Like Defense, Aces Offense Facing Makeover

Over the last five games, the Brooklyn Aces’ offense has hit their first real snag.

Feeling the departure of sniper James Brannigan and injuries to talented stars like Mike Christensen and Tony Resendes more than ever, the Aces are in need of a spark plug.

With Resendes back in the lineup on Friday, the addition of Vladislav Kouroedov and Christensen back soon as well, Brooklyn will finally have the depth back in the forward lines that they had earlier in the season.

Going through a myriad of free agent signings over the past month and a half, the Aces got solid offensive contributions from players like Eddie Chlanda, Josh Coyle and Derek Kern, but none have had the staying power of Eric Frank, another player brought in to provide offense. Before their injuries, both Christensen was Resendes were playing excellent hockey, with Resendes coming off player of the week honors and Christensen climbing as high as second on the league goal scoring charts. Without them, the Aces have missed a huge element of speed and spunk and as a result, the offense hasn’t been as sharp.

Once this duo is back on the ice however, you can bet the Aces offense will have the multifaceted look back that made them so dangerous through the first 30 games of the season. The addition of Kouroedov may also be a pleasant surprise, as the 34-year-old’s coaching resume alone should help some of the talented youngsters refine their game down the stretch. If he can produce with some kind of consistency as well, the signing will prove to be a steal.

However, with the addition of Resendes and Kouroedov and the return of Christensen, a makeover on the forward lines will have to take place. The top six forwards on the team, C.J. Tozzo, Kyle McCullough, Chris Holmes, Eric Frank, Jesse Felten and B.J. Kuper are all presumably safe, but newbies Matt McGilvray and Mike Baccaro may be in danger of losing their spots.

Things got even spicy when you think about the fact that Aces head coach Chris Firriolo likes to keep an extra forward on the bench. With the defense having too many players and Mike Thomson and Ian McLoughlin being able to play forward, do one of them get moved into a spot shift role?

Any way you look at it however, changes are ahead for the Aces offense that will try to rekindle the efficiency they had earlier this season.

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

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