Posts under ‘Gearing Up for 2008-09’

Every successful team in hockey history has had a slew of role players that can produce when the time comes and pick up the proverbial lunch pail when times are tough.

The New York Islanders dynasty of the early ’80s had players like Andurs Kallur and Butch Goring who consistently came through in the clutch. The 1994 New York Rangers had Esa Tikkanen and Craig MacTavish who annoyed defenses and won big faceoffs. The Devils still have John Madden and Jay Pandolfo, who drive opposing offenses crazy every night with their endless hustle.

The Brooklyn Aces have C.J. Tozzo.

“I’ll do whatever they need me to,” he said. “I don’t see myself as a one-dimensional player. I can fill a variety of roles. I like to use my speed to create offensive opportunities and find my teammates. Because of that, I’d ideally like to be in a playmaking center type role and play with a good scoring winger with speed. I’m the type of player who can create offensive opportunities, but I’m responsible defensively as well.”

Aces forward Jesse Felten knows space on the ice this season isn’t going to come through intimidation tactics.

To succeed in pro hockey, the 22-year-old, who stands in at 5′9 and 165 pounds knows he has to have a few endearing qualities to make a career out the game he’s spent his entire life playing.

Luckily, he’s got NHL-caliber speed and has been playing against bigger players his entire life.

“I come from a big family,” said Felten. “I was adopted and have 16 brothers. There are 23 of us all together. 10 of us were in hockey at one time. It’s a huge thing in our family.”

Add in a wicked release and some solid stick handling ability and it’s easy to see that Felten has the potential to be a star in his first season in pro hockey.

Calm and cool, Felten too sees himself playing a big part in the Aces offensive attack this season.

Left wing Chris Holmes may not have the heartfelt story of Dan Rohanna, or the Brooklyn roots of James Brannigan, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t an important card in the Aces deck this season.

As a matter of fact, the 22-year-old forward may be the most most talented player on the roster.

Scoring a goal and adding an assist during the team’s first exhibition game this season as well, Holmes has already begun to prove his worth on an already talented Brooklyn offense.

“I’m going to lead by example,” Holmes said. “I don’t talk much, but I’ll try to get my teammates going by doing something on the ice. If it’s a fight or a big goal, it doesn’t matter. A lot of people know me as someone who has a good shot, but I’ll do anything I have to order to help this team win.”

I mentioned in my podcast yesterday that the Aces had a high-octane offense. They sure didn’t disappoint, did they?

Speedster Jesse Felten got the Aces on the board 24 seconds into the game on Saturday and they didn’t look back, adding five more goals by the game’s end in a 6-2 rout over the Rockhoppers.

Felton told me after practice on Tuesday that he feels he can score a point a game this season.

So far, so good.

Brooklyn-native James Brannigan added two goals as well while Chris Holmes [goal, assist], Mike Christensen [goal, assist] and assistant captain Nick Grove [two assists] all registered two points.

If you’re a fan of this team, this is great news. Holmes and Christiansen are extremely talented players that will be depended on this season. Grove is a leader that can be a force on both ends of the ice and getting him started on the right foot after a year out of professional hockey is a great sign for them as well.

Sorry for the lack of a real update today guys. I’m an English professor at Kingsborough Community College in addition to my work as a sports writer and I’m extremely bogged down with papers to grade at the moment. Nevertheless, here is the first podcast of the season from yours truly.

You can listen to it here, or you can download the file here. It should be up on I-Tunes in the next few days as well.

Enjoy!

P.S.

Expect an interview with Aces forwards Chris Holmes and Jessie Felton next week. After Tuesday’s practice, I also interviewed CJ Tozzo, Scott Estey and Rob Miller. Those should be up on the site soon as well.

Stay Tuned!

After holding their first practice of the 2008-2009 season at Aviator Arena on Tuesday night, the Brooklyn Aces took to the ice and showed that they have both the skill and depth to be more than a passing fad in the borough’s rich sports history.

Speedy forwards such as Brooklyn-native James Brannigan, CJ Tozzo and Chris Holmes stood out repeatedly throughout the practice and should give the Aces the pieces on the forward lines that could give the first-year team a smörgåsbord of offensive options.

“We got some great guys on this team and in the locker room,” said Tozzo. “We’re going to be a lot of fun to watch.”

Aside from Brannigan, Tozzo and Holmes, the Aces’ other forwards, players like Jessie Felten and Scott Estey, also have the speed needed to perform in head coach Chris Firriolo’s high puck pursuit game as well.

The newest team in the EPHL, the Hudson Valley Bears, concluded their player draft earlier in the week and three players from the Aces were lost in the process. Defensemen Joe Lyle and Gabe Yeung and goaltender Len DiCostanzo will all have some Uhauls to rent in the next few days on their ways to their new club. While Lyle and DiConstanzo have minimal professional hockey experience, so it’s impossible to know what they would have done this season in Brooklyn, it would have been nice to see the 6′5, 230 pound Yeung [who has skated for 13 teams over the past five seasons in 10 different leagues] in Brooklyn this season, especially with the gritty Dan Rohanna as his partner.

Nevertheless, in spite of those losses, you have to like the direction this team is going. With only three players announced thus far, the Aces have already addressed several key roles, which could play a pivotal role in their success this season.

At 5′10, 190 pounds, Aces defenseman Nick Grove may not be the biggest or strongest player in the lineup this season, but he has two things in abundance that put him in a league of his own.

Smarts and heart.

However, like fellow teammate Dan Rohanna, Grove has been out of professional hockey for a while, having played his last game during the 2006-07 season with the SPHL Pee Dee Cyclones.

Nevertheless, he’s ready to resurrect his career in Brooklyn this season.

“This is a chance for me to prove to myself that I can play again,” the New York City Native said. “I’m ready to go.”

Ironically, Grove was a teammate of Rohanna’s at SUNY- Fredonia before transferring to Johnson and Wales University in 2004 and has remained close to him over the past few years. Nevertheless, during his time at Fredonia with Rohanna, Grove battled serious leg injuries that limited his ability to develop as a forward. Once at Johnson and Wales however, Grove developed into an excellent two-way defenseman, scoring 36 points in 52 games, while serving as the team’s lone captain.

At 29 years of age, Dan Rohanna is currently the oldest player on the Brooklyn Aces.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have anything to prove though.

Having been out of professional hockey for nearly three years, Rohanna is eager to get back in the game that at one point, he saw himself making a career out of.

“It’s nice to be back and playing again,” Rohanna said. “I always missed it and it was something that I was always meant to do. Being away from it was tough on me.”

Things changed for Rohanna after his mother, Terrie, passed away in 2005. Forced to pick between the sport he loved and keeping his grief-stricken family above water, Rohanna chose the latter, prematurely ending a career some thought could have ended much differently.

With less than a month to go before the Aces begin their inaugural season, Aces Over Brooklyn chats with the team’s business manager, Mike Cerulli, to discuss what some of their objectives are to firmly cement themselves in the Brooklyn community.

AcesOverBrooklyn.com- What are you guys looking to accomplish this season?

Michael Cerulli- Our venue is going to be catered towards affordable family fun. We are going to be doing plenty of group events of all kinds, obviously youth hockey programs, but we want to have something with the girl scouts, boy scouts and basically any other type of youth organization. That’s who we want to come down in large groups. We’re also speaking with businesses, especially Brooklyn businesses. We want them to come down with their employees, clients and business associates. With that being said, we expect a lot of groups at our games.