynews.com