Anchorage Aces/Gomez article

[Sockeye]

http://www.adn.com/sports/story/6119780p-6002357c.html

Gomer was originally supposed to go to Russia. He went there, then returned that same week to play for the Aces because thats where he wanted to be. Now it sounds like he's as good as gone again. Seems strange that he would put this much time into this season for the Aces only to head back to Russia again. He's got a chance to help the Aces make a strong ECHL playoff run, but oh well.

Aces' overtime goal satiates powerful hunger

3-2 VICTORY: Alaska rallies to hold Bakersfield at arm's length.

By MATT NEVALA

Anchorage Daily News

Published: February 4th, 2005

Last Modified: February 4th, 2005 at 06:56 AM

A sore throat and other flu-like symptoms made Thursday rough on Ryan Moren.

The Alaska Aces third-year defenseman said fatigue and an inability to keep food down sufficiently cut down on his minutes at Sullivan Arena. So maybe it's not so strange that Moren's mind shifted to sustenance while making the game-winning play in overtime of Alaska's come-from-behind ECHL victory.

Moren, who hardly played in the third period, drove the net and deked his way to a goal at 1 minute, 32 seconds of overtime, lifting the Aces to a 3-2 win over the Bakersfield Condors. He charged off the Aces' bench on the left wing, took Scott Gomez's cross-ice feed at the blue line, scampered down the slot and stuffed the puck past Bakersfield goaltender Yutaka Fukufiji for his sixth goal.

"At first, I thought I was going to have to shoot, but screw that," Moren said. "I was going to take it all the way into the kitchen."

What a tasty treat for the Aces and their fans.

Goaltender Lance Mayes made an Aces season-high 36 saves and won his fourth consecutive start. Alaska won its third straight game, its seventh in eight games and moved to 12-2-2 in 2005.

The Aces, losers in only four of their last 20 games and in third place in the West Division, improved to 26-14-4 and jumped to within three points of second-place Bakersfield (26-11-7). The Condors earned a point in the standings for the regulation tie, meaning Alaska can't secure a second-place tie in Saturday's series finale.

"We'll take our two points tonight for sure, but you obviously want to do it without giving away points to the other team," Moren said. "But on the other hand, it shows character when we can pull these kind of games out."

Alaska and Bakersfield skate at Sullivan for the final time in the regular season on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. The game is the first of a hockey doubleheader. St. Cloud State and UAA complete their two-game WCHA series Saturday night.

The Condors and Aces exchanged goals in both the second and third period. Alaska defenseman Mike Jones tied the game 2-2 with his fifth goal of the season 31 seconds after Bakersfield took a one-goal lead near the midway point of the third. Jones whacked a bouncing puck out of midair at the top of the crease to beat Fukufiji, the ECHL's January rookie of the month. Fukufiji, the ECHL's first Japanese goalie, is 9-1-2 in his last 12 starts.

The teams skated out the final 11-plus minutes before settling in for overtime, where Moren read Gomez like he would The Hockey News and saw the game-winning play develop.

"You always see it coming with Gomer, he always sees that play when he goes down the side and pulls back," Moren said. "I knew the pass was coming. I just didn't know if it would make it through or not."

Gomez earned his league-leading 46th assist on Moren's game winner. Could it be one of the final points the former NHL rookie of the year and two-time Stanley Cup champion with the New Jersey Devils makes in an Aces sweater? Probably not, but Gomez's father and agent Carlos hinted before the game that his son could soon have some other intriguing playing options to ponder as the NHL lockout dragged through its 141st day.

According to published reports, Thursday's meeting between the NHL and the players' association lasted into the late evening hours on the East Coast. But there is reason to believe an announcement canceling the NHL season could come as early as today.

"If the NHL season gets scrapped, there are hawks out there ready to pounce," Carlos Gomez said.

Carlos Gomez said he expects his son to receive more offers to play in Europe, specifically from Moscow Dynamo, a powerhouse in the Russian pro league. Gomez turned down an offer to play overseas in the fall when he joined the Aces. But now, if the NHL season is officially toast, Carlos Gomez said more and more NHL players are expected to want to play in Europe together as a group of the world's best.

"Nothing has changed between Scott and the Aces, but there are things to consider," Carlos Gomez said. "At this point and time, I would think the Aces ownership and the town wants what is best for Scott. Other agents and executives have been telling me Scott has done the right thing for his hometown, but it may be time to move on."

Carlos Gomez said Scott has an eye on skating for the United States in April's World Championships in Austria. He said no change of venue is imminent.

"It would be more about playing at a higher skill level," Carlos Gomez said. "But Scott is never going to regret anything about playing here."

When and if -- and Carlos Gomez said they are only considering other options based on the outcome of the NHL talks -- Scott Gomez leaves the Aces, his teammates for the last several months are prepared to adapt.

"If it happens, it happens," Moren said.

[rbdf]

I was actually just checking out some of the echl stat's the other day when I noticed gomer had like 44 assists in 30 games or something ridiculous like that. He's like 2nd or 3rd in the league in points and has played 6 or 8 games less than everyone else.

[LizDevil30]

That's because Gomer is in a league of his own.

[aylbert]

I would hope Gomer would be leading the leauge in assists in the ECHL providing his accomplishments in the NHL....

[Sockeye]

Gomer is leading the league in assists by a ways and also leads in overall scoring in points per game. I think he is 2 points off the overall scoring, but with about 5-6 fewer games played.

With that being said, I don't think Gomer is really playing with a 100% effort, which is somewhat understandable. I've watched him play about 5-6 times now and each time I've been surprised that he doesn't seem to be playing at full speed. He isn't skating hard much of the time. He is still producing well, is magical with the puck, and has turned Minard into the leading goal scorer in the league. I'm still surprised that Gomer hasn't put more pucks in the net himself, with 7 through 38 games. One thing I've really noticed is how much the other teams concentrate on him. They spend much of their time trying to get him off his game its incredible.

However, I do think if he stays in Anchorage and finishes the season, I expect he can still pick up his game a whole lot more in the playoffs. As well as he has done (and as should be expected), I think he has a couple more gears he hasn't been using and he could help Alaska do really well in the playoffs.

As a side note, as much as I've disliked Billy Tibbetts in the past, I've now seen him on the same sheet of ice as Gomer 3 times this year and I must say he is an impressive hockey player. He stands out like nobody else with his passion, desire, and not to mention his skills. Unfortunately for him he just can't stay out of trouble. He's now playing for his 4th ECHL team this year (don't know all the reasons for this), but he just can't control his emotions most of the time. If he could I believe he would be a star player in the NHL.

[Sockeye]

By the way, Tibbetts leads the ECHL with 221 PIM in just 23 games. This despite playing about 20 less games than most others.

[bostondevil11]

Aren't Pandolfo and Gomer really good friends? A friend of mine was talking with Jay a few weeks ago and he said once the season is cancelled he was going over to Russia. I wonder if those two are going to go together? Well now the just need to actually cancel the season.

[sandman441]

Aren't Pandolfo and Gomer really good friends?  A friend of mine was talking with Jay a few weeks ago and he said once the season is cancelled he was going over to Russia.  I wonder if those two are going to go together?  Well now the just need to actually cancel the season.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They are really good friends. I doubt he would leave before the season ends I think if he did I think he would piss off alot of the fans here. If I find anything out I will post it.

[Devils731]

Sometimes I wonder if Gomer and Jay aren't a little too "friendly" if you know what I mean.

[sandman441]

here is the real story. People kept asking scott if he was leaving the aces they kept asking and scott got mad. It looks like carlos's comments were taken out of context to sell papers.

here is the article from today. I didn't know they put that out

http://www.adn.com/sports/story/6123483p-6005820c.html

Aces: Gomez staying close to home

NO TRAVEL PLANS: Unless NHL fires up, he's staying with the Aces.

By MATT NEVALA

Anchorage Daily News

Published: February 5th, 2005

Last Modified: February 5th, 2005 at 04:45 AM

Scott Gomez isn't leaving the Alaska Aces. He isn't going anywhere.

Unless of course, the NHL lockout miraculously comes to an end and he returns to work with the New Jersey Devils. But that's about as likely as Gomez missing an open man with a tape-to-tape pass.

One day after saying he expected his son to receive more offers to play in Europe if the NHL season is canceled, Carlos Gomez -- Scott's father and agent -- clarified his position Friday.

Carlos said outsiders like other player agents and hockey executives are telling him to expect the offers and to accept them.

But Gomez isn't interested.

"I want to make it perfectly clear, everybody should just relax," Carlos Gomez said. "Scott is here for the duration regardless of what outside forces say to us.

"He's not going anywhere under any circumstances, and we all need to concentrate on supporting the Aces and winning a championship."

Scott Gomez, 25, leads the ECHL with 46 assists in 38 games with the Aces and is tied for second in the league scoring race with 53 points. The former NHL rookie of the year and two-time Stanley Cup champion signed with Alaska in October, becoming the first NHL player to sign with an ECHL team during the lockout.

The Aces, winners of three straight and seven of eight games, conclude a critical three-game series with the Bakersfield Condors today at Sullivan Arena. The puck drops at 2:05 p.m.. The third-place Aces, who won 6-2 on Wednesday and 3-2 in overtime Thursday, trail the second-place Condors by three points.

Friday's talks between the NHL and the players' association in New York broke off after four hours. There was no resolution or announcement that the season was being canceled. But no new talks are scheduled.

"Anyone directly involved with the NHL is under a great amount of stress because you're analyzing everything that is going on," Carlos Gomez said. "Scott's under pressure.''

And Carlos said talk of a potential exit from the Aces didn't sit well with Scott.

"This stuff came from his old man, he had nothing to do with it," Carlos Gomez said. "Outside forces have been putting pressure on me to get Scott out of here, but that is not going to happen."

Daily News reporter Matt Nevala can be reached at mnevala@adn.com or 257-4335.

Edited February 5, 2005 by sandman441