Alaska Aces coach Rob Murray inserted defensemen Patrick Wellar, William Wrenn and Gleason Fournier into his lineup Tuesday night and, presto, the blue line proved more stable and formidable than one night earlier.
No surprise there. Wellar, heading into his 12th pro season, is a three-time ECHL Kelly Cup champion, a one-time American Hockey League Calder Cup champion and veteran of 675 regular-season pro games. Wrenn has played more games in the AHL (93) than ECHL (56). And Fournier owns 68 games of AHL experience.
Wellar and Wrenn each furnished two assists, and Fournier delivered a helper and a game-high five shots on goal at Sullivan Arena in the Aces' 3-1 exhibition win over the Missouri Mavericks.
And the Aces' defense as a whole looked more poised than it did in Monday night's 5-2 exhibition loss to the Mavericks.
"You know what they did? They settled the game down for us,'' Murray said.
Meanwhile, Troy Redmann, the club's No. 1 goaltender down the stretch last season, looked sharp in making 25 saves. Granted, the game was just a one-off, but Redmann generally controlled his rebounds better than last season and played a more refined, unflappable style.
The Aces and Mavericks on Friday night drop the puck on the regular season with the opener of a three-game series at Sullivan.
Aces rookie forward Tomasso Traversa, whose speed and tenacity appear his greatest assets, scored a game-tying goal in the second period off relays from Wrenn and Wellar – Wrenn's slap-pass left Traversa with a virtual tap-in. Returning defenseman Landon Oslanski furnished the game-winning goal early in the third period on a one-timer off Fournier's feed, which followed Steve Mele's face-off win.
Rookie winger Hayden Trupp of Anchorage generated an empty-net goal in the last minute off helpers from Wrenn and Wellar.
The only downer for the Aces on Tuesday was the loss of rookie defenseman Mitch Jones, who suffered an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return. Murray said he does not yet know the extent of Jones' injury.
But the Aces have depth on the back end. Murray has nine defensemen in training camp, a bounty of blueliners compared to last season, when the Aces entered the campaign short on quality defensemen and suffered for lack of strength at that position much of the season.
All ECHL teams must submit their season-opening rosters to the league by 11 a.m. ADT Wednesday. Murray likely will have three cuts to make, one of which will be goalie Jeff Barney of Anchorage, who helped out the team during training camp. Safe bet that Murray's two other cuts will be forwards.
Each ECHL team can have 21 players on the active roster for the first 30 days of the season. Additionally, they can have two players on the reserve list and an unlimited number on the 21-day injured reserve.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockeyblog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr
Missouri 1 0 0 1
Aces 0 1 2 3
First Period – 1, Missouri, T. Ludwig (Sylvestre, Carzo). 11:19. Penalties – Breton, Aces (tripping), 9:19.
Second Period – 2, Aces, Traversa (Wrenn, Wellar), 3:03. Penalties – C.J. Ludwig, Missouri (helmet violation), 9:21; Oslanski, Aces (cross-checking), 15:12; Holmstrom, Missouri (roughing), 15:12.
Third Period – 3, Aces, Oslanski (Fournier, Mele), 2:38; 4, Aces, Trupp (Wrenn, Wellar), 19:03 (en). Penalties -- None.
Shots on goal – Missouri 12-5-9—26. Aces 9-11-8—28.
Power-play Opportunities – Missouri 0 of 1. Aces 0 of 1.
Goalies – Missouri, Robinson (18 shots-17 saves); Kozun, enter 11:14 2nd period (10-9). Aces, Redmann (26-25).
A – 1,476.
Referee – Andrew Wilk. Linesmen – Scott Sivulich, Travis Jackson.