History of the Alaska Aces
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The Alaska Aces have a long and tumultuous history.
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[edit] Early years
Dennis Sorenson formed an Anchorage senior men’s hockey team, named Anchorage Aces to compete against a local in-state team, the Fairbanks Gold Kings. Sorenson, a former Gold King, ultimately envisioned an Aces team with about a twenty game schedule, similar to the Gold Kings. The main problem with being a viable hockey team was local interest other than the city’s college hockey team, the UAA Seawolves. The previous year, a local contractor attempted to acquire a WHL franchise for Anchorage, but due to low ticket sales in “test market” WHL exhibition games, the idea never took off. They played an unofficial "season" of four games in the 1989-90 winter, then played a barnstorming schedule of 22 games the following season, including 20 games against teams registered with USA Hockey, and then won the Senior Men's Open National Championship held in Fairbanks. Their star player that winter was Keith Street, who led the Aces in scoring with 45 points on 25 goals and 20 assists.
[edit] Pacific Northwest Hockey League
The Aces joined the Pacific Northwest Hockey League for the 1991-92 season, playing six of their home games at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage and eight at the Central Peninsula Sports Center in Soldotna. The Aces finished second in the PNHL with a 16-12-2 regular season record, and were the runners-up in the national USA Hockey tourney after a 0-4-1 tourney run.
In the 1992-93 season, new Head Coach Mike Ashley led the Aces to a 19-3-0 regular season record with the last regular season game before an Aces record crowd in the Sullivan Arena of 4,656 sealing an undefeated record at home. However, in the USA Hockey Senior Men's Open Tournament, the Aces finished second for the second year in a row after compiling a 4-1 record in the tourney, losing the tiebreaker to the Chicago Chargers. Ashley resigned following the season.
For the 1993-94 season, Steve Gasparini took over as head coach, and led the the Aces to a 22-9-1 regular season record and the championship in the USA Hockey Senior Men's Open National Tournament with a 5-0 run highlighted by the 6-0 rout of the Fresno Falcons, who hosted the tournament, giving the Aces their second championship in four years. In 1994-95, the team went 27-9 and lost in the championship game to the Gold Kings.
[edit] West Coast Hockey League
The Aces tried to form a new Pacific Rim Hockey League to play a 40-game schedule including teams from Vancouver, Las Vegas, and one or two teams from California, but the league did not get off the ground. The Aces joined the new West Coast Hockey League for the 1995-96 season, going 24-29-5 and finishing fifth in the six-team league. The season was marred by the release of forward Mike Myers after he was charged with rape (three juries failed to convict him for the 1993 incident).
[edit] With change of ownership, comes a coaching change
Roger Graff, Lyle Aune and Brian Young comprised the original ownership group of the Anchorage Aces as board of directors in 1990-91, Young resigned prior to the 1994-95 season for business reasons, and Aune resigned prior to the 95-96 season after Graff sold one of his businesses, Triple AAA Fence, to him. After the 95-96 season Graff sold the team partner Mike Cusack Jr. making him sole owner of the franchise. Cusack decided to re-evaluate all personnel, including the coaching staff and three months of taking over, he hired former NHL Center Walt Podubny as head coach. Cusack was known for his extravagant purchaces, owning the Ramada Inn, a roller rink, and during his tenure as Aces owner he purchased a Fairbanks Hotel, and three sports teams other than the Aces, two Eastern Indoor Soccer Leagues and a partial ownership share in a WCHL expansion franchise in Arizona
[edit] 1996-1997 season
More controversy faced the Aces before the regular season even started. It started in an exhibition victory over the host Fairbanks Gold Kings the game was cut short when a fight broke out between a fan and Aces defenseman Chad Richard. Richard was in the penalty box after being called for hooking late in the third period. Moments later a fan crawled over the boards and made a derogatory statement. Richard stood up and replied likewise. The spectator then threw a beer in Richard's face and punched him in the left eye. Richard then pulled the spectator into the box and punched him twice. Officials then rushed the box to separate the two and escort Richard away. As Richard was led away, security personnel arrived to pull the man out of the box. Another spectator said something to the man, setting off a skirmish that grew into a melee involving about 15 people in the stands. Later in the season, Richard was suspended with 28 games left for the remainder of the season by WHCL commissioner Michael Meyers for hitting a puck deliberatley at a referee, striking him in his arm. On the upside, Anchorage had their first ever sell-out in the Sullivan arena with 6,406 fans show up to watch the Aces down the San Diego Gulls 3-2. Anchorage finished the regular season in 2nd place with a 40-19-5 record. In a bizarre finish which included the extension of the Aces season after the WCHL commissioner determined that their game four series that they lost 2-4 would be changed to a 1-0 victory in favor of the Aces due to forfeit by the Fresno Falcons when they failed to meet the minimum roster requirement because of injuries and suspensions. Thanks to that second chance, the Aces gained a 5-3 victory over the Falcons in the fifth-and-deciding game of the league playoffs and advanced to their first Taylor Cup, which was named after Tacoma owner Bruce Taylor, one of the founders of the WCHL. The Aces were swept in four games by the San Diego Gulls, going 4-5 in the playoffs. At the end of the season the WCHL announced they would expand from six teams to nine.
[edit] 1997-1998 season
Hard times began to hit the WCHL as the Fairbanks Gold Kings suspended operations before the 97-98 season, the WCHL however did maintain their 9 team setup when a Phoenix franchise was established, splitting the league into two divisions, with the Aces in the "North Division" Veteran Center Keith Street who had been with the team since 1990 came out of a brief few month retirement to play with the Aces for an 8th season. This season was also the first appearance of the Ace's mascot, a giant polar bear later to be named "Boomer". The Chris Richard Soap Opera continued this season with serving a two game suspension for "actions detrimental to the league" and according to three witnesses -- two security guards and a Tacoma police officer -- a teenage boy, about 13 or 14, leaned over the railing of the stands to goad Richard and said to him, You suck, you suck. Richard, as he was carrying his stick, moved the blade of the stick and hit the youth in the shoulder with the blade after he was ejected from a game in November in Tacoma. The allegation left Richard with another two game suspension by the WCHL and a fine of an undisclosed amount. The drama did not stop there, later that week in a game in Anchorage against the Fresno Falcons where fans pelted Falcon players and coaches with coins and tobacco spit, threw cups of soda and other items on the ice. Fans also tried to climb over the glass to get to players on the Falcon bench. Fresno goaltender Jeff Ferguson, swung his stick at a few spectators; right wing Clint Collins nearly climbed over the glass to go after a spectator; and right wing Shayne Green threw an object into the stands. Due to the scuffle, officials decided to end the game with three seconds left on the clock. Speculation was that the WCHL would be better off without the Aces and their off the wall fans, now that the Fairbanks franchise folded, there was little reason to make the expensive trip to Alaska. In December, the Aces tried to eliminate their trouble makers by cutting left wing Chad Richard and defenseman Link Gaetz. Richard, who has been suspended five times in two seasons, was released after he threw a chair and injured an arena employee during a game earlier in Boise. As Richard was leaving the ice, Richard hurled his stick into the tunnel leading to the Aces locker room. A Bank of America Centre usher bent down to the pick up the stick and was struck by Richard with a metal chair knocking the employee unconscious. The Aces finished the regular season 36-20-8 and lost six of its last 10 games. The Aces made it to the semi-finals but was eliminated by Tacoma in a four game sweep. At the end of the season, the WCHL announced it would expand to 10 teams for the 98-99 season.
[edit] 1998-1999 season
Another bad sign for the WCHL as another team suspends operations in the offseason as the Reno Rage call it quits in July bringing the team total back down to nine. The Gold Kings came back, however relocated to the lower 48 in Colorado. Aces great Keith Street resigns another 1-year deal. The yearly Anchorage Aces drama continued this year with head coach Walt Poddubny being suspended for two games for throwing a tantrum -- as well as sticks, water bottles and a large water cooler -- late in a game in Colorado. Player-assistant coach Steve MacSwain guided the Aces in the two games. The WCHL held their first all-star game this season which was held against the Canadian National team, with four Aces players named to the Northern Squad, Keith Street, Yvan Corbin, Kord Cernich and Sergei Tkachenko. The WCHL All-Stars won the game 6-4. However after the all-star game, the Aces drama caresoul continued when Dean Trboyevich, a star defenseman for the Aces, was arrested and jailed for a cross-check he administered to Fresno Falcons player Jacques Mailhot in California. Trboyevich's retaliation cross-check Tuesday night triggered a bench-clearing brawl that ended with 11 players receiving game disqualifications. The only player on the ice who wasn't disqualified was Mailhot. Police arrested Trboyevich on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon, a felony. The game officials slapped him with a five-minute major and a match penalty, which means he is suspended until the incident is reviewed by the league. The cross-check to Mailhot was believed to be retaliation for his high-stick against Trboyevich which caused him needing 10 stitches in his mouth and losing part of a tooth. Trboyevich was suspended for the final 27 games of the regular season. Three other Aces players received suspensions from the league for their involvement in the brawl. The felony assault charges were later dropped agaist Trboyevich by the Fresno DA office. The Aces also faced the longest road trip in team history, a 12-game, 27-day trip after a 24 day homestead. Aces completed the regular season in third place with a 34-30-4 record. The Aces advanced to the semifinals only to be ousted by Tacoma in three games. Keith Street decided to hang up his skates after the season, coach Poddubny was also questioning his return and ended up resigning in July.
[edit] Hard times getting harder
The offseason was rough for the Aces, They botched a major trade when Anchorage traded defensemen Kevin Epp and Wade Brookbank to the San Diego Gulls for high-scoring right wing Kyle Reeves, however Reeves signed with a WPHL team, leaving Anchorage high and dry. The league All-Star Game, which they had all but promised to the fans that it would be theirs to hold at Sullivan Arena this season, was a no-go...and they raised their ticket prices by 28%, owner Mike Cusack said he had lost $3 million in the four years as owner of the Aces. He had also incurred a debt of $200,000 in hotel tax due to the Municipality of Anchorage from his hotel. Things were looking bad, and many wondered if Anchorage would still have the Aces beyond the 99-00 season.
[edit] 1999-2000 season
Former NHL player and Fresno Falcons assistant coach Bob Wilkie was named the new head coach for the Aces. A-la Michael Jordan, Keith Street un-retired again committing to another season with the Aces. However, after a 1-8-3 start coach Wilkie was fired just 12 games into the season. The Aces re-hired Walt Poddubny, however later in the season Wilkie returned to the ice, this time as a player. After he was fired, the Aces honored Wilkie's coaching contract and kept him on their payroll. He would earn an additional salary under a player's contract. The Aces losing season got worse when Center Brian Kraft quit the team. Kraft left the team after a confrontation with owner Mike Cusack in the Anchorage locker room following a loss to Colorado, Kraft said he didn't have any sticks to play with and asked Cusack to purchase him one. The two then exchanged words and Cusack took two swings at him and they then wrestled before the incident was broke up. In January, an unsatisfied Aces fan took up a lawsuit with Cusack claiming fraud, breach of contract and unlawful consumer sales practices. The $2500 suit was to cover the price of his two season tickets, with punitive damages. After an awful start, the Aces finished 31-34-9, Third in the Northern Division, and managed to secure a playoff spot. Their old time rival, now the Colorado Gold Kings, wiped out any hopes of an advance in the playoffs, sweeping the Aces in three games.
[edit] 2000-2001 season
Ticket prices saw another increase for the second year in a row, Also the WCHL added another team upping their list to nine, with the Long Beach Ice Dogs, formerly of the IHL. During mid-season Aces legend Keith Street was considering another comeback, which was becoming an annual occurrence, his retirement came full circle in February as he re-signed with the team. Scraping for players, the Aces also signed former NHLers goalie Vincent Riendeau and right wing Kevin Brown. Even Aces GM Derek Donald resigned to return to the team as a player. However the Aces finished 27-41-4, their second consecutive losing season. The Aces playoff series was again a clean sweep as was last years, a 3-0 sweep by the Idaho Steelheads... The final game highlighted Aces coach getting ejected with 49 seconds left to play, and their public address announcer badgering league officials, which along with a disallowed Aces goal incited the fans, who showered the Sullivan Arena ice with sodas, water bottles, plastic noise-making horns and at least one cowbell. The Aces went through 42 players during the season. After former GM Derek Donald joined the team as a player, the Aces new GM, Ken Shepard, only lasted two months and was fired without explanation. Shepard said the team informed by fax. One Aces player learned the team had waived him when a reporter called to ask him about it. Another player learned he had been fined by the league when a reporter called him to ask about it. Apparently, neither player could be reached by team fax. In the span of two years, they went from 14 games over .500 to 14 games below .500. They lost 25% of their fan base nearly 1,300 fans per game, and their last home playoff game barely broke 3000 in attendance. After the last playoff game, the WCHL fined and reprimanded the Aces for unprofessional and derogatory comments that public-address announcer Bob Lester and radio broadcasters Fred Rannard and Darren Payne directed at on-ice and league officials during the game. After the fine was handed down, later in the week fired GM Ken Shepard filed a $50,000 lawsuit against the WCHL, which includes alleged lost wages, lost proceeds from inventory and the Aces' failure to repurchase inventory. Two weeks later Coach Walt Poddubny resigned after leading the Aces to a 180-125-25 record, which included a trip to the Taylor Cup finals in 1997.
[edit] 2001-2002 season
To replace Poddubny, the Aces named former NHL coach and player Butch Goring as their new head coach. The replacement was one of many major changes the Aces made in their players and staff. For the offseason they hired a new GM, new coach, new vice president of business operations, new equipment manager and re-signed only four players from the previous season. The Aces signed five former NHL's to help boost their new-look team, defenseman Jim Paek, goaltender Scott Bailey, wingers Todd Harkins and Daniel Goneau and center Clayton Beddoes. The season-opening roster featured a 70% turnover from the previous season. Beddoes retired just a few games into the season siting a shoulder injury he did not fully recover from to his satisfaction. The Aces promoted a "Guaranteed Win Night" where if they lost the game, the fans in attendance would receive free Aces tickets. After a 10-18-4 start, Poddubny came back for round three with the Aces after owner Mike Cusack fired Goring. Shortly thereafter, general manager Stirling Wright stepped down. Wright's announcement came the day after Cusack fired Goring and VP of business operations Lou Corletto, two men Wright hired. Wright said Cusack didn't tell him of either event until after the fact. In April of 2002, the Cusack owned hotel, Northern Lights Hotel in Anchorage was shut down due to not meeting fire code. The hotel housed 11 players and three members of the team's support staff and had to find temporary housing for the remainder of the season. The Aces finished the regular season 19-44-9 finishing last in the WCHL. After dominating the Idaho Steelheads in game 1, the Steelheads swept Anchorage the rest of the series, 3-1.
[edit] Bankruptcy
In May of 2002, the Aces filed for bankruptcy; according to the filing papers, the team was almost $2 million in debt. In June of 2002, the Aces were put up for sale on eBay. The club's owner, Cusack, accepted a $1.862 million bid from Duncan Harrison, owner of Alaskan Automotive Distributing in Anchorage, but U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge Donald MacDonald converted the Aces' bankruptcy case to Chapter 7, which allowed him to reject the Harrison bid. The club was eventually sold for $1.05 million to a seven-member group led by Terry Parks, a local investor, and Dan Coffee, a local businessman.
[edit] In the ECHL
Midway through the 2002-03 season, the WCHL began to negotiate a merger with the East Coast Hockey League, and the Aces joined with five other WCHL teams in switching leagues for the 2003-04 season. The Aces finished the 2002-03 season with a 21-46-5 record, missing the playoffs. They were renamed the Alaska Aces after the league switch, and unveiled a new logo and new uniforms.
The Aces finished their first regular season in the ECHL with a 33-26-4 record. After losing their last three opening playoff series in the WCHL, the Aces swept the San Diego Gulls in three games advancing to the Pacific Division finals. In the division finals the Idaho Steelheads beat the Aces three games to one in a series marred by controversy over the officiating and by unruly behavior by Alaska fans.
