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.
In the end, it wasn’t the team that played better hockey or had the better team that won, it was the team that played their system with more efficiency that ended up the victor.
If the Aces are to snap out of the recent funk they’ve gotten into, they’ll have to establish their forecheck and pressure the puck in all three zones. If they do that, they’ll produce turnovers and high percentage scoring opportunities. With a roster filled with talented offensive players, Brooklyn will then have to put their money with their mouth is and convert.
Struggling for offense over the last three weeks, a win against New Jersey will be a huge confidence boost. It won’t be easy though against Niedert, a goaltender that has had plenty of success against the team this season. Also considering the fact that New Jersey has the pieces on the forward lines and on defense to not only keep pace with the Aces offensively, but on special teams as well, this will be a spirited game from start to finish.
In the end, it’ll be decided by how well both teams can play in their own end and how much they’re willing to do in order to induce offense. This late in the season, expect more physicality on the ice as well. With both teams possessing their own tough guys in Jason McCrimmon and Joe Pelle, the game has the possibility of getting explosive very quickly.
All in all, this has all the intangibles to be one of the best games this season.
Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.
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