Giving up seven goals in the first period over their last three games, the Brooklyn Aces couldn’t afford to make the same mistakes against the Danbury Mad Hatters on Saturday Night at Aviator Arena.
Scoring four goals in the first period, the kings of the EPHL coasted to a 7-1 win in their most complete effort of the young 2008-2009 season.
Stressing the importance of a 60-minute effort after the team’s come from behind victory on Friday, Aces head coach Chris Firriolo was all smiles after the game.
“I think this was a great turn around from the past few games,” said Firriolo. “We came out hard and we did it early. I thought that was key.”
The Aces got an early lead after Chris Holmes smoked a vicious slapshot past Mad Hatters goaltender Derek MacIntyre at 3:14. At 11:47, James Brannigan too proved that he could slap it with the best of them, sending one past MacIntyre and giving Brooklyn a 2-0 lead.
Less than a minute later at 12:46, the good times kept rolling for Brooklyn after a C.J. Tozzo deflection off a Rob Miller shot from the point found it’s way to the back of the net and made it a 3-0 game. The Aces weren’t done yet however, as Brannigan scored again, this time from the top of the crease after Kyle McCullough and Tozzo had chances of their own, giving Brooklyn a devilish 4-0 lead.
“It felt good,” said Brannigan, the Dyker Heights-native who now has eight goals on the season to lead the EPHL. “I’m having a blast here, I love it.”
Aside from all the offense, the first period also featured two fights, with Jerry Cardinale and Jesse Felten heading to the sin bin respectively. Aces goaltender Eddie Neville was also solid, making 12 saves.
The Mad Hatters then tried to spoil the Aces party in the second, getting on the board just 2:29 into the period on an Igor Karlov powerplay goal that cut the Brooklyn lead to 4-1. Neville quickly stopped the bleeding however and was solid the rest of the period, turning aside a plethora of quality scoring opportunities. With Neville strong, the Aces eventually reclaimed their four-goal lead, as Felten scored shorthanded on a beautiful deke move at 13:34 that put them up 5-1.
“I felt really good today,” said Neville. “I was sharp and confident. My defense played really well today and they gave me an opportunity to see the puck. We’re a young team, but I think this was an important game for us. We’re going to keep getting better and better.”
The score remained that way into the third and with Neville continuing to dominate, the Aces needed only to play smart to induce a victory. However, the smell of Danbury’s blood was looming on Brannigan’s stick, as the Aces forward dipsy-doodled his way around three defenders before snapping a wrist shot past MacIntyre for his third goal of the night, giving Brooklyn a 6-1 lead. B.J. Kuper then added a tally of his own with 8:17 remaining, officially putting the game away at 7-1.
“They are a good team,” said Firriolo, of Danbury. “We either caught them on a bad night, or we were just that good.”
Winning four of their first five games this season, the Aces’ offense has proven to be a force to be reckoned with, scoring 28 goals in that span. Pleased with the way his team responded after a few haphazard starts over the past three games, Firriolo sees this game as a turning point in the young season.
“It was the first time they played a complete game this season,” he said. “We got good goaltending and came out flying. I’m very proud of them. I know it’s only been five games, but you can’t ask for much better than 4-1.”
Notes-
Before the game, the Aces skated with pink jerseys that were later auctioned off to fans to raise funds and awareness for the American Cancer Society.
Brannigan’s hat trick was the first of his pro career.
Video-
Aces enforcer Chad Wilcox drops the gloves with Danbury’s Hank Corisio.
Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr. & Ron Hatcher.
Video by Patrick Hickey Jr.
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on Nov 16th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Great article. Did all the Aces pink jerseys get auctioed of or are there any left to bid on?
on Nov 16th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
No Claire, they were sold. I heard through the grapevine that a really good young writer snagged a Chad Wilcox jersey