ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The early advantage goes to the Alaska Aces.
Alaska, a No. 1 seed, comfortably beat the Grizzlies 4-1 Monday evening in the opening game of the ECHL's West Division semifinals, taking a 1-0 advantage in the best-of-seven encounter.
After leading the way through the opening 20 minutes, the Aces took control with a pair of goals in the second period.
Chris Minard scored for Alaska on a breakaway at the 5:06 mark, and Barrett Heisten doubled the Aces' lead near the end of the second period on a power play. Heisten's tally came on an assist from Kimbi Daniels.
Fourth-seeded Utah went 0-4-1 in Anchorage during the regular season, and they struggled to get anything going offensively Monday. Also, it didn't help that they spent long stretches of the game trying to stave off numerous Alaska power-play chances.
The Grizzlies were outshot 20-8 in the opening two periods.
Kimbi Daniels added another Alaska goal midway through the third period, which featured a bevy of penalties. Utah's lone goal came from Ryan Kinasewich late in the game.
Things looked ominous for the Grizzlies in the first as they were outshot 8-3 and gave up three early power-play opportunities. However, thanks to solid goalkeeping from Utah's Alfie Michaud, the scoreline remained 0-0.
The Grizzlies' first-ever appearance in the Kelly Cup playoffs will continue tonight with Game 2 of the best-of-seven series. The contest will begin at 9:15 p.m.