May 15th, 2009
by Patrick Hickey Jr..
After losing in the EPHL finals in March, many have been wondering what the Brooklyn Aces will do in the upcoming season to make sure that they make sure they have the pieces necessary to contend for a championship again. Chatting via telephone with Aces owner Alan Friedman answers several questions about his team’s play this season.
Aces Over Brooklyn: The team ended the season in a somewhat disappointing fashion. It must have been rough. What did you do to deal with it?
Alan Friedman: With what happened in the playoffs and not being able to score on 18 powerplays approximately, we sat down with our coaching staff and decided which direction we wanted to take the team so we can become a powerful, higher-scoring team.
AOB: You just mentioned that you want the team next season to be better offensively, but they were the best team in the league this past season in that regards. Were you more specifically talking about the team’s special teams play?
Apr 8th, 2009
by Patrick Hickey Jr..
By Safia John
After working what seems like a million jobs over the past few years and slipping farther and farther from the game he loves, Doug Hoffman, defenseman for the Brooklyn Aces, has found his way back home to the ice.
First exposed to hockey as a child growing up on Long Island, Hoffman spent several years away from the game while attending college in Connecticut.
In June however, the EPHL was founded and soon enough, Hoffman had an opportunity to play for the Aces. Driven by his love of the game, inspired by legends like childhood favorite Brian Leetch of the New York Rangers and sparked by the success of best friend Christopher Higgins, who currently plays for the Montreal Canadians, Hoffman has made the most of his chance, leading all EPHL defensemen in points in his first pro season.
In this interview, Hoffman shares his experiences, both good and bad, while growing up and working as a professional hockey player.
Dec 10th, 2008
by Patrick Hickey Jr..
Being the equipment manager of a professional hockey team is a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.
For the Brooklyn Aces, that person is Dan Barry.
Armed with an outgoing personality and a plethora of hockey knowledge, Barry may in fact be the team’s secret weapon, as the skates he’s sharpened and sticks he’s taped have been on the feet and hands of a Brooklyn Aces team that has a 9-1 record through their first 10 games.
Chatting with Aces Over Brooklyn during the team’s last homestand, Barry talks about how he joined the ranks of his profession and how tough it is to have one of the best seats in the house every night.
Aces Over Brooklyn- How did you get into managing equipment?
Dec 8th, 2008
by Patrick Hickey Jr..
Despite playing on the third line for most of the season, Aces forward Mike Thomson has shown the offensive tenacity of a first-liner, scoring four goals and adding five assists in just eight games.
Proving he’s more than just an energy player, Thomson fit right on on the team’s second line with Mike Christensen and Jesse Felten when Chris Holmes was called up to Elmira for a game a week ago.
However, if that wasn’t enough to show what he means to the Aces, the 24-year-old has also recently drawn the praise of the Brooklyn coaching staff due to his hustle and snarl in corners and his willingness to be play team-first hockey.
“He’s done a really good job for us this season,” said Aces coach Chris Firriolo. “He works really hard and shoots the puck extremely well, but I think his biggest asset is the edge he plays with every night. He’s a very good hockey player and because of that, we’re anxious to see how he continues to develop as the season progresses.”
Dec 1st, 2008
by Patrick Hickey Jr..
This will be a new segment I’ll be trying out on the site every Monday for the next few weeks called “Pre-Flight Briefing,” where I will engage an Aces player in a quick three-minute Q & A session in order to give you guys a better idea of who they are and where they come from. If there are any players in particular you’d like me to interview or any questions you’d like me to ask for future segments, feel free to contact me. Until then, enjoy!
After a few games this season, the Aces realized they needed another puck moving defenseman to compliment Doug Hoffman, Rob Miller and Nick Grove if they were going to continue to dominate the rest of the EPHL on both ends of the ice. Soon enough, Andrew Scampoli was brought in from Danbury and the Aces haven’t lost a game since. During his short time with the team, Scampoli has been everything the team could have asked for and is currently tied for the league lead in goals by a defenseman with three and third in points with eight. Speaking with the Aces defenseman after his first game with the team on November 14 against the Hudson Valley Bears, Scampoli talks about his game and his new team.
Nov 24th, 2008
by Patrick Hickey Jr..
I conducted this interview on Wednesday last week, just two days before I received word Cardinale was put on waivers by the Aces. However, the guy was so entertaining and honest that I decided to run it anyway. It’s not like the Hudson Valley site is chock full of player profiles anyway, so I figured this article could serve two purposes. One, to let Aces fans out there see what Cardinale was all about and second, to give the Hudson Valley fans a deeper look into one of the most popular players in the Aces short history.
