It's was tough to decide who to cheer for when the Alaska Aces took on the Victoria Salmon Kings in Anchorage this past weekend.

While the Salmon Kings are Canada's first and only team to enter the East Coast Hockey League, and they just arrived this season, the Aces are technically closer to the Yukon.

And after a successful season last year, in which head coach David Payne guided the Aces into first place in their division for the first time since 1999, the Alaskan squad is challenging for a playoff spot once again. They're currently sitting in third place in the national Conference Western Division, with a record of 19-12-2.

The underdog Salmon Kings are in last place in the Western Division, picking up just seven wins in 30 games so far.

Expansion clubs never have an easy first year, especially since Victoria was behind the ball from the start, due to the absence of both a finished arena and a complete management team in place. The team was close to holding their debut off until next season.

If that wasn't enough, they started the year with 14 games on the road, followed by 14 games at home. That's something you never want said coach Bryan Maxwell, calling the schedule 'a grind.

'Trying to put a hockey club together in three months has been quite a task, to be honest with you,' said Maxwell, who is in his first year as a professional coach, after heading up the bench for Spokane and Lethbridge of the Western Hockey League for 10 years. 'But we have a great group of players here and I really enjoy coaching them.

'I had high expectations, to be honest with you. I think you have to have that going into the start of the season. You have to feel like you're capable of winning. But realistically, we knew we had a tough road to hoe this season for sure. And you know, I'm learning too. It's certainly a learning curve for us this year.'

Payne said there was never any real stability for Victoria, but he thinks people are starting to understand it's a good place to play, and he expects them to be a much better club next year.

'It's just the newness of the situation, it creates a little bit of a mismatch,' said Payne.

Things haven't improved at all for the Salmon Kings, as far as luck is concerned. Rumours ran rampant last month that their former starting goaltender, Victoria native David Brumby, had walked out on the team because of their dismal performance. But Maxwell was quick to dispel those rumours.

'Brumby wasn't getting it done, so we moved him along,' he stated.

The main problem for the Salmon Kings, said Maxwell, is injuries.

'We're so banged up, we're so hurt. We've got six guys on the IR (injured reserve list) ... Brad Dexter, Corey Smith, two of our big keys to the hockey club. So we've just got to try and hang in there and keep our heads up.'

The loss of defenceman Dexter for the next month, which occurred during the first game of the weekend series against the Aces, is a huge blow to the team. Not only is Dexter their top defenceman, he's their top scorer period, with 25 points in 30 games. He was the lone Salmon King named to the ECHL All-Star game.

'He's a star,' said Maxwell. 'He (Dexter) plays about 35 to 40 minutes a game, so he was certainly missed (Saturday) and (Friday).'

And Maxwell knows a good hockey player when he sees one. In his 10-year pro career, the coach played with the likes of Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux.

He also coached Yukoner Bobby House for two seasons with the WHL's Spokane Chiefs.

'He was a great person,' he said about House. 'His whole family ... just his grandmother right throughout, he has an excellent family. He is a super person.'

The coach went on to say while the fans in Victoria have been very patient with his current club so far, he knows the team will have to win more games in the next couple of years in order to keep the fan base, something he says will not be an easy task.

'Sometimes, it takes three, four or five years to put together a team that has success and gets things done.'

While the Salmon Kings struggle, the Aces are finally starting to get things together this season. After a first-round sweep in the playoffs last year, they had a tough start. But Payne, who came to the Aces in 2003 after three years with the Pee Dee Pride, says it's been going much better lately.

'We kind of battled with our own identity early. We had high expectations based on what we accomplished last year, and guys coming into the situation on the heels of last year felt bigger and better things were ahead for us. Obviously, we added a great guy like Gomez and now we're really starting to think big.

'We got a little bit ahead of ourselves and certain areas faltered. We had to get back, we had to work on those and we've corrected just about everything that's cost us the opportunity to get points, and we've kind of put our foundation back in place.'

Payne added that doesn't necessarily mean the team is going to win all kinds of games, since the Western Division this year is so tight. The Aces are just one point out of second place and seven out of first, but they're also just four points away from the seventh spot.

'Obviously, we'd like to push farther in the playoffs, finish higher in the division,' said the coach about this year's goals. 'Winning is addictive. When you get a little, you want more. I'm no different than the players and no different than the fans.'

Aces forward Chris Mayes, who notched five goals in Saturday's contest, has been the brightest surprise on the team, said Payne.

'He's a guy who's come in, and because he's willing to go to the tough areas to score goals, he has, along with his skill and his two-way solid hockey. He's been a real pleasant surprise.

' I think he's elevated his game to this level and obviously, he's starting to get some attention.'

Aces goalie Lance Mayes, who hails from Victoria, said the entire team has been playing well in front of him the last several games, which makes things much easier.

After setting team records for goals against and save percentage last season, Mayes admitted he had a rough start this year.

'I've been struggling this year and hopefully, (Saturday's) a bit of a turning point for myself personally. As a team, we're back in the playoff run, so the second half is going to be huge.

'I think maybe I've just been trying too hard, trying to do more than what I can do. I just need to relax a little bit more. I've got to get my goals against down and my save percentage up. That's all I can really do, is keep working hard.'

In his start against the Salmon Kings back in his hometown last week, Mayes said it was tough for him not to get nervous and over think shots, since he had 50 to 100 family members in the crowd. But he said, once the team got out to a 5-0 lead, it all became easier.

Asked whether his friends and family get on his case about playing for the opposition, he laughed.

'Oh no. They're Aces fans. We got them all shirts and hats and that for Christmas and they brought them out in style, to the chagrin of the Victoria fans for sure.

'They (the Victoria fans) were on them pretty hard, but we came out with the win, so they (his family) had all the bragging rights.'