The Alaska Aces have made another deal to avoid any further stumbling down the stretch of the regular season. Four days after acquiring goaltender Shane Owen in a trade with Florida, the Aces ship forward Ethan Cox to the Reading Royals in exchange for the Royals' all-time points leader, Ryan Cruthers.
Cox has been a solid contributor for the Aces, both last season and this season. He is a dependable third line center who takes faceoffs and kills penalties. Cox has produced 13 goals and 15 assists this season.
The trade is an effort to boost the offense of the Aces, who have won only 8 of their last 22 games and have seen their once robust lead in the Western Conference shrink to only three points.
Cruthers comes to Alaska with tremendous credentials. He has 196 points ( 73 goals, 123 assists ) in 180 ECHL games, and in the playoffs he has added another 32 points in 24 games over the last two seasons.
Cruthers will join the Aces in time for their final home series, Friday and Saturday against the Colorado Eagles.
