Wasilla may host Aces games

WASILLA — A chance to catch the Aces may be in the cards for local hockey fans.

If the Alaska Aces advance to the East Coast Hockey League postseason, the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla will become the Aces’ home away from home.

Thanks to a scheduling conflict with the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, the Aces — Alaska’s lone professional hockey franchise — had to look elsewhere for a rink to host a pair of potential first-round games, slated for Monday, April 5 and Tuesday, April 6.

“This is not an ideal scenario. Throughout the last seven years, our first priority always has been to bring playoff hockey to Alaska. Unfortunately, this year our home facility has left our team and our fans with no other choice but to play in Wasilla,” Aces managing member Terry Parks says in a press release issued by the organization earlier this month. “We have dodged bullets for years. We have asked time and again for scheduling changes. Unfortunately, this season, the lack of dates and the resulting conflicts at Sullivan Arena has finally caught up with us. We just hope our fans understand and help our team reach its goal of playing meaningful hockey in April and May.”

But while the Aces may see this scheduling conflict as a headache, it may be a gift for local pucks fans.

“It’s a great thing,” city of Wasilla recreation and cultural services manager James Hastings said. “A lucky accident.”

It’s no guarantee the Aces will take the Menard ice in early April. The team still has to take care of business and finish among the top three teams in the ECHL West. The Aces have five games left, a three-game road set against the Ontario Reign and a two-game regular season home finale against the Idaho Steelheads at the end of the month.

As of Monday, Alaska stood in a second-place tie with the Victoria Salmon Kings. The Aces and the Kings have 70 points in the standings, while fourth-place Utah has 68. Only one of the West’s four teams will be denied a playoff berth.

The ECHL is divided into five divisions and two conferences. The National Conference is home to the Pacific and West Divisions. Seven of the eight teams from those divisions advance to the postseason.

If history is any indication, the Aces should be among those seven teams in the ECHL tournament. Alaska has advanced to at least the second round of the playoffs in six straight years. The Aces won the Kelly Cup, the prize handed to the ECHL champion, in 2006 and finished as the runners-up last year.

According to the ECHL, the league has set a window from April 5-12 for the first round. The Sullivan is hosting the Great Alaska Sportsman’s Show from April 8-11 and organizers of the event reserved the days in front of the event to set up for the show.

Regardless of whether the Aces are the higher or lower-seeded team in the first round, Alaska will host the first two games of the series at the Menard. According to the press release issued by the Aces, if Alaska advances to the second round for the seventh straight year, another conflict may force the Aces to the Menard for another game later in April.

Hastings said Menard Memorial Sports Center and city of Wasilla officials are working to prepare the arena for the potential influx of hockey fans. The Menard Arena typically seats around 2,200 fans, but that capacity will balloon to 3,000 with some changes.

“We’ve never accommodated 3,000 in this facility. But with new seating plans to maximize this facility, we’ll make the best of it,” Hastings said.

Hastings said plans include adding tiered seating on the floor level with the ice. The city will also place more tiered seating in other areas of the arena that can safely accommodate more fans. There will also be a bulk of standing-room-only tickets, Hastings said.

Hastings said half of that capacity will be set aside for Aces season ticket holders. The other 1,500 tickets will be available for purchase on the Aces’ website, www.alaskaaces.com, as soon as the playoff schedule is officially set by the ECHL. There will be no tickets sold at the Menard on game nights, Hastings said. There will only be a will-call window for fans to pick up their pre-ordered tickets.

“If you show up on the 5th or 6th, I don’t think any amount of money will get you a ticket,” Hastings said.

Hastings said he’s thrilled for chance to host a pair of professional hockey games.

“Not everyone from the Valley can take off to Anchorage to see this,” Hastings said.

An appearance by the Aces would be just another thing to add to a busy 2010 for the Menard. The facility hosted the state high school hockey tournament in February and a variety of state youth hockey tournaments this spring. The Alaska Avalanche Junior A hockey program calls the arena home, and the Wasilla-based Arctic Predators professional indoor football franchise will make its home debut at the Menard on Sunday.

“There are so many different levels of play,” Hastings said. “Everywhere from the kids, where half their body is made up by helmets and skates, all the way up to the highest level in the state. We take pride in that.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.