Posts on ‘January 16th, 2009’

By Joey Curto and Patrick Hickey Jr.

At 6′4 and 220 pounds, Brooklyn Aces captain Chad Wilcox isn’t your ordinary hockey player; he’s like a small armored vehicle. Mean, gritty, cut up,and bruised, the four-year pro has some pretty high expectations for the hockey team’s inaugural season, which includes inducing some serious pain on anyone who stands in his way.

The EPHL’s leader in penalty minutes, Wilcox doesn’t have have a lot to prove in the physicality department, but feels that way as of late. Out of the lineup the past couple nights due to wear and tear on his body, Wilcox was more than jovial to be out on ice again tonight. In the locker room before the game, the captain was cool, calm and downright excited. Dancing to Jay-Z’s hit “Brooklyn, We go Hard,” it didn’t seem that Wilcox was preparing to play one of the league’s best in the New Jersey Rockhoppers on Jan.16.

Despite beating the Hudson Valley Bears 9-3 last night, the Brooklyn Aces have no time to relax.

The New Jersey Rockhoppers have the weapons on offense, defense and in net to play 60 solid minutes against the Aces and have done it before. Coming off a tough loss to Danbury last night, the Rockhoppers will look to rebound and it’ll be up to the Aces to stop them in their tracks.

Wilcox back in full swing- Making his return to the team last night after nursing a few injuries over the past few games, Aces captain Chad Wilcox nabbed two assists and was on his game, forechecking, fighting and getting the crowd involved. While he may only play about 10 minutes a game, Wilcox can play on any line and is capable of switching the momentum of a contest in a heartbeat. Getting him back in the lineup is definitely a good thing.

As part of their “We will bring home a winner” promotion last night at Aviator Arena, the Brooklyn Aces guaranteed their fans a win.

While the team as a whole played stellar, racking up 63 shots on goal, Mike Thomson and Jesse Felten delivered like Joe Namath and Mark Messier, as Thomson’s first professional hat trick and a pair of goals by Felten paved the way for an impressive 9-3 Brooklyn win.

“I’ve had a couple of chances to get a hat trick this season, but it just didn’t come,” said Thomson. “I feels great now that I’ve done it.”

The Aces got on the scoreboard first after a pretty deflection in front by Thomson on a shot from the point by Gabe Yeung at 9:06. The lead didn’t last for long however, as a tally by Tommy Westfall at 14:51 tied the score at 1-1.