Wilcox ‘Goes Hard’ in Brooklyn

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.

“Me and my boys expect nothing short of a championship; we just got to stay healthy,” he said. “I’ve been out the past couple nights and when you get that itch to play, it’s always tough to sit out. ”

Skating onto the ice that night and leading his team into battle, the testosterone levels were just shooting out of Aviator Arena. As captain, the hard-nosed Wilcox’s job was to rally his troops and lead them to victory, but not without some bloodshed in-between.

“It’s the best when you win (a fight),” he said. “You fight for the adrenaline rush; I just hope I don’t beat them up too bad.”

Some say hockey’s a sport where you need to be a man to play, but you still need that little boy in you to strap on the skates and fly around the ice.

The Aces definitely started off the season on the right skate, getting off to an amazing 19-2-2 record through their first 23 games. With ten points coming on two goals and eight assists this season, Wilcox has been more than just an enforcer and has proved every critic wrong who felt he was just a pair of stone firsts before the season.

Watching his penance stare at the opposition and his broad smile with his teammates while on the ice, it’s obvious he’s enjoyed giving those pundits the old one-two punch.

“It’s great,” he said. “There’s nothing like playing in a big place like Brooklyn and having that name on your jersey.”

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

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