October 27,
2012
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| Mystery, Alaska promo poster |
The opening
scenes remain some of the most memorable for hockey lovers. It’s a tiny fairytale-ish
town deep in snow where everyone loves ice skating and skate everywhere around
the village. For hockey fans, “Mystery, Alaska” is in the Top 5 of most hockey
movie lists. It’s a great little film about a people’s love of the greatest
sport. Alaskans call their state Hockey Heaven. It’s easy to see why. With
winter the most abundant season, ice is easy to come by.
The open
frontier of our 50th State is made for winter sports. The Iditarod
Trail Dog Sled Race is the most popular sporting event in Alaska. Started in
1973 as a test to push both dog teams and mushers, but now attracts more than
50 teams. The multi-day race pushes the limits in endurance for human and dog
and if you get the chance to watch the highlights on television, I highly
recommend it.
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| Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race |
Also popular
is downhill skiing. Alyeska Resort is the largest ski area in the state. With
650 inches of snowfall annually, it offers nearly year-round skiing. There are
endless backcountry venues for adventurous skiers as well which are a mere helicopter
ride away. Not only is downhill skiing popular, but cross country skiing holds
court in Alaska. Sometimes, it’s a preferable way to get around. Literally
millions of acres are open to the back country skier.
In fact, being
out in the ice and snow is what Alaska is all about. It’s not a place for the
meek and mild. If you rely on others to do things for you, or prefer room
service to making a meal for yourself, then you probably won’t last long in the
Cold North. Hard work and efforts are rewarded with living through another
season and sometimes a little extra. Men have made fortunes and lost them in
Alaska.
With this
pioneering spirit, it’s no wonder hockey is huge here. The Alaska Aces (ECHL) are
the only professional hockey team in our largest state. They started as the Anchorage Aces 1989 as semi-pro
in the Pacific Southwest Hockey League. Then the Aces joined the Pacific
Northwest Hockey League until the team went into the West Coast Hockey League
(WCHL). The WCHL was merged into the ECHL in 2003.
The Aces
have won the Kelly Cup (the championship title in the ECHL) twice, the first
time in the 2005-06 season and the second in the 2010-11 season. This season
the team is probably most known for having Brandon Dubinsky on the team, at
least for the first part of the season during the NHL strike. He was with the
New York Rangers last year, but was part of the large trade to the Columbus
Blue Jackets for Rick Nash. Dubinsky is an Alaska native so if he can’t play in
the NHL, it must be nice for him to at least be at home close to his family. Aces
fans are rabid about their team. The team mascot is a large polar bear named
Boomer and fans bring Aces’ cowbells to every game.
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| Boomer - Aces' Masoct |
Besides
pro-hockey, there are collegiate teams Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves and the
Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks. In the Juniors, Alaska has three teams: the Alaska
Avalanche, Fairbanks Ice Dogs and the Kenai River Brown Bears.
Tourists may
only see Alaska while the sun shines endlessly in a brief summer sky, green
pastures glow dotted with wildflowers, but real Alaskans know that Alaska lies
on the wintry slopes, the snowy fields and the ice.
San
Francisco will play three games this weekend in Anchorage. They lost the first
4-1 to the Aces. Tonight they pick it up where they left off and try to swing
things their way.
As always,
listen to the action on www.knbr.com
GO BULLS!
Martha
Hughes
