Posts Tagged ‘Chris Holmes’

Hours before every game at Aviator this past season, Brooklyn Aces forward Chris Holmes was out on the ice, garbed in a t-shirt, shorts and sneakers, firing pucks all over the ice.

It didn’t matter if it was a against the glass or at the net- just as long as it made a lot of noise.

Possessing one of the hardest shots in the EPHL, Holmes’ shot is his trademark and something he’s always working on.

That shot undoubtedly played a huge part in the 19 goals and 47 points he had this season, but those numbers alone can be deceiving. Not many knew that Holmes was playing the majority of the year with a separated shoulder.

Nevertheless, the 23-year-old Brick, New Jersey-native still averaged a point a game and helped lead the Aces to a regular season championship.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Brooklyn Aces winger Chris Holmes this past week over the phone and before I post that interview sometime next week, I figured I’d share some of the things that didn’t make it into the article.

Always a fun interview, Holmes was candid and shared his thoughts on the season. After about 20 minutes of chatting it up and touching on various topics, it was obvious, just like all of you, the Brick, New Jersey-native with the booming slapshot is eager for the upcoming season.

AOB: The last week of the season, Mike Christensen had said that even before he had played with you, he was intimidated by you. He said that he just knew that you were a great hockey player. He also said that throughout the season, he wanted to make sure that he didn’t let you down and wanted to be as good a linemate for you as possible. Considering Christensen scored 34 goals this past season, how does that make you feel?

Combining for 15 goals and 78 shots on goal, one look at the box score may have had the most dedicated hockey fan believing that the legendary offenses of the New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers of the ’80s were back in town for one night.

It was the Brooklyn Aces and Hudson Valley Bears that competed last night at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center however, and it was the Aces that came out victorious 10-5 despite a three-goal period by the Bears in the third that made things interesting.

Defenseman Ian McLoughlin started the scoring for Brooklyn at 6:54 of the first, but just 1:11 later, former Ace Scott Estey tallied to tie the score. The Aces weren’t satisfied with a tie score though and over the next 5:10, they lit the lamp five times on goals by Chris Holmes, B.J. Kuper, Kyle McCullough, Eric Frank and newbie Joey Grasso, giving them an impressive 6-1 lead.

Leading the EPHL with 25 assists, Kyle McCollaugh has proved on countless occasions this season what a talented passer he is. Last night against the Hudson Valley Bears, McCollaugh lit the lamp twice in a 7-4 Brooklyn Aces win, proving he isn’t too bad a shooter either.

The Aces started off quickly in the first, getting goals from McCollaugh, James Brannigan and the still white-hot Mike Christensen, giving them a 3-0 lead after one period of play.

Hudson Valley was far from finished for the night however. A goal by defenseman Chris Clark cut the Brooklyn lead to 3-1 at 5:33. The Aces bounced right back after recent addition Bobby Brannigan, the brother of the Aces and EPHL’s leading scorer, netted his first professional goal just 1:36 later to make it a three-goal game again. Tallies by Dan Malloy and Mark Lebenns [who some may remember was a training camp invitee of the Aces this season] cut the Brooklyn lead to 4-3.

Mike Christensen has been absolutely on fire as of late, nailing down three four-point games over the past two weeks. Last night in Danbury, the slick two-way center was up to the same antics again,dealing out four assists and powering a 4-2 road win over the Mad Hatters on Friday that continues to prove that the Brooklyn Aces are the team to beat in the EPHL.

Continuing to play with only three natural defensemen in the lineup and Ian McLoughlin and Mike Thomson being double-shifted at forward and defense, the Aces continue to outperform their opponents. Last night, the Aces were forced to come back from an early deficit, after Danbury sniper Igor Karlov scored at 1:20 to give the Hatters an early 1-0 lead.

Luckily for Brooklyn, Jesse Felten scored with just 1:34 remaining in the period to tie the score going into the second. A three- goal period in the second for the Aces on tallies by Chris Holmes, James Brannigan and a powerplay marker by Nick Grove gave Brooklyn a 4-1 lead going into the final period.

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?

Tonight’s contest between the Brooklyn Aces [9-1] and the Hudson Valley Bears [1-8] pitted the best and worst of the EPHL against one another in what was expected to be a lopsided affair.

The cliché “The numbers never lie” couldn’t have been any truer in this one.

Powered by a seven-goal first period, Brooklyn and their top-flight offense dismantled a flustered Hudson Valley team en route to a stellar 11-3 win.

“We got up  on them quick and we didn’t want to embarrass them,” said Aces head coach Chris Firriolo. “It was a rough night for them and we wanted to play with some class and make sure we respected them and the game.”

Things started quiet enough for Brooklyn, but after a goal by leading scorer James Brannigan at 4:00, his 17th of the season, the offense was ignited and followed with two more tallies in the next 1:51 by C.J. Tozzo [9] and Chris Holmes [5], giving them a 3-0 lead.

After playing one game with the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL this weekend, Chris Holmes is back with the Brooklyn Aces.

The bigger question however is will the team’s dominant “Three Amigos,” line of Holmes, Jesse Felten and Mike Christensen, be reunited for the team’s next game on Saturday against the second-place Rockhoppers?

“We knew he was going up for just one game and then he was going to come back,” said Aces coach Chris Firriolo via telephone last night. “Now that he’s back, I have no reason to break up that line.”

Nevertheless, Firriolo understands that the way his team is playing offensively, any one of his forwards can get called up at any time. Considering that, he’s prepared to keep his team ahead of the curve by looking for the best players avaiable.

According to a press release by the EPHL, Aces forward Chris Holmes and backup goaltender Miro Recicar have been called up to Elmira Jackals of the ECHL.

One part of the Aces highly successful second line of Mike Christensen and Jesse Felten, Holmes had four goals and six assists in eight games in Brooklyn this season. A point a game player last season in the MAHL, Holmes rejoins the Jackals, a team he played 10 games with last season.

Leading the EPHL in wins, despite sharing goaltending duties with Eddie Neville, Recicar was solid in Brooklyn, going 4-0 with a 3.50 GAA this season.

This will be his first taste of the ECHL.

To counteract these losses, the Aces have signed forward Nate Bostic, who has gone scoreless in nine games with season with the New Mexico Scorpions and Richmond Renegades of the CHL & SPHL and goaltender Eric Galliond, who looks to be the backup goaltender behind the surging Neville.

Here we go again boys and girls, time for another podcast. This time around, I interview Aces second line center Mike Christensen, who talks about what it’s like to play with Jesse Felten and Chris Holmes, in addition to discussing some of the players he tries to emulate while on the ice.

Check it out!

As always, you can listen directly here at: http://media.switchpod.com/users/patrickhickeyjr1/AOB1126.mp3

Or you can download the file on to your I-Pod or I-Phone here:

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