WICHITA, Kan. – Danny Moynihan popped in two goals, Tommy Olczyk snapped home his first professional tally, and goaltender Michael Garteig stopped 36 shots for the shutout as the Alaska Aces trounced the Wichita Thunder 5-0 Saturday night at the Intrust Bank Arena.
The powerful finishing by the Aces was welcome after scoring just one goal in their last two games before Saturday.
The Aces were very active offensively in the first period, firing 22 shots at Thunder goaltender Drew Owsley, but only able to convert once thanks to an Owsley fumble. After Tim Wallace got the puck to Peter Sivak driving down the left wing, Sivak was forced to hang on to the puck until the last second. He fired at the net, and Owsley made the save, but dropped the puck at his feet. Stephen Perfetto, the intended target of a potential Sivak pass was right there to bang the puck into the net at 6:31, giving Alaska the 1-0 lead they would take into the first intermission.
While getting 22 shots of their own, the Aces held the Thunder to just 9…and one pipe.
The second period, though, was all Glacier Blue.
Moynihan started the scoring frenzy at 5:17 with his second goal of the season on assists from Justin Breton and Tim Coffman. At 5:54, Tim Wallace danced his way from the top of the right circle, carved his way through a couple defensemen and tucked the puck into the net for his third goal of the season. The goalchased Owsley from the net in favor of Scott Greenham.
At 15:25 of the period Olczyk received a beauty pass from Garet Hunt and buried the shot for his first professional goal and a 4-0 lead for Alaska. Hunt was stationed on the goal line and could have easily taken a shot, but patiently waited for Olczyk to clear before delivering the disc.
Moynihan completed his two-goal night at 16:01, zipping a shot high past Greenham on assists from Wallace and Coffman.
The third period was scoreless.
Coffman completed his night with three assists, Wallace a goal and two helpers.
Meanwhile, Garteig, after rejoining the Aces from NHL Vancouver, was solid in the nets while recording his first professional shutout and ran his record to 6-1.
Alaska outshot Wichita 40-36 for the game.
The Aces and Thunder complete their three-game series Sunday at 4:05pm Central, 1:05pm Alaska time.
With Alaska Aces release
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