National Conference Playoffs – Part 1

STOCKTON, Calif. –- The regular season has officially ended, playoff teams have been announced and final rosters turned in.   The first round of the playoffs officially begins Monday, April 5, and will be a best-of-five game series. The Idaho Steelheads earned a first-round bye, when they obtained the best record in their conference, finishing 48-17-2-5, and 103 points overall.   The Ontario Reign was the sole team out of the playoffs all-together, finishing with a record of 31-31-3-7, and 72 points.  
 
The Alaska Aces (36-28-4-4, 80 points) finished in the third spot and will compete starting April 5 at home against the Stockton Thunder (33-29-2-8, 76 points).   These two teams finished out their regular season in a two game, head-to-head series in Alaska. Their final place at the end of the weekend meant the Thunder would remain in town to face the Aces in the playoffs.    Following games 1 and 2, the teams will travel to Stockton for games 3 and 4 on Friday and Saturday.   Game 5 will be Monday, April 12 in Stockton. Games 4 and 5 are on an as necessary basis.
 
Alaska is 5-5 against the Thunder this season, including three shutouts and an overtime win. This will be the first time Alaska meets Stockton in the post-season.   The Aces are 10-2-3 overall in their last 15 games and 13-1-3 in their last 17 home games.   Stockton has been struggling late in the season winning only five of their last 10 games.  
 
The playoff rosters have been officially turned in, and many of the early season players that were moved to the AHL level have or will find themselves back on their ECHL team.   In the case of the Thunder, Goalie Bryan Pitton and defenseman Jordan Bendfeld will ultimately be returning to the team.   The Thunder makes their fourth appearance in the post-season, while head coach Matt Thomas marks his sixth overall post-season appearance as an ECHL head coach. Stockton was defeated in the second round of the division finals last year by the Wranglers, under the direction of Thomas.
 

The Thunder leads their offense with James Bates (27 goals, 46 assists), Chris D’Alvise (34 goals, 33 assists) and Matt Robinson (31 goals, 33 assists).     A total of five forwards on the team have greater than 20 goals on the season. In contrast to last year, Colin and Brett Hemingway are now on the Thunder roster, and Aces fans may remember, brother Colin scored nine goals in the post-season for Alaska last year.
 
Among the Thunders’ defense are Anthony Aiello (27 points), Ryan Constant (25 points) and Jason Pitton (24 points).   Pitton has split the season with the AHL Springfield Falcons.   In the net, the Thunder has had on-going success with Andrew Perugini; 22-15-1-4, with three shutouts.   Perugini has 2.94 goals against average and .908 save percentage.  
 
Returning soon from Springfield, Bryan Pitton and brother of Jason Pitton will be the back-up net minder.   B. Pitton has spent much of the later part of the season with the AHL team, but prior to his promotion had 2.85 goals against average and .921 save percentage.  
 
The Aces are headed to the post-season for their seventh consecutive season, and are 6-0 in first round series. They come to the post season looking to better last year’s loss in game seven of the Kelly Cup Finals against the Stingrays.   Leading the Aces are forwards Nick Mazzolini, Judd Blackwater, and Eric Boguniecki..   Mazzonlini is the Aces leader in points, with 64.   Blackwater spent the first half of the season as a member of the Thunder, and was traded just after his appearance, representing the Thunder, in the ECHL All-Star game, to the Aces.
 
The blue-line is packed with the likes of Bryan Miller (10 goals, 29 assists), T.J. Fast (10 goals, 21 assists) and Nick Tuzzolino (9 goals, 22 assists). All three players have wrecked havoc on the Thunder this season. In the net for Alaska is Billy Sauer.   Sauer has 3.29 goals against average, with .894 save percentage, but is 2-0 against the Thunder with a 1.44 goals against average.
 
Expect an all-out physical game to begin with; however, both teams were recently fined by the ECHL as a result of pre-game actions over the past weekend, so there may be some restraint.   These teams are fully capable of being physical within the rules.   Looking at penalty minutes, Justin Johnson has over 240 minutes, while Tuzzolino, and Scott Burt have more than 100.   Only Garet Hunt of the Thunder has over 200; though many other players are not afraid to step up when needed to deliver some powerful checks.
 
PREDICTION: Look for both teams to bring their A-game, but this writer predicts a close finish, requiring all five games, with the Aces finishing on top, most likely in overtime.   Look for part 2, Utah vs Las Vegas tomorrow.
 
Contact the writer at Shellie.Lima@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at Jack.Lima@prohockeynews.com