ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Alaska Aces defeated the San Francisco Bulls in the first game of their three-game weekend set, 4-1, Friday night at Sullivan Arena. Thomas Heemskerk made 40 saves, but it wasn’t enough, as the Aces scored four times in the third period.

It was a defensive battle early in the game. A scoreless first period saw the Aces out-shoot the Bulls 14-6.

In the second period, the Bulls took a 1-0 lead. Matt Carter found Kevin Baker, who scored with a wrist shot past Mark Guggenberger’s blocker. Trevor Hendrikx also earned an assist on the goal at 6:11. The Aces led in shots 26-15 through 40 minutes of play.

The Aces poured it on in the third period. NHL veteran Brandon Dubinsky scored a power-play goal 56 seconds into the period to tie the game at one. Fresh off of his trade from Orlando, Alexandre Imbeault made it a 2-1 Aces lead at 6:51. Joey Crabb scored with 2:27 remaining on the power play to give Alaska a 3-1 advantage. Nick Mazzolini put the game out of reach with an empty-net goal.

The Bulls go back to work tomorrow against the Aces at Sullivan Arena. The puck drops at 8:15 PT. You can catch the action on KNBR.com or on America One Sports. The Bulls return home on Friday, November 9, when they meet the Stockton Thunder.

Bulletins: Justin Bowers had his five-game point streak snapped…It was the Bulls’ first loss by more than a goal…The Bulls had their four-game point streak snapped…The Aces sported three players with at least 140 games of NHL experience: Brandon Dubinsky, Nate Thompson and Joey Crabb.

Tickets
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About the ECHL
The ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states.  Today, the league has 23 teams in 16 states. The ECHL celebrates its 25th Anniversary in 2012-13 and is the third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League. The ECHL has had 234 players reach the NHL over the last seven seasons. It’s the primary developmental league for the NHL and the AHL. On opening day of the 2011-12 season, 83 former ECHL players were on NHL rosters. The ECHL teams are divided into the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. All teams play a 72-game schedule. For more information please visit http://www.echl.com/