Offense Comes Alive in 6-3 Win as Aces Clinch EPHL Regular Season Title

Despite going 6-3-1 over their last 10 games, the Brooklyn Aces play hasn’t been at the same level of the New Jersey Rockhoppers during that span. Last Friday, Aces head coach Chris Firriolo went as far to say he thought he team was currently the third best in the EPHL.

Last night was a different story however, as the Aces played one of their best games in recent memory getting plenty of offense and defeating the second-place Rockhoppers 6-3.

“We did a lot of work on our non-aggressive forecheck this week and it paid off tonight,” said Aces captain Rob Miller, who had three assists on the night. “It wasn’t a few weeks ago and now it looks like we’re fine-tuning it.”

Things started the Aces’ way after a Chris Holmes goal at 1:59 gave them an early 1-0 lead. New Jersey was resilient however and 51 seconds later, an Anthony Becker tally tied the game. Already an incredibly quick game, with both teams taking heavy risks with several long, cross-ice passes to try and induce offense, the speed picked up even more, making for some free-flowing hockey with not many whistles. Brooklyn took advantage of this at 12:11 as “Super” B.J. Kuper nabbed his 14th goal of the season to give his team a 2-1 advantage.

It was then that both teams began to take the body a bit more and the game slowed down a tad. Nevertheless, the Aces continued to dominate, getting a Kyle McCullough marker during a four on four at 18:49 to give them a two-goal lead after the first 20 minutes.

“I think we went at it and we got a few pretty goals,” said Firriolo. “They’re a real good team and they battled. I tip my hat to them. We just have to stay healthy now and get ready for the playoffs.”

After an energetic first period, the game hit as somber note as Brooklyn goaltender Eddie Neville was run into and slammed his neck into the goalpost in the process. The whistle then quickly blew and Neville was carried off the ice by off-ice officials and members of both teams.

“I was worried,” said Miller. “But then he started moving his arms and his feet, so that was good. He’s getting a CAT scan right now. Hopefully everything is going to be alright”

The Aces then sent out Miro Recicar, who continued right where Neville left off, keeping New Jersey off the scoreboard. Despite the absence of Neville, the Aces forecheck continued to dazzle and their defense got even tighter, as they limited New Jersey to just 16 shots through the game’s first 40 minutes.

A C.J. Tozzo goal at 14:04 also padded the Aces’ lead, giving them a three-goal lead going into the final period.

1:03 in the third, Tony Resendes scored, putting Brooklyn up by four goals. At 5:02, reeling of the momentum from a Joe Pelle scrap, Jesse Felten scored on a beautiful deke move, fooling Rockhoppers netminder Nick Niedert and making it a five-goal game. New Jersey did attempt to battle back, making the most of a five on three powerplay on a Matt Puntureri marker that cut the lead to 6-2. At 13:08 the Aces defense was unable to clear the crease, leading to a Tom Boudreau goal that made things interesting at 6-3.

Firriolo then called a timeout and attempted to calm his team down. The move worked as defenseman Chris Robinson soon leveled Jersey forward Kevin Todd and captain Boudreau was sent to the sin pin for taking down McCullough, effectively killing all of the Rockhoppers momentum, leading to an eventual 6-3 Brooklyn win.

With the win, Brooklyn has a 12-point lead over New Jersey with only six games left to play. With the season series in Brooklyn’s favor, the Aces have officially clinched the EPHL regular season title.

“This is a very good feeling,” said Tozzo. “It’s really exciting and it’s a testament to all our hard work and the great job our coach has done. We overcame a lot of adversity.”

Notes-

Miller led all skaters with three points.

Currently Neville’s status is not known. However, Aces officials did say he was in he middle of a CAT scan after the game. Expect an update in another post shortly.

Pelle’s scrap with Dustin Henning has been added to the team’s fight page.

With New Jersey’s loss and Danbury’s win last night over the Bears, the Rockhoppers have a slim one-point lead with only five games left to play.

Aces defenseman Ian McLoughlin was a healthy scratch.

Attendance for the game was 1,099.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Related posts:

1. Niedert Stonewalls Aces as Jersey Claims EPHL Title When Jersey Rockhoppers goaltender Nick Niedert was named the EPHL’s...
2. Danbury Stays Alive, Fend Off Aces in 4-3 Overtime Win After Danbury’s Chad Jones scored 57 seconds into overtime to...
3. Christensen’s Hat Trick Powers Aces Win Over Hudson Valley Behind a hat trick from Mike Christensen, the Brooklyn Aces...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.