Posts from ‘February, 2009’

With Rob Miller and Mike Christensen back in the lineup for Brooklyn on the Thursday, the Aces were dominant on both sides of the puck for the first time in weeks. While the last place Hudson Valley Bears aren’t exactly the measuring stick for success in the EPHL, the Aces appear confident that they are back on the right track.

With another game against the Bears tonight, the Aces will get another chance to employ their neutral zone trap and aggressive forecheck and will have a chance to iron out any kinks for their next game against the Danbury Mad Hatters next Friday.

Using six defensemen in their last game, the Aces had three steady combinations that played a huge part in the team’s success. While Aces head coach Chris Firriolo liked what he saw from his D-men and believes he’ll keep six defensemen on the roster for the time being, he may be forced to cut one when the playoffs begin.

With Mike Christensen and Rob Miller back in the lineup last night, the Brooklyn Aces had the depth at the blue line and on the forward lines that they’ve lacked recently and as a result were able to skate over a beleaguered Hudson Valley Bears team in an 8-1 impressive win.

“I’m happy with the way we played defensively tonight,” said Aces head coach Chris Firriolo. “All three lines played well out there as well; I liked the combinations out there.”

While the defense was solid all night, the Aces wasted no time building a lead, getting a goal from Christensen at 3:38 of the first period on a shot that banked in off a Hudson Valley defenseman. Just 21 seconds later, Christensen scored again after Tony Resendes fed him the puck on a two on one, making it a 2-0 game. At 9:29, the Aces made it a three-goal game after Eric Frank tapped in a rebound in front while on the powerplay.

Over the past few minutes, Aces Over Brooklyn has confirmed that defenseman Nick Grove has been traded from the Aces to the Hudson Valley Bears for future considerations.

Despite being one of the steadiest defensemen in the league this season with 22 points in 34 games, Brooklyn believed Grove was expendable once fellow defensemen Rob Miller and Andrew Scampoli rejoined the team.

According to the Aces, a revised work schedule also played a part in the move.

“Things have changed for him lately and we felt that he’d be a better fit with Hudson Valley right now because he’s very close with the staff over there,” said Aces head coach Chris Firriolo. “He’s been one of the best defensemen in the league all season, but we have seven [defensemen] right now and we had to make a move.”

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

With Rob Miller and Mike Christensen back in the lineup today against the Hudson Valley Bears, the Brooklyn Aces will have the added toughness, grit and offense that they have been missing over the past few weeks.

That’s not to discount the efforts of players like Derek Kern, Eddie Chlanda and Matt McGilvray over the past few weeks, who were productive offensively and did an admirable job, but before the time of their injuries, Miller and Christensen were both without a doubt playing at an optimal level. Now that they’re back in the lineup, you can expect to see a much more polished Aces team with the cohesion and chemistry they had back in December, when they were virtually unbeatable.

“We’re going to be in much better shape once we get Robbie Miller and Mikey Christensen back,” said Aces head coach Chris Firriolo last Sunday. “With them back in the lineup we can see what we’re going to look like for the rest of the season and into the playoffs.”

Aces head coach Chris Firriolo isn’t like many head coaches in professional hockey.

Despite his team’s 8-4 win over Hudson Valley on Sunday, the enigmatic coach believed his team was lacking something in the physicality department.

It would be a minor concern for most coaches, but Firriolo sees it as an important element that could make or break his team’s season.

“We need toughness,” said Firriolo after the game. “We need some hard-nosed guys.”

He’s even proposed making drastic changes to his team in order to make them tougher on the ice.

“We’re going to try and make a few trades to add some toughness,” he said. “I liked what I saw from a few players on Hudson Valley today, so it’s something we have to look into.”

While the Aces have held on to the top spot in the EPHL all season, despite a plethora of injuries, many believe the team hasn’t had the same snare since captain Chad Wilcox went down with a knee injury in January.

According to a press release by the EPHL, the Brooklyn Aces have waived forward Matt McGilvray and activated defenseman Rob Miller from injured reserve.

In eight games with Brooklyn this season, McGilvray scored three goals and was a +2.

Activated from injured reserve, Miller will add some of the toughness the team has lacked since former captain Chad Wilcox went down with an injured knee last month.

In just 11 games with Brooklyn this season, Miller was an offensive presence as well, scoring 10 points and going a more than solid +14.

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Through his first six games with the Brooklyn Aces this season, defenseman Andrew Scampoli proved to be a solid offensive player, scoring six points and looking as if he’d found himself a nice niche on the Aces powerplay. However, soon after, Scampoli was offered an opportunity to play in Holland. Gone for the next two months, Scampoli left a void on the Aces team that despite solid offensive contributions from Doug Hoffman and Nick Grove, was never replaced.

Simply put, Scampoli was the X-factor the team needed on the blue line. Now back with the team, Scampoli and the Aces can attempt to continue right where they left off- on top of the EPHL.

In this interview with Aces Over Brooklyn before the Aces took on the Hudson Valley Bears on Sunday, Scampoli talks about his expectations the rest of the season and what his trip to Holland was like.

Aces Over Brooklyn- How does it feel to be back?

A veteran of over 700 professional games, Brooklyn Aces defenseman Dan Carney was brought aboard by Aces head coach and general manager Chris Firriolo, who felt the team could use a jolt of veteran leadership for their playoff push. A stay at home defenseman by trade, Carney is a smart player that makes the players around him better.

In six games with the Aces, Carney has done just that and has nabbed two assists in the process.

Playing his college hockey at Colorado College and spending time in the WPHL, BISL, BNL, CHL, UHL and IHL over the past 17 years, Carney is a leader that can help guide the Aces to the first championship in EPHL history.

In this interview with Aces Over Brooklyn, Carney talks about his game and what it feels like to be a part of the Aces.

Check it out!

Coming off a tough 4-1 loss against the Danbury Mad Hatters last night, the Brooklyn Aces were looking for redemption against the lowly Hudson Valley Bears.

Putting together a six-goal second period, the Aces did just that, coasting to an impressive 8-4 win.

“It took us a while,” said Aces head coach Chris Firriolo of his team’s offensive game. “But we came out with the win. I think we have to tighten up a bit more [defensively]and today gave us a chance to work on things like trapping. We have a lot of respect for this team and I’m happy we got the win.”

With Zamboni problems before the game however, the ice wasn’t in optimal shape, having only been partially resurfaced. As a result, both teams’ offensive games suffered through the early stages of the period and gave the game a choppy feel. Despite that, the Aces made the most of things and broke open the scoring on a Mike Thomson goal in traffic at 9:16. At 13:27, Chris Robinson tallied to make it a 2-0 game.

6-5-1 through their past 12 games, the Brooklyn Aces have been anything but a pillar of consistency.

However, against a team with only three wins this season in the Hudson Valley Bears, the last thing the Aces are thinking about is playing consistently. Instead, if the Aces have their way today, they’d like to make a statement, scoring 10 goals and then reverting their focus towards Thursday, when defenseman Rob Miller should rejoin the lineup and the team can begin to prepare itself for the playoffs.

Aces head coach Chris Firriolo especially is looking forward to next week.

“No other team in this league has had to deal with the amount of injuries we’ve had to,” he said on Friday. “Having Rob Miller back is going to be huge for us. By then, we should be as healthy as we’ve been all season and I expect us to continue where we left off.”