Posts under ‘Features’

Brooklyn Aces third-string goaltender Anthony Felice may have only played 50 minutes this season, giving up two goals in three appearances, but don’t let his numbers fool you.

He is a one of a kind netminder.

While several of the goaltenders in the EPHL have great goalie masks, such as Eddie Neville’s, which features “The Thing” from Marvel Comics, or Derek MacIntyre’s “Mad Dog” or even Nick Niedert’s “Skull” mask, Felice’s is by far the coolest.

Sporting a Star Wars-themed goalie mask, Felice is able to pay homage to his favorite movie, while playing the game he loves.

To him, it’s a match made in heaven.

“Everyone loves the mask,” Felice, who is a big fan of Yoda, the elder Jedi master, said. “It’s just like my own little creation. I’m a big Star Wars fan.”

Just minutes ago, Aces Over Brooklyn interviewed Brooklyn Aces head coach Chris Firriolo to find out his thoughts as his team prepares for the second game of the best of three EPHL championship series with the Jersey Rockhoppers.

You can listen to the interview here @

http://media.switchpod.com//users/patrickhickeyjr1/AcesOverBrooklynPodcastChrisFirrioloPregame327.mp3

Or download it to your I-pod here @

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=294739484

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Rob Miller may be the Brooklyn Aces captain and a player respected for his grit and intelligence on and off the ice today, but six seasons ago, during the 2002-2003 season, he was a wide-eyed 23-year-old playing his first season of professional hockey with the Jacksonville Barracudas of the ACHL.

It was there where he first met Ron Duguay.

Scoring 45 points in 60 games that season, it still ranks as Miller’s best as a professional. Nevertheless, the memories he shared with Duguay are another big reason why he still smiles when discussing his rookie season.

“He was my coach that year and we played together,” said Miller. “He’s such a good guy.”

Playing six games with Miller that season, Duguayhis best Reggie Dunlop impersonation and scored four points as a player-coach, despite formally retiring in 1992. While those numbers alone are far from his 30-goal days with the Red Wings and Rangers, the charismatic forward, then 45 years old, proved he still had some gas left in his tank.

Over the past few games, the Brooklyn Aces have comprised a trio of players to anchor the team’s first real checking line.

Those three players, Matt McGilvray, Sean Walsh and Mike Baccaro have given the team a much different look than the offensive juggernaut they’ve been most of the season.

Even Aces head coach Chris Firriolo acknowledged the job the three did over the team’s last homestand.

“They did a good job out there,” said Firriolo after the team’s last game at home on Sunday. “They were warriors and really helped us out.”

With that being said, Firriolo no longer has the three potent offensive lines he had earlier in the season, when he and the rest of the league had a problem identifying what line was in fact the best the team had. Regardless, he now has an energy line that isn’t scared to get gritty in corners and take the body, something the team has been in desperate need of with Chad Wilcox’s status still up in the air and Mike Christensen out for the next few games.

Over the first 25 games of the season, the Brooklyn Aces were able to feature three lines that could consistently produce offense and a defense that was equally as intimidating as it was talented. When injuries began to take their toll, players the likes of Eric Frank and Tony Resendes were brought in and they too picked up the slack, alongside regulars Jesse Felten, Mike Thomson and Mike Christensen, who seemed to get better as the season went on.

Over the past five games however, despite the continued offensive production and leadership of C.J. Tozzo and Kyle McCullough, the Aces haven’t been able to replace the two-way ability of Christensen, who is currently on the shelf with a strained MCL.

“I think we’re really missing him right now,” said Aces goaltender Eddie Neville on Saturday. “He does a lot for us out there. Before he got hurt, he was one of the best players in the league.”

Last week, playing professional hockey was probably the last thing on Chris Robinson’s mind.

Teaching the youth clinic at Aviator Arena before Aces home games, Robinson’s only solace on the ice was skating with his co-workers after teaching his classes.

It was there where Aces head coach Chris Firriolo saw him skating.

“When you’ve been around the game as long as I have, you know when you see someone special,” said Firriolo. “What’s so great about him is he keeps everything simple. He’s not flashy, but he’s tough and plays smart. He’s been dynamite since he got here and hasn’t been timid. He just jumped right into the fire. We’re going to do everything we can to keep him here. He’s great.”

A week later, Robinson was coming out of the team’s locker room- not as a member of the Aviator staff, but as a professional hockey player ready to make his debut.

By Joey Curto and Patrick Hickey Jr.

At 6′4 and 220 pounds, Brooklyn Aces captain Chad Wilcox isn’t your ordinary hockey player; he’s like a small armored vehicle. Mean, gritty, cut up,and bruised, the four-year pro has some pretty high expectations for the hockey team’s inaugural season, which includes inducing some serious pain on anyone who stands in his way.

The EPHL’s leader in penalty minutes, Wilcox doesn’t have have a lot to prove in the physicality department, but feels that way as of late. Out of the lineup the past couple nights due to wear and tear on his body, Wilcox was more than jovial to be out on ice again tonight. In the locker room before the game, the captain was cool, calm and downright excited. Dancing to Jay-Z’s hit “Brooklyn, We go Hard,” it didn’t seem that Wilcox was preparing to play one of the league’s best in the New Jersey Rockhoppers on Jan.16.

With both Miro Recicar and Eddie Neville between the pipes, even before the Brooklyn Aces played their first game this season, they knew they were going to be heavily fortified in goal.

However, no one could have planned for Recicar and a host of injuries to engulf the Aces defense core, which has forced forwards Mike Thomson and Ian McLoughlin to help out on the blue line. With that being said, as the season has progressed, it’s fair to say that the expectations on Neville were lessened a tad, especially with the Brooklyn offense producing every night, giving whoever is in net a much bigger margin for error than he could have had otherwise. Because of the way the Aces’ offense has played this season, some may even think the Aces could get away with having a mediocre goaltender in net every night.

When Brooklyn Aces speedster Tony Resendes went down with a third degree sprain of his MCL two weeks ago, the organization knew they had to get a player of equal caliber as soon as possible if they wanted to maintain their impressive lead atop the EPHL standings.

Enter Eric Frank.

A point a game player for his entire college career at U-Mass-Darmouth, the 27-year-old, who was signed on his birthday by the team, was brought in to fill Resendes’ shoes and has done more than anyone had thought he was capable of up to this point.

In five games with the team, Frank, who played his last professional game nearly a year and half ago before joining the Aces, has five points and has formed an instant camaraderie with new linemates B.J. Kuper and Jesse Felten.

The end result has been a match made in heaven for both Brooklyn and Frank.

While any team in the EPHL would kill to have the Aces BMT line of James Brannigan, Kyle McCollaugh and C.J. Tozzo, they wouldn’t exactly cry their eyes out if they got stuck with Chris Holmes, Jesse Felten and Mike Christensen instead.

Combining the NHL-caliber speed of Felten, the 95-mph slapshot of Holmes and the two-way ability and slick shooting of Christensen, the “Three Amigos” line have made opposing defensemen miserable this season.

However, the trio didn’t get their name for being friendly on the ice. As a matter of fact, all three, despite being under six feet tall, are gritty players that if forced to, will drop the gloves.

With that being said, how did they get their name?