Scottie Gomez fractures pelvis.

[JD]

I haven't actually seen the hit, so I'm not going to make a judgement on whether it was a cheap shot or not.

But from what I've read, he was hit into the open door of the bench. I can't imagine that happening without some sort of bad intentions from an opposing player. Sounds pretty brutal.

And I don't imagine a broken pelvis is something a hockey player comes back from very easily.

[MuchoBulls]

BTH, as bad of an injury that this is, I feel no sympathy for any NHL player who went to the minors, or overseas and took jobs away from other players.

[Captain Haddock]

That's a hard one to return from. It's a nagger, like the knees.

Too bad. I bet Lou is drinking heavily.

[Shoalzie]

BTH, as bad of an injury that this is, I feel no sympathy for any NHL player who went to the minors, or overseas and took jobs away from other players.

RACK!

I'm not angry at individual players...the whole group gets lumped together because they are all part of the NHLPA. I generally like Gomez and I'm sorry he's hurt but if his career is in jeopardy because of this, it was his choice to play while the league was locked out. Forsberg is in the same boat. The guy gets hit and now he's pretty much going to have to hang it up before the league resumes play...he chose to play and that's the risk of playing. Part of me is happy to atleast see guys playing but the other part of me doesn't like seeing them steal jobs from other guys like MuchoB said.

I'm with JD, I'd like to see the hit before I call it cheap or not.

[Smoked Meat]

[AcidQueen]

BTH, as bad of an injury that this is, I feel no sympathy for any NHL player who went to the minors, or overseas and took jobs away from other players.

Understandable BUT:

Gomez told the Aces that he'd play for them only if he wasn't taking a roster spot from somebody else--which honestly is more than can be said of a lot of the players that went overseas and down to lower leagues like the UHL.

[MuchoBulls]

Understandable BUT:

Gomez told the Aces that he'd play for them only if he wasn't taking a roster spot from somebody else--which honestly is more than can be said of a lot of the players that went overseas and down to lower leagues like the UHL.

So they would have played the season with one less player had there been no lockout?

Gomez is a good guy and all, but I find it hard to believe he didn't takes someone elses roster spot.

[Cross Traffic]

The Aces wouldn't be in first place in the West Division without Gomez, its a hard sell to get players to play for Alaska, a team that has not had much success in the WCHL/ECHL before this season.

[scritti]

BTH, as bad of an injury that this is, I feel no sympathy for any NHL player who went to the minors, or overseas and took jobs away from other players.

Understandable BUT:

Gomez told the Aces that he'd play for them only if he wasn't taking a roster spot from somebody else--which honestly is more than can be said of a lot of the players that went overseas and down to lower leagues like the UHL.

good on him for that. keep in mind,the ECHL is covered by the PHA deal,which doesn't allow for many NHLers to play in the ECHL. which explains why they went to the UHL-which makes the E look great.

[Cross Traffic]

PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL announced on Monday that it has suspended Bakersfield right wing Ashlee Langdone, pending further review, as a result of his actions in ECHL Playoff Game #14 against Alaska on April 16.

At 9:49 of the second period, Langdone was assessed a major penalty under Rule 44(b) - Boarding.

Langdone is suspended under rule 33A Supplemental Discipline.

Langdone will miss Bakersfield's game at Alaska (Apr. 18 ).

.

[MuchoBulls]

Thanks for the info BTH. I still am totally against all the NHL players who went to play elsewhere. If they were a tight union, then they would have banded together more to get a deal done.

[AcidQueen]

Understandable BUT:

Gomez told the Aces that he'd play for them only if he wasn't taking a roster spot from somebody else--which honestly is more than can be said of a lot of the players that went overseas and down to lower leagues like the UHL.

So they would have played the season with one less player had there been no lockout?

Gomez is a good guy and all, but I find it hard to believe he didn't takes someone elses roster spot.

The Aces added a roster spot specifically so that nobody could say he was taking somebody else's job.

Gomez home for the lockout
By Kevin Woodley, Special for USA TODAY
VICTORIA, British Columbia — The NHL plucked Scott Gomez out of Alaska and plunked him on the other side of the continent. His heart didn't travel nearly as far.

Born and raised in Anchorage, Gomez returned after each of his five seasons with the New Jersey Devils, first with the Stanley Cup and Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 2000, then again with the Cup in 2003.

While players used the 2002 Olympic break to jet to warm, exotic locations, he hopped the first flight to Anchorage.

And now that the NHL has locked him out, Gomez is back home for his first full Alaskan winter since graduating from high school hockey eight years ago. The 25-year-old playmaking center is suiting up for the hometown Alaska Aces in the ECHL, making $500 a week instead of the $500,000-plus he was offered overseas.

"I had tremendous offers in Europe, but my dad always used to say that Alaskans take care of their own and I thought it would be a great way to give back to the community and help my hometown team win," said Gomez, who flew to Russia to check out his options.

After getting union approval and ensuring he wasn't stealing a job with the Aces — the team agreed to carry an extra player on the roster — he decided the best option was at home.

"The European guys get to play in their hometown, and Alaska has always been very good to my family, so going home just made too much sense for me," he said.

Even if it means making far fewer dollars.

Maybe Gomez, who was to make $2.9 million this season after nearly tripling his salary in arbitration, could ask his old Devils teammates to make up some of the difference. They might all be willing to chip in if it means not having to hear to any more Alaska stories.

"They probably hear about Alaska 10 times a day, so when I told them, a lot of the guys chuckled and said, 'Good, you'll shut up for at least a year about home,'." Gomez said during a recent road trip to Victoria. "They're tired of me bragging about it."

Gomez grew equally tired of the older Devils ribbing him about never being in the minors, a taunt he's glad will end after his stint in the ECHL.

"Guys in Jersey like Marty (Brodeur) and (Scott) Niedermayer can't call me silver spoon anymore," he said.

Gomez is getting a good taste of plastic forks in the ECHL, a point driven home as he and a dozen other Aces pile out of a white rental van for the game-day skate in Victoria wearing team track suits. It's a far cry from the plush charter buses and tailored suits players arrive in at NHL rinks, but in the ECHL buses are reserved for long trips between road cities.

He insists he isn't pining for a flashier NHL lifestyle. He misses the larger paychecks and his Devils teammates and driving to the rink in New Jersey knowing he's about to play in the NHL, but doesn't regret swapping first-class charters for a seat in coach or Ritz-Carlton room service for Holiday Inn vending machines.

Maybe that's because the silver-spoon label never fit in the first place, not on a guy who returns to Alaska every summer to fish with boyhood friends and work in his dad's taco stand at the state fair. Certainly not on a guy who moved into the 1,200-square-foot home he grew up in after buying his parents a place five times as big in a nicer part of town. All of which made it easier for an ECHL locker room to embrace an NHL star.

"There was no ego, no 'I'm Scott Gomez.' If you know him, you know he's 100% not like that," said Mike Lee, a teammate of Gomez since they were 8 and one of four Aces who played with him in high school. "He's the most humble guy you'd ever meet, and he's actually lifted our room because he's a happy soul and there's always a smile on his face. It wasn't a hard transition for him or for us to welcome him."

It hasn't been hard for Anchorage to welcome Gomez either. Close to 6,500 fans crammed into a sold-out Sullivan Arena for the Aces' home opener, stopping their screaming ovations for Gomez only long enough to thank his family in the stands.

"Alaskans feel like they know him, like he's one of theirs and they're the same," said Aces coach/general manager Davis Payne. "They feel he's part of them because he's come from Alaska, he's grown up and matured there and he's gone out and become an elite athlete on the world stage. That's something they can hang their hat on and it's important to them."

Gomez has always felt Alaska's affections, even from as far away as New Jersey. Just as he became a Blue Devils fan when Anchorage's Trajan Langdon was playing basketball at Duke, he knew Alaskans were rooting for him. It's one of the reasons he came home.

Gomez knew playing in a state that celebrates Scott Gomez Day every July 15 might not be easy. He heard whispers of expectation when he was averaging less than a point a game through the first 20 games, struggling to bit to a more scrambled style of play and a one-referee system that allows more clutching and grabbing than the NHL.

Still, short of a return to the NHL, he wouldn't trade his ECHL experience for the world — or a higher paying job on the other side of it.

"I'm playing in front of family and friends, I'm eating pregame meals at my mom's house and I'm playing in front of people that I grew up with," said Gomez, who since took the Aces' scoring lead (38 points in 27 games) with 16 points in his last five games. "Alaska is a proud place, and I'm proud to be a part of it."

Link: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/n ... home_x.htm

[Captain Haddock]

You know, go do a search on Gomez articles when he joined the Aces. He's a classy guy...who didn't bite at the lucrative Euro. He went home. Created a buzz for the team that has definitely paid off.

The players wanted him there. The guys slugging it out the Aces felt privileged.

[Cross Traffic]

Figures the Ice Dogs would live up to their name and get swept. Props to the Aces for stepping it up without their star player.