Posts on ‘March 13th, 2009’

According to a press release by the EPHL, both the Brooklyn Aces and New Jersey Rockhoppers have signed former New York Ranger star Ron Duguay to a one game contract, making him the second oldest player to lace up the skates in a professional hockey game.

Duguay will play for the Brooklyn Aces on Saturday, March 21 when they take on the Rockhoppers at Aviator Sports and Recreation Center. The following day, he’ll don the orange and black when Jersey faces off with the Danbury Mad Hatters.

As part of Duguay’s signing, the EPHL will be joining forces with Duguay to promote the Madison Square Garden charitable organization, The Garden of Dreams. Throughout both games, the teams will be conducting auctions of hockey memorabilia and special opportunities to benefit this fund.

In 860 NHL games, Duguay scored 274 goals and 582 points. In 12 NHL seasons, he spent six in Madison Square Garden with the Rangers.

With only seven games and two weeks left this season, the Brooklyn Aces will look to get back on track against the New Jersey Rockhoppers tonight at Aviator Arena.

Despite the fact that the rivalry between these two teams pales in comparison to that between the Aces and Mad Hatters, this match-up will pit the two top offenses in league against one another.

However, the game will have a heavy focus on the defensive side of the puck as well, as regardless of who is in net for Brooklyn, expect a top-notch battle between the pipes as both Miro Recicar, Eddie Neville and New Jersey’s Nick Niedert have played stellar hockey all season.

With that being said, expect a tight game from start to finish that will be decided by how well each team recovers from their mistakes. Earlier in the season, the Aces offense and goaltending covered for many of their breakdowns, but as of late, they’ve come back down to earth. Despite playing spirited hockey against Danbury last Friday and generating plenty of shots, turnovers in the neutral zone and a bad decision with the puck by Neville in the first period ended up leading to their demise.