The Alaska Aces, known as the Anchorage Aces until 2003, was a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

. Home games were played at

Sullivan Arena The George M. Sullivan Arena (commonly shortened to the "Sullivan Arena" and often referred to colloquially as "The Sully") is a 6,290 seat arena in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. The arena is named after former Anchorage mayor George M. Sul ...

in Anchorage. The Aces won three

Kelly Cup The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. Th ...

championships, with their last championship following the 2013–14 ECHL season. The Aces were formed as a semi-professional team in the

Pacific Southwest Hockey League The Pacific Southwest Hockey League was a semi-professional ice hockey league that operated in California, Nevada and Alaska starting in 1972 and ran through 1995, when its members were incorporated into the upstart professional West Coast Hockey Le ...

(PSHL) in 1989 and became a charter member of the professional

West Coast Hockey League The West Coast Hockey League was a professional minor ice hockey league active in the western United States from 1995 to 2003. The number of teams ranged from six to nine. The teams were located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nev ...

(WCHL) in 1995. When the WCHL was absorbed by the East Coast Hockey League in 2003, the team joined the merged

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

. The Aces official team mascot was a

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

named Boomer. Aces fans were known for using small, ceremonial cow bells painted with the Aces insignia to show their support during games. In 2017, the ownership group announced that the 2016–17 season would be the team's last, after which the franchise would cease operations. The owners cited the struggling Alaskan economy, and sagging ticket sales among the reasons for the club's financial downfall. In June 2017, the franchise was sold and relocated to

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

, to become the Maine Mariners for the 2018–19 season.

Franchise history

Early semi-professional days (1989–1995)

The team was established in 1989 as the Anchorage Aces. They were originally a semi-professional club in the

organized by Dennis Sorenson, as a senior men's ice hockey team to compete against the established

Alaska Gold Kings The Colorado Gold Kings, previously known as the Alaska Gold Kings, were an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Fairbanks, Alaska, and later Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Gold Kings were members of the West Coast Hocke ...

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

. The Aces played four unofficial games during the 1989–90 season. During the 1990–91 season, Keith Street led the team on a 22–game schedule, which included 20 games against teams registered with

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the Sport governing body, governing body for organized ice ...

. The 1990–91 season ended with the Aces winning the Senior Men's Open National Championship held in Fairbanks. In 1993 and 1994, they won the National Amateur Championship. They finished second in 1992 and 1995. The Aces joined the

Pacific Northwest Hockey League The Pacific Northwest Hockey League was an amateur mixed-level ice hockey league in British Columbia in the 1970s and 1980s. The teams that played in the league were of both the Junior and Intermediate level due to the distances between towns in t ...

(PNHL) for the 1991–92 season, playing six of their home games at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage and eight at the

Central Peninsula Sports Center The Soldotna Regional Sports Complex (also referred to as the Soldotna Sports Center) is a 2,000-seat multipurpose arena located in Soldotna, Alaska. The arena opened in 1983. In the winter months, the facility is home to several central Kenai P ...

Soldotna Soldotna is a city in the Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,342, up from 4,163 in 2010. It is the seat of the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Soldotna is located in the Southcentral portion ...

. 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. 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, the Aces played as an independent team. Steve Gasparini took over as head coach, and led the Aces to a 22–9–1 regular season record. The Aces also won their second 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 The Fresno Falcons were a minor league hockey team. They were charter members of several long standing leagues in the western United States including the Pacific Southwest Hockey League and the West Coast Hockey League. In their final years, the ...

. In 1994–95, the Aces joined the

Pacific Hockey League : ''For the 1990s semi-professional ice hockey league, see Pacific Hockey League (1994).'' The Pacific Hockey League was a low-level minor professional hockey league that existed for two seasons in 1977–78, and 1978–79. Its member teams from C ...

(PHL), formed by a merger of the PSHL and PNHL. The team went 27–9 and lost in the championship game to the Gold Kings.

West Coast Hockey League (1995–2003)

The PHL folded after only one season. After an unsuccessful attempt to form a new Pacific Rim Hockey League, the Aces joined the new

(WCHL) for the 1995–96 season. Mike Cusack, Jr. became sole owner of the franchise following the 1995–96 season. In the 1996–97 season, the Aces initially lost in the league playoffs to the Fresno Falcons in four games. The WCHL commissioner determined that their 2–4 loss in game four would be changed to a 1–0 victory due to forfeit by the Fresno Falcons, when they failed to meet the minimum roster requirement due to injuries and suspensions. The Aces won the deciding fifth game 5–3 and advanced to the Taylor Cup finals, but were defeated by the

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play th ...

Stirling Wright

In the 2000–01 season, Stirling Wright was brought in to serve as assistant coach. He was instrumental in bringing in former NHL players when the Aces signed former NHL goalie

Vincent Riendeau Vincent Joseph Riendeau (born April 20, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his time in the National Hockey League, which lasted from 1987 to 1995, Riendeau played for the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Det ...

and right wing

Kevin Brown Kevin Brown may refer to: Entertainment * Kevin Brown (blues musician) (born 1950), English blues guitarist * Kevin Brown (author) (born 1960), American journalist and translator * Kevin Brown (poet) (born 1970), American poet and teacher * Kevin ...

. The

Idaho Steelheads The Idaho Steelheads are an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Boise, Idaho, and a member of the ECHL. The Steelheads play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference since the 2016–17 season. In 1996, th ...

defeated the Aces 3–0 in the first round of the playoffs. Overall, the Aces finished in third place with a 34–30–4 record and advanced to the semifinals, only to be ousted by the

Tacoma Sabercats The Tacoma Sabercats were an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Tacoma, Washington. The team began play in the West Coast Hockey League as of the 1997–98 season. Tacoma immediately emerged as a power in the WCHL, winnin ...

in three games. In 2001–02, Wright was promoted within the franchise and began serving as the new General Manager. He hired former NHL coach and player

Butch Goring Robert Thomas "Butch" Goring (born October 22, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders and Boston Bruins. He is a four- ...

as the team's new head coach. In effort to revamp the team, Wright only extended the contracts of four players from the previous season. The Aces additionally signed five former NHL players, including defenseman

Jim Paek Jim Paek ( ko, 백지선, Baek Chi-sun, born April 7, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, who is currently the director of hockey for the Korea Ice Hockey Association and head coach of the South Korean national team. Paek ...

, goaltender Scott Bailey, wingers Todd Harkins and Daniel Goneau, and center Clayton Beddoes. 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.

Mike Cusack

After a 10–18–4 season start, Aces' owner, Mike Cusack, fired Goring and Lou Corletto, who served the franchise as Vice President of Business Operations. He brought back former head coach,

Walt Poddubny Walter Michael Poddubny (February 14, 1960 – March 21, 2009) was a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), left winger and coach who played eleven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1981–82 NHL season, 1 ...

. Stirling Wright stepped down as general manager, 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. In May 2002, the team owner filed

personal bankruptcy Personal bankruptcy law allows, in certain jurisdictions, an individual to be declared bankrupt. Virtually every country with a modern legal system features some form of debt relief for individuals. Personal bankruptcy is distinguished from corporat ...

. Cusack included his ownership of the Anchorage Aces franchise in the filing. According to the filing papers, the team was almost $2 million in debt. In June 2002, Cusack put the team up for sale on

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

. 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 listing was withdrawn when it was discovered that a US$2.3 million bid was a college student's prank. The club was eventually sold for $1.05 million to a seven-member group. As of 2015 the Aces and

were the only former WCHL teams still playing in their original markets.

ECHL (2003–2017)

The Aces joined the

for the 2003–04 season following a merger between the WCHL and the East Coast Hockey League. They were renamed the Alaska Aces after the league switch, and unveiled a new logo and new uniforms. The team gained national prominence in 2004 when it signed

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

all-star and Alaska-born

Scott Gomez Scott Carlos Gomez (born December 23, 1979) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He was the assistant coach for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Gomez had previously played in the NHL with t ...

during that season's

NHL lockout The NHL lockout may refer to any of the four labour actions in the history of the National Hockey League: * The 1992 NHL strike, which postponed 30 games of the 1991–92 season * The 1994–95 NHL lockout, which cancelled many of the games of ...

. Gomez went on to lead the ECHL in scoring and win league Most Valuable Player honors. The Aces' 2006 triple overtime win against the Las Vegas Wranglers was at the time the third-longest game in ECHL history, concluding after 113 minutes, 30 seconds. In 2006, the Aces became only the second team in ECHL history (joining the

South Carolina Stingrays The South Carolina Stingrays are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Stingrays play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at the North Charleston Co ...

of Charleston, SC) in winning both the Brabham Cup and Kelly Cup championships in the same season. In 2008, the Cincinnati Cyclones became the third team to accomplish this feat. In 2011, the Aces accomplished the feat for the second time, becoming the first team to ever do it twice. In 2006, Alaska won the ECHL

title in five games over the

Gwinnett Gladiators The Atlanta Gladiators are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Duluth, Georgia. The Gladiators play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at Gas South Arena, approximately northeast o ...

. This was the first professional sports title won by an Alaskan team since the Anchorage Northern Knights won the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

championship in 1980. Mike Scott received the ECHL Kelly Cup MVP award after the Aces' 4–3 win over the Gladiators in game five of the series. In 2009, the Aces stormed through the first three rounds of the Kelly Cup Playoffs, winning in five games against both the

Utah Grizzlies The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars ...

and the

Victoria Salmon Kings The Victoria Salmon Kings were a professional ice hockey team based in Victoria, British Columbia, and members of the ECHL. The team debuted in the 2004–05 season and folded after the 2010–11 season. The Chilliwack Bruins of the major junio ...

in the first two rounds, and sweeping the Las Vegas Wranglers in the National Conference Finals. They were in the Kelly Cup Finals for the first time since their championship season in 2006, but they lost in seven games to the

. In 2010–11, the Aces dominated the entire season, winning the

Brabham Cup The Henry Brabham Cup is the trophy awarded annually by the ECHL to the team that finishes with the most points in the league during the regular season. The Brabham Cup has been awarded 33 times to 16 different franchises since its debut in 1989. ...

by earning the best record in the league, as well as leading the league in points scored. Wes Goldie lead the league in goals scored. In the Kelly Cup Playoffs, they swept the

and

, and then won the Kelly Cup Championship over the

Kalamazoo Wings The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A member of the ECHL's Western Conference, Central Division, they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Event Center. They are the affiliate ...

in five games. The Aces won a third Kelly Cup in 2014, defeating the Cincinnati Cyclones in the finals in six games. On August 22, 2013, the Aces announced their affiliation with the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

. In 2014–15 the Aces defended their Kelly Cup championship playing in the Pacific Division of the

's Western Conference, but failed to make the playoffs for the first time since the team's WCHL days. They would miss the playoffs again in 2016. The Aces were the northernmost and westernmost team in the ECHL, located from their closest geographical rival, the

. As a result, the team spent over $300,000 in travel-related costs during the 2014–15 season despite playing road games in only six different locations. In 2017, co-owner Jerry Mackie stated that the ownership was considering ceasing operation upon the completion of the 2016–17 season due to the mounting financial losses, the recent sagging Alaskan economy, the aforementioned high travel costs and dwindling attendance. On February 23, the ownership officially announced the 2016–17 season would be its last. On April 8, 2017, the Aces played their final game in a 3–2 loss to the Idaho Steelheads in front of a sold out Sullivan Arena. In June 2017, the Aces' ECHL membership was sold to

Comcast Spectacor Comcast Spectacor is a Philadelphia-based American sports and entertainment company. It owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, the Maine Mariners of the ECHL, the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League, the Phi ...

, who relocated the team to

, for the 2018–19 ECHL season.

Season-by-season record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, PCT = Winning percentage, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes''.
Records as of 2016.

Notable players

Head coaches

*Steve Gasparini, 1995–96 *

, 1996–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02 * Bob Wilkie, 2000 (12 games) *Derek Donald, 2000 (3 games) *Steve MacSwain, 2000 (1 game) *

, 2001 *Rod Davidson, 2002–03 *

Perry Florio Perry Florio (born ), is an American former professional ice hockey player who spent the majority of his career with the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL. Personal life Florio has had several arrests. Including a shoplifting charge on August 19, 2021 ...

, 2003 *

Davis Payne Davis Payne (born September 24, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, and is the former head coach of the St. Louis Blues. He was an assistant coach with the Los ...

, 2003–07 *

Keith McCambridge Keith McCambridge (born February 1, 1974) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and a former defenceman. He was previously the head coach of the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose/ St. John's IceCaps team from 2011 to 2016 and the Har ...

, 2007–09 * Brent Thompson, 2009–11 *

Rob Murray Robert Allan Murray (born April 4, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is the head coach of the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL. Murray played much of his career as captain of the American Hockey League's Springfield Falcon ...

, 2011–2017

Retired numbers

References

External links

Alaska Aces official website
! colspan="3" , League Championships , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Alaska Aces (Echl) 2017 disestablishments in Alaska Calgary Flames minor league affiliates Companies that have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Defunct ECHL teams Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2017 Ice hockey clubs established in 1989 Ice hockey teams in Alaska Minnesota Wild minor league affiliates Sports in Anchorage, Alaska Vancouver Canucks minor league affiliates West Coast Hockey League teams