Posts under ‘Game Recaps’

When Jersey Rockhoppers goaltender Nick Niedert was named the EPHL’s MVP last week, some questioned it.

Today however, Niedert proved for one last time just how dominant he could be, making 43 saves as his Rockhoppers defeated the Brooklyn Aces 4-1 to claim the very first EPHL championship.

“Niedert was dynamite tonight,” said Aces head coach Chis Firriolo. “He showed why he was MVP.”

Despite an absolute lack of offense, the Aces were the aggressors in the first, out-shooting the Rockhoppers 16-9. Niedert was on top of his game, making several solid saves, but was also aided by a Jesse Felten shot that rang off the goalpost around the midway point of the period. On the other side of the ice, Eddie Neville wasn’t tested much, but held his ground and played his part in keeping the game scoreless after 20 minutes of play.

Powered by a three-goal third period and a Tom Boudreau goal in overtime, the Jersey Rockhoppers won game two of the EPHL championship series over the Brooklyn Aces 5-4.

The way the Aces see it however, they were robbed.

With the Aces up 3-2 in the third, referee Michael Geoffrion was unable to sort out the massive amount of penalties he called, leading to a 25-minute stop in the action that Brooklyn never recovered from.

“He took this game into his own hands,” said Aces head coach Chris Firriolo. “He was terrible.”

Things did start out Brooklyn’s way however after Chris Holmes scored at 2:36 to give them an early 1-0 lead. Tony Resendes had an opportunity of his own a few minutes later, but missed the net on a two on one chance. That was all the offense in the period as both Neville and Niedert were solid, especially in traffic, where most of the chances were generated. However, with only 20 shots through the first 20 minutes, the majority of it was played in the neutral zone as neither team was willing to take chances big enough to induce real scoring opportunities.

The Brooklyn Aces’ Andrew Scampoli has been hearing all season from his family that he’d make a better forward than defenseman.

Tonight, he proved them right, scoring the game-winning goal with 4:26 left in overtime, giving the Aces a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Rockhoppers in the first game of the best of three EPHL Championship Series.

“I called for it and as soon as I did, it was on my stick,” said Scampoli. “I knew if I got it off quick I had it and luckily I put it right where I wanted.”

However, while Scampoli’s heroics gave the Aces the win, goaltender Eddie Neville was the real star, making 35 saves, including 13 in the third period to keep the Aces in the game.

“Eddie was the man tonight,” said Aces head coach Chris Firriolo. “New Jersey was dynamite tonight and made him work. It was one of the top three hockey games I’ve been a part of in the 14-years I’ve been involved in this sport. Neville was phenomenal.”

Former New York Rangers star Ron Duguay may have proved he still has some gas left in his tank and the Brooklyn Aces powerplay may have proved it could still be a force, but the New Jersey Rockhoppers were one step ahead for 60 minutes, getting a 4-3 overtime win at Aviator last night.

Clinching themselves a playoff spot in the process, New Jersey looks to have the Aces on their heels as the two prepare to face off in the post-season next week.

“We should have won tonight,” said Aces goaltender Miro Recicar, who was shaky despite 34 saves. “This will not happen in the playoffs.”

Things started off slow as both teams were unwilling to take any real chances in the offensive zone. Both goaltenders were also solid, as were the Aces penalty killers, who killed off a pair of powerplay opportunities.

Things then began to open up at 9:18 after a powerplay goal by Dan Carney put the Aces up 1-0.

After Danbury’s Chad Jones scored 57 seconds into overtime to give his team a 4-3 win and both the Brooklyn Aces and Mad Hatters skated off the ice last night, Blues Traveler’s “The Hook,” was the first song to play over the PA system at Aviator.

A more fitting song would have been the Bee Gee’s classic, “Stayin’ Alive,” as with the win, Danbury finds themselves just four points behind the New Jersey Rockhoppers with two games left for the final playoff spot in the league.

As for Brooklyn, a tune much more subdued would have done the trick as the Aces failed to put the nail in the coffin of a Danbury team that they may have to face in the playoffs.

“We should have won that game,” said Aces head coach Chris Firriolo, who was visibly irate after the game. “They outplayed us in the first period, but I felt like we dominated them in the second and were the better team in the third. There’s no reason why they should have won this game. The puck bounced their way a few times and we made a few mistakes.”

Behind a hat trick from Mike Christensen, the Brooklyn Aces defeated the Hudson Valley Bears 8-1 at Aviator on Tuesday night.

Sporting the beginnings of what look to become future playoff beards, the Aces ran the table on a Hudson Valley team that despite a hard luck season, never gave up.

Now with only two games remaining, due to the ever-growing possibility that the last game of the season with the Bears will be canceled, the Aces are warming up for the playoffs.

“We’re looking towards a championship now,” said Aces defenseman Doug Hoffman. “We got the W and we’re moving on.”

Hudson Valley got the scoring started at 15:09 of the first on a Kevin Straub goal that put the Aces down early. Brooklyn fired right back however, getting goals from C.J. Tozzo and Hoffman 20 seconds apart at 17:09, giving them a 2-1 lead.

Despite a four-point night from defenseman Andrew Scampoli, the Brooklyn Aces were unable to defeat EPHL leading goal scorer Tom Boudreau and the New Jersey Rockhoppers, falling 6-4 at the Codey Arena yesterday.

Boudreau led off the scoring at 7:41 of the first and the score stayed that way into the second period when Matt Puntureri tallied at 3:21 to make it a 2-0 game.

That’s when Brooklyn began to rally together, as Scampoli scored at 10:09 to cut the lead in half. However, New Jersey was a step ahead, getting a goals from J.P. Pauly and Boudreau over the next four minutes to give themselves a 4-1 lead going into the third.

Again Brooklyn fought back, getting goals from “Super” B.J. Kuper and Scampoli at 5:20 and 5:32, cutting the New Jersey lead to 4-3 with 14:28 left to play. Yogi Berra must have been in attendance for the game, because it was Deja-vu all over again., as the Aces attempted a comeback was spoiled by the Rockhoppers for a second time.

After clinching the top seed in the EPHL on Friday, the Brooklyn Aces continued to dominate last night, defeating the Hudson Valley Bears 9-3.

“Just were having fun out there,” said Aces forward Mike Christensen. “We were smiling and working hard. We started out slow, but we rebounded well.”

Despite the fact that the Aces were the aggressors through the early going, Hudson Valley got on the board at 2:56 on a harmless wrister Elvis Tominovic that made it through a screen by, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead. After the goal, the game began to take a more physical and frenetic pace; definitely not what most would have expected before the game.

However, at 8:54, a Christensen slapper with the puck on edge from the top of the left circle with the man advantage beat Hudson Valley goaltender Peter Maro [18 saves in the first period], tying the game at 1-1. After several minutes of free-flowing and physical hockey, a beautiful Jesse Felten wrap-around after a Dan Carney shot from the point with 47.6 seconds left broke the stalemate and put Brooklyn in the driver’s seat going into the second period.

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.”

Brooklyn Aces assistant captain C.J. Tozzo has made a habit of making sure his name is on the scoresheet this season. Last night against the Hudson Valley Bears, the hard-working star netted six points, leading his team to a 9-1 win.

After scoring only three goals in their last two games against the Danbury Mad Hatters and New Jersey Rockhoppers earlier in the weekend, the Aces scored three goals in the first period, on goals by Mike Thomson and a pair by speedster Tony Resendes, giving them an early 3-0 lead. Hudson Valley did keep themselves in the game for the first 20 minutes though, getting a goal from Scott Burns with one second left that made it a 3-1 game going into the second period.