Brooklyn Aces, Hudson Valley Bears Pregame Thoughts

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.

“I liked the way all six D played out there tonight,” said Firriolo. “We may keep six and see what happens.”

With three steady forward lines as well, Firriolo also liked the play of his forwards, who were aggressive on the forecheck all night and induced several turnovers.

“I thought Christensen and Holmes especially were dynamite all night,” he said. “They were all over the puck.”

So with the team seemingly on the same page for the first time in a few weeks, could this be the return of the dominant Aces team that destroyed everything in it’s path through the first two months of the season?

As of right now, that appears to be the case, which does not bode well for the Bears tonight.

However, it’ll be impossible to tell how dominant a re-energized and healthy Brooklyn team can truly be until they face off against the New Jersey Rockhoppers and Danbury Mad Hatters next week.

Nevertheless, today’s game should be a good way of seeing how serious Brooklyn is about getting back in gear.

Notes-

Despite missing the third period on Thursday, Aces leading scorer Kyle McCullough will be in the lineup today.

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

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