STOCKTON, Calif. - Frank Doyle stopped 42 shots over 65 minutes, then turned aside all four Stockton attempts in the shootout as the Alaska Aces claimed their sixth win in seven games, 2-1 over the Thunder before 5,160 Friday at Stockton Arena (photo courtesy George Steckler/Thunder). 

Doyle extended his personal winning streak to six games and remains unbeaten in seven Alaska starts (6-0-1) to go along with a 1.81 goals against average and a .944 save percentage, including a 37-save shutout of Las Vegas last Saturday.  The game also marked the debut of Judd Blackwater, acquired from Stockton Thursday in exchange for the ECHL rights to Colin Hemingway.  Blackwater, who had scored for the National Conference in the ECHL All-Star Game Wednesday, assisted on a power play goal by T.J. Fast at 6:05 of the first period that gave the Aces an early lead Friday.

The game remained 1-0 until six minutes remained in the second period, when another ECHL All-Star, center Chris D'Alvise, scored on a Thunder power play to deadlock the contest and snap Doyle's string of scoreless netminding at 133:38.  Though Stockton out-shot Alaska 15-9 in the third period and 7-2 in overtime, the game went into a shootout, where Alaska improved to 4-1 and the Thunder remained winless in three tries.  Alexandre Imbeault scored in the third round to stay perfect in the skills competition (5-5) this year, while Blackwater sealed the victory one round later by beating Andrew Perugini five-hole.

Heading into tomorrow's rematch at 6:30 p.m. AT, all six meetings between the two clubs have been claimed by the visiting team, with the Aces owning three wins at Stockton, two in shootouts and one in OT.  Friday's game marked the first time this year the two teams did not score at least seven goals between them.  Alaska pushed its record over .500 at 19-18-3 overall, including 8-2-1 over its last 11 games, while earning its first road win since December 4.  Tomorrow's game airs live on KFQD 750 AM, beginning with the Peanut Farm Pre-Game Show at 6:15 p.m. AT.