The team will reportedly be moving to Portland, Maine, under a new name that has not yet been determined. Richman said in an email that Spectra also provides venue management to the Alaska Airlines Arena at University of Anchorage. Skip to content. Weather Headlines. Athlete Of The Week. Telling Alaska's Story. Stream Us On VUit. Connect With Us. Sign Up for Newsletter. Submit Photos and Videos. About Us. The ownership group of the team issued a press release on February 23, stating that the team would cease operations at the end of the season.
The league granted the team's request for a voluntary suspension of operations. The organization has lost more money this season than in the past two seasons combined. With thousands of job losses in Alaska and more likely to come, Parks says, the team expects this downward trend to continue. It was then announced that the team would be relocating to the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, Maine for the season.
Comcast Spectacor also runs the operations of the arena for the city of Portland. The Aces played four unofficial games during in the —90 season. During the — season, Keith Street led the team on a game schedule, which included 20 games against teams registered with USA Hockey. In the —93 season, new head coach Mike Ashley led the Aces to a regular season record. However, in the USA Hockey Senior Men's Open Tournament, the Aces finished second for the second year in a row after compiling a record in the tourney, losing the tiebreaker to the Chicago Chargers.
Ashley resigned following the season. For the —94 season, Steve Gasparini took over as head coach, and led the Aces to a regular season record. In —95, the team went and lost in the championship game to the Gold Kings. After an unsuccessful attempt to form a new Pacific Rim Hockey League, the Aces joined the new West Coast Hockey League for the —96 season, and played in that league until In the —97 season, the Aces initially lost in the league playoffs to the Fresno Falcons three games to one.
However, the WCHL commissioner determined that their loss in game four would be changed to a victory due to forfeit by the Fresno Falcons when they failed to meet the minimum roster requirement, because of injuries and suspensions.
The Aces won the deciding fifth game and advanced to the Taylor Cup finals. The Aces finished in third place with a record and advanced to the semifinals, only to be ousted by the Tacoma Sabercats in three games. The Idaho Steelheads defeated the Aces in the first round of the playoffs. He then hired former NHL coach and player Butch Goring as their new head coach, and re-signed only four players from the previous season. Clayton Beddoes retired just a few games into the season due to a previous shoulder injury.
The Aces promoted a "Guaranteed Win Night" where if they lost the game, the fans in attendance would receive free Aces tickets. Shortly thereafter, general manager Stirling Wright stepped down due to his disapproval of the owner's decisions. The Aces went on to win only a few more games and the mass exodus of players soon followed after Wright left the team. The team itself was making a profit but the owner's other financial ventures continued to drain the team of its revenue.
Much of the staff and players did not get paid on a regular basis. In June , the Aces were put up for sale on eBay. Bankruptcy Court judge Donald MacDonald converted the Aces' bankruptcy case to Chapter 7, which allowed him to reject the Harrison bid. Cusack's former hotel, known as the Northern Lights Hotel, was placed in receivership and currently sits empty. As the only professional sports team in Alaska, youth players grow up idolizing the Aces.
These days there is a new class of Alaskan players who are making their mark in the NHL, including Thompson, a center with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who can still recall his first Aces game. After spending parts of the past two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Crabb signed a contract with the Washington Capitals before the lockout.
Rangers before being traded to Columbus during the offseason. This reunion also allowed Dubinsky to reconnect with childhood friends, including Dustin Molle, one of seven Aces on the roster this year from Anchorage.
The two were best friends growing up on the ice together, but their careers sent them down separate paths, until now.
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