ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Alaska Aces have signed forwards Matt Stefanishion and Nick Mazzolini and goaltender Kevin Nastiuk (pictured) to one-year ECHL contracts for the 2009-10 season.

                Stefanishion scored the last goal of Alaska’s 2008-09 campaign, a blast from the point that brought the Aces within 3-2 in Game 7 of the Kelly Cup Finals (an eventual 4-2 loss that denied Alaska a second ECHL title in four years).  The 6-3, 225-pound Stefanishion, who will turn 26 Monday, joined the Aces after Fresno abruptly ceased operations prior to Christmas and produced 14 points (8g-6a) in 20 games, including his first pro hat trick March 1 against Utah that featured two shorthanded goals in 45 seconds to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 victory.  He followed up with six goals, three assists, and a +4 rating in 16 playoff games.

                The 24-year-old Nastiuk was in Providence (AHL) during Alaska’s Kelly Cup run but played a key role in a second-half push that saw the Aces eventually wrap up their fourth division and third conference title in the last five years.  Nastiuk won five of his six starts for Alaska, including his sixth career professional shutout against Phoenix March 11.

                Mazzolini, a 25-year-old rookie out of Providence College, was born and raised in Anchorage and played at Service High School for three years before moving onto prep school and eventually the North American Hockey League.  The 6-2, 210-pounder enrolled at Providence in the fall of 2005 and scored 67 points (25g-42a) in 128 collegiate games for the Friars.

The Aces welcome Victoria to Anchorage for the regular season opener on October 16 at 7:15 p.m., while the third annual “Paint the Rink Pink” pre-season games at Sullivan Arena will be played against Kalamazoo next Wednesday and Thursday at 7:15 p.m.  A portion of the proceeds from those games will be donated to Breast Cancer Focus, Inc., and the American Cancer Society in Alaska.