Posts Tagged ‘Brooklyn Aces’

Through 12 games this season, Brooklyn Aces defenseman Nick Grove has sparkled on both ends of the ice, scoring 10 points and manning the point on both the powerplay and the penalty kill. However, what is even more impressive is the fact that this season marks Grove’s return to professional hockey after a year and a half away from the sport. At 26, Grove is still a candidate to advance to higher levels, but at the same time is the consistent and reliable veteran the Aces will need in order to make the playoffs and perhaps even win a championship this season. Chatting with AcesOverBrooklyn.com, Grove talks about his game, his teammates and his favorite part of this young season.

Aces Over Brooklyn- You were out of hockey for a while, but it seems like you’ve just jumped right in and you haven’t missed a beat. How do you feel right now?

If Brooklyn Aces forward Chad Wilcox was acquired this season for one reason and one reason only, it would be to help lead the team by any means necessary.

Through his first three games this season, Wilcox has done just that, dishing out a bevy of big hits and an assist. However, if those stats don’t prove his worth to his new team, his 25 penalty minutes do an even better job of convincing any naysayer what he brings to the Aces.

All that considered, it’s baffling how quickly the 30-year-old Las Vegas-native has adjusted to his new team, especially when he wasn’t even on the roster when training camp began three weeks ago. Even stranger was his arrival, as a stroke of bad luck ended up giving the grizzled veteran a second chance and the Aces the bona fide enforcer they lacked.

It’s been almost five weeks since Alan Friedman became the majority owner of the Brooklyn Aces and he hasn’t stopped smiling yet. Excited about the direction both the league and team is going in, the Brooklyn business owner and new head honcho of the Aces sees great things in the future ahead. Chatting over the phone on Tuesday night with AcesOverBrooklyn.com, the Canarsie-native discusses his ownership style and what he wants to accomplish this season with his team.

Aces Over Brooklyn.com- Considering the fact that the sports market of New York has enigmatic owners like the Dolan’s, Steinbrenner’s and Wang’s, it’s obvious that fans here want to know more about who calls the shots for their favorite teams. How do you see yourself as an owner?

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.”

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.

It may sound a bit cliché, but Brooklyn’s newest pro hockey team, the Aces, may have one up their sleeves this upcoming season.

His name is James Brannigan.

Forged on the Abe Stark hockey rink in Coney Island and solidified in the youth hockey leagues of Long Island, Brannigan’s game is somewhat of legend in Brooklyn.

Turning down an opportunity to play in the CHL this season, Brannigan signed with the team a few weeks ago and is thrilled to come home where his career- and life, started.

“It feels really good to be able to play in front of the city I grew up in,” Brannigan said. “It’s very exciting.”

At 24 years old, Brannigan already has a year of pro hockey under his belt, splitting last season with the Augusta Lynx and Columbia Inferno in the ECHL. Before that, Brannigan spent three seasons as a full-scholarship athlete at Colorado College. However, Brannigan’s star power was dimmed at Colorado, playing behind future AHL stars Marty Sertich and Brett Sterling and former Rangers draft pick Joey Crabb. Limited to fourth line duty while in college, Brannigan knows he has an opportunity to prove himself in Brooklyn this season.

Over the past eight summers, the New York Mets have proven that minor league baseball can thrive in Brooklyn with the Cyclones. On June 17, an agreement was made to bring an Eastern Pro Hockey League team, the Aces, to Aviator Arena, successfully making the borough a two-sport town and effectively proposing another question:

Can a minor league hockey team survive in Brooklyn?

As of right now, all signs point to yes.

With about a month left to go before the season starts on November 8, fans and media alike are anxiously awaiting the drop of the first puck.

However, no one is more excited than the team’s coach, Chris Firriolo, who sees the Aces as a team that can not only win, but can also develop talented players in Brooklyn that go on to join the ranks in the ECHL, AHL and ultimately, the NHL.

Nevertheless, he does understand what his biggest goal for the season is.