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.

With 12 seconds left in the period, Christensen scored his team-leading 32nd goal of the season, putting the Aces up 3-1 going into the second period.

“It was a good win,” said Aces head coach Chris Firriolo. “Those guys [Hudson Valley] worked hard this season though and without them, the league couldn’t have survived. I have a lot of respect for them.”

The first 12 minutes of the second period was a much calmer hockey experience, as both teams played aggressive defense and got good goaltending. Nevertheless, Brooklyn eventually broke the stalemate and scored two goals in 59 seconds, as Christensen notched his second goal of the game on a beautiful hesitation give and go with Dan Carney that left him with a wide open net- and a goal in traffic by “Super” B.J. Kuper, putting the Aces up by four.

Hudson Valley also produced some thrills late in the period as well, but was unable to cash in on a penalty shot by Tori Jacob at 15:31, keeping the game at 5-1.

At 15:32, the big bad Brooklyn offense produced again, as Christensen netted his third goal of the game to make it 6-1 with only 20 minutes remaining.

“It feels good,” said Christensen. “But we have an important weekend coming up. These goals are just a bonus. Winning is better.”

Continuing right where they left off in the second, Chris Holmes scored for Brooklyn at 5:51, making it a 7-1 contest. At 14:46, Tozzo tallied again, putting the game away at 8-1.

With the win, Brooklyn garnered its 34th win of the season and are looking forward to their next game, this Friday against New Jersey, to see how prepared they really are for the playoffs.

“I told the guys that the season starts tomorrow,” said Firriolo. “They understand that and we’re going to try and finish what we started.”

Notes-

Aces forward Kyle McCullough was a healthy scratch tonight, a reward for a 91-point season despite nagging injuries.

Aces backup goaltender Anthony Felice made an appearance in the third and made five saves.

New addition Bill Horton was a +2 with two shots in his first game with the team.

“He did a good job,” said Firriolo. “He was solid.”

Eddie Chlanda had three assists his his first game with the team in over six weeks.

According to Firriolo, Aces goaltender Eddie Neville is expected back for the playoffs.

Attendance for the game was 742.

Video-

Jacob’s penalty shot vs Miro Recicar:

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

However, after the team’s 6-4 loss to the New Jersey Rockhoppers, expect Brooklyn to get back on track against the last-place Hudson Valley Bears.

The game can also end up being a pivotal one for two Aces in particular, as both of the team’s assistant captains, C.J. Tozzo and Kyle McCullough, currently find themselves with 90 points. While it’s obvious they won’t both score 10 points tonight, great games against Hudson Valley could play a huge factor in the duo being the first two players in league history to get to 100 points.

While Tozzo has put winning ahead of any personal goals, he did say it was something that has crossed his mind.

“Obviously you think about it and it would be nice,” said Tozzo. “But right now, we’re concentrating on playing well going into the playoffs and getting back on track. The way I feel about it now is that it would be a huge bonus, but we want to make sure we’re all on the same page and create a cohesive unit for when we get to the playoffs.”

The Aces will also have Eddie Chlanda and Bill Horton in the lineup, two players brought in for the playoff push. In five games with the Aces earlier this season, Chlanda, who compares his game to that of current New York Islander Trent Hunter, has five points. While Horton is less of an offensive player than Chlanda, he’s a steady defenseman with size that should be able to give the Aces defense even more depth.

With the new additions and the team’s loss on Sunday still looming in their memories, expect the Aces to come out strong and work on pressuring the puck in all three zones, something that when they’ve done it consistently, has played a huge role in their success. Also expect Aces defensemen Rob Miller and Doug Hoffman to continue to shoot from the point, something they’ve been doing much more of lately and a huge reason why they’ve been averaging over a point through their last five games.

So while it may still appear to just be a sparring match between the best and worst teams in the league, this game should still end up being an important one for the Aces.

Site News:

I will be appearing on WKRB 90.3 FM this Thursday at 6:30 to discuss the Brooklyn Aces on the new talk show “Hockey Night in Brooklyn, with Jonathan Rios.”

Tune in!

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Making a statement, the Aces never trailed against the second place Rockhoppers and got a hat trick from Jesse Felten and a 36 save night from Miro Recicar, defeating New Jersey 6-1.

“I feel really great out there,” said Recicar. “My teammates supported me and allowed me to see the puck well. I’m happy with what we did tonight.”

The first period was a seesaw battle, with both teams scoring a goal apiece. Felten opened the scoring at 6:51 however and gave the Aces the early 1-0 lead. After some sloppy passing in the neutral zone, the Aces gave the Rockhoppers a two on one opportunity and Anthony Becker made the most of it, scoring his fifth goal of the season at 16:04 and tying the score at 1-1.

“It was a tough play,” said Aces coach Chris Firriolo. “There was nothing Miro [Recicar] could do on that one.”

Mike Thomson continued his hot play as of late in the second, lacing a wrister over New Jersey goaltender Nick Niedert’s left shoulder, giving the Aces a 2-1 lead. The score stayed that way the rest of the period, but the physical play began to take over the game as the team’s went in their locker rooms. Already down a man after B.J. Kuper went to the box on a major boarding play, Aces captain Chad Wilcox got nailed with a two minute penalty for after leaving the bench during a scrum and and skating towards his locker room.

Wilcox did not get physical with any player on New Jersey; he exited the bench and skated around the players tussling and skated towards the locker room, yet he still drew a penalty.

Aces coach Chris Firriolo had mixed feelings about the call originally, but in the end, side with the referees.

“They were just trying to maintain order,” said Firriolo. “They made the right call.”

Brooklyn fought hard to kill both penalties and Wilcox redeemed himself shortly thereafter in a small brawl with Rockhoppers forward Jason McCrimmon. Soon after at 3:02, Felten scored his second goal of the night to give the Aces a 3-1 lead.

“My linemates keep getting me the puck,” said Felten. “Things have been going awesome lately.”

A Mike Christensen powerplay marker 3:29 later stretched the Aces lead to 4-1. After a quiet few minutes, Felten scored again at 14:17 for his first professional hat trick, putting Brooklyn up 5-1. Chris Holmes added an insurance marker on a vicious slapper at 16:51 on the powerplay, putting the game away at 6-1.

Winning their first two games at home in ‘09, the Aces confidence appears higher than ever, despite dealing with a series of injured players on the blue line and forward lines.

That doesn’t mean they are counting out the gritty Danbury Mad Hatters though, the team they play tonight.

“They’re a tough team to play against and we’re really beat up right now,” said Firriolo. “We have to be on top of our game.”

Notes-

In spite of win, the Aces may be without their captain, Wilcox, who was checked into the boards by New Jersey’s Rich Jondo with a few minutes left in the third. After the hit, Wilcox was ushered into the locker room with the help of his teammates. No other information is currently known at the time.

Aces goaltender Eddie Neville was returned to the Aces after serving as the emergency backup at Elmira.

The Aces were three for seven on the powerplay and six for six on the penalty kill.

Christensen is now tied for the league lead in goals [22] with Ace James Brannigan who is still with the Utah Grizzles on a call up assignment.

Aces forward Tony Resendes is still unavailable to play, although he did participate in the morning skate.

Aces assistant captain Rob Miller was seen taking shots to today before the game, but is still a few weeks away from returning according to Firriolo.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The New Jersey Rockhoppers have the weapons on offense, defense and in net to play 60 solid minutes against the Aces and have done it before. Coming off a tough loss to Danbury last night, the Rockhoppers will look to rebound and it’ll be up to the Aces to stop them in their tracks.

Wilcox back in full swing- Making his return to the team last night after nursing a few injuries over the past few games, Aces captain Chad Wilcox nabbed two assists and was on his game, forechecking, fighting and getting the crowd involved. While he may only play about 10 minutes a game, Wilcox can play on any line and is capable of switching the momentum of a contest in a heartbeat. Getting him back in the lineup is definitely a good thing.

Changes on defense coming?- In spite of the Aces defense playing excellent hockey for most of the game last night and for most of the season, Aces head coach Chris Firriolo has a difficult decision to make soon.

“They’re battling right now,” he said. “They know I’m going to cut the defense down to five. Right now we have six.”

The question is, who do the Aces part ways with? Gabe Yeung can play both forward and defense and is a big body that can clear the front of the net and drop the gloves. Ian McLoughlin is a speedy two-way presence that can contribute offensively. Joe Lyle is a guy that Firriolo is very high on as well. It’s safe to say that Doug Hoffman and Nick Grove are safe as they anchor the powerplay and can play in all game situations.

With Rob Miller still on IR with an injured hand and Mike Thomson capable of manning the blue line effectively, Firriolo’s decision will only get tougher.

Notes-

Grove is questionable for tonight’s game, as is forward Tony Resendes.

Despite taking a puck off his knee and sitting out the third period last night, Yeung is expected to play tonight.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

While the team as a whole played stellar, racking up 63 shots on goal, Mike Thomson and Jesse Felten delivered like Joe Namath and Mark Messier, as Thomson’s first professional hat trick and a pair of goals by Felten paved the way for an impressive 9-3 Brooklyn win.

“I’ve had a couple of chances to get a hat trick this season, but it just didn’t come,” said Thomson. “I feels great now that I’ve done it.”

The Aces got on the scoreboard first after a pretty deflection in front by Thomson on a shot from the point by Gabe Yeung at 9:06. The lead didn’t last for long however, as a tally by Tommy Westfall at 14:51 tied the score at 1-1.

With the score tied, the line of B.J. Kuper, Felten and Eric Frank soon took over the game and got the Aces ahead again. Felten scored a pair of goals in 22 seconds at 16:37 and 16:59 following pretty passes by both Kuper and Frank, giving the Aces a two goal lead late in the first. A Kyle McCullough marker with 2:34 remaining gave the Aces a three-goal lead going into the second.

“I feel great,” said Felten. “My linemates are playing great now and it’s awesome to play with these guys.”

The second period started off relatively quiet, but the Aces maintained the offensive edge, plodding the net with shots on Bears goaltender Dan Stewart [50 saves]. The hard work paid off at 9:33 when Thomson potted his second goal of the game to give Brooklyn a four-goal lead. Continuing to out pace the Bears in the offensive zone, Thomson tallied again with 2:38 left in the period, giving him his first professional hat trick and the Aces a 6-1 lead going into the third.

“We know we have to keep this going,” said Thomson. “We can’t slack off.”

Hudson Valley attempted a comeback though, getting a goal from Rich Vega at 4:00 into the third that cut the lead to 6-2. 4:11 later, Mike Christensen scored his 20th goal of the season to give the Aces their five-goal lead back. 2:20 later, former Aces captain Dan Rohanna scored his first goal of the season to make it a 7-3 game. However over the next 4:12, Brooklyn got goals from new edition Josh Coyle and Christensen to put the game away at 9-3.

“We been on the road for a while and it’s great to win one for the fans,” said Felten. “It’s good to be back.”

With the win and a 5-2 loss by the Rockhoppers to Danbury last night, the Aces have stretched their first place lead over New Jersey to 15 points.

Not content with success this season however, the Aces know they still have plenty of work ahead of them.

“We have to be sharper tomorrow against New Jersey,” said Aces coach Chris Firriolo. “We need to be faster with our shots and in transition, but I think if we can do those things, we should be fine.”

Notes-

Eight players on Brooklyn had two or more points on the night.

Christensen’s 21 goals rank second in the league to only James Brannigan, the Aces sniper who was called up to the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL a few weeks ago.

Aces goaltender Miro Recicar made 22 saves on 24 shots.

Emergency backup Anthony Felice made two saves on three shots after coming into the game with 10:05 remaining.

Felice was reacquired by the Aces yesterday due to Eddie Neville’s call-up to Elmira.

According to Firriolo, Neville is expected back in the next few days.

Hudson Valley goaltender Len DiCostanzo was placed on Injured Reserve before the game.

Attendance for the game was 877.

Other news-

Last night’s scrap between Chad Wilcox and Joe Pelle has been added to the team’s fight page.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

At 17-2-2, the Aces are coming off a rare loss and at 2-16, Hudson Valley is coming off of an equally as rare win.

So with both team’s current predicaments spoken for, the questions become simple ones. Do the Aces have the strength to bounce back after a tough loss to a gritty and driven Danbury Mad Hatters team and have the Hudson Valley Bears finally found out what it takes to win this season?

Because of these questions, this game should be an entertaining one, as both teams have everything to prove, with the Aces trying to get back on track and the Bears attempting to make a statement that they aren’t ready to lay down for the rest of the season.

Players to watch-

Brooklyn

Kyle McCullough- The EPHL’s scoring leader, McCullough hasn’t been phased by the call up of linemate James Brannigan to Utah of the ECHL at all and is still averaging close to two points a game.

Jesse Felten- This week’s EPHL player of the week, Felten has rattled off a pair of multi-point games and is beginning is show the rest of the league just how talented he really is.

Eric Frank- Despite being out of professional hockey for nearly two years, Frank has been a revelation since joining the team a few weeks ago, scoring 11 points in eight games.

Hudson Valley

Dan Malloy- The league’s premier offensive defenseman with 24 points this season, you can bet to see an appearance by Malloy on the scoresheet tonight.

Scott Estey- A great skater with good hands, Estey has 17 points in 14 games.

John Gevard- With 17 points in just 11 games, Gevard may be the most talented forward the team has.

Quotes-

“We’ve had a lot of guys working really hard for a long stretch here and it felt really good to finally see that work pay off,” said Bears forward Tom Westfall on the EPHL’s official site last night after the team’s second win of the season.

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

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.

Just 15 seconds after Grasso’s goal, the Bears’ newest forward, Elvis Tomanovic, earned a tally if his own to cut the lead to 6-2.

After a two-goal second period, following goals by Mike Christensen and Jesse Felten, Brooklyn went into the third with an 8-2 lead. Hudson Valley came back quickly in the third, scoring three goals in just 40 seconds to make it an 8-5 game. Just 26 seconds after the Bears final goal however, Christensen lit the lamp for the second time on the night, putting the game away at 9-2. Seven minutes later, Felten potted his second as well, giving Brooklyn a five-goal lead once again and enough fuel to finish with a 10-5 victory.

Notes-

Aces goaltender Miro Recicar made 29 saves on 34 shots, while both Hudson Valley netminders, Peter Maro [six saves] and Jason Szerszen [28 saves] gave up five goals a piece.

Felten and Kuper both had four-point nights, while Christensen, Gabe Yeung and Frank had three points apiece.

The Aces did not record a minor penalty during the game.

Attendance for the game was 279.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

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.

A Chris Holmes goal at 3:45 of the third gave Brooklyn a two-goal lead once again, but former Ace Scott Estey scored 3:20 later to make it a 5-4 game.

That’s all the offense Hudson Valley could muster though, as the Aces added two more goals by the end of the third, one being McCollaugh’s second and the other being an empty net marker by Mike Thomson, giving Brooklyn the 7-4 win.

Notes-

With the win, the Aces are 13 points ahead of the second place New Jersey Rockhoppers.

In just 18 games, Brooklyn has scored 105 goals.

Eric Frank had two assists for Brooklyn.

Aces goaltender Miro Recicar made 22 saves on 26 shots, while Hudson Valley netminder Vincent Januska made a whopping 40 saves on 46 shots.

Aces captain Chad Wilcox did not appear in the game.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Outscoring their opponents 98-49 this season, the Aces have gotten amazing offensive production from all three lines for most of the season. However, in spite of the balanced production, the Aces top line of James Brannigan, Kyle McCullough and C.J. Tozzo, aptly dubbed the “BMT” line, has been the team’s bread and butter offensively the majority of the time. That hasn’t been the case recently though, as center Mike Christensen has been on a tear, recording 11 points in his last four games. Already averaging a point a game and playing exceptional two-way hockey all season before his recent hot streak, Christensen has now put himself on center stage and has quickly become one of the league’s best all-around players.

With Christensen streaking and the BMT line continuing to thrive, the Aces have the top four scorers in the league in their lineup.

They also have the two best goaltenders in the league on paper in Eddie Neville and Miro Recicar, who will get the start tonight. Making 20 saves in his return, Recicar got better as the game went on and played a big part in the team’s 3-1 win yesterday.

“The first five or six minutes, I was a bit nervous; it’s been almost two weeks since I played,” he said after the game. “After that though, I felt good and I’m ready to play again tomorrow. I know the team is tired right now, but I haven’t played in a while and I feel great. I’m ready for what ever comes my way.”

On defense, despite missing the injured Mike Richards, who apparently was admitted to a hospital two nights ago with an ailment and Rob Miller, the Aces have been getting solid defensive play all season from Doug Hoffman and Nick Grove, who have both sacrificed the flair of their impressive offensive games to make sure the team is well supported in their own end. Add in converted forwards Ian McLoughlin and Mike Thomson, who will also see time on the forward lines and the Aces patchwork defensive core can still hold down the fort well enough until they get healthy again.

Using 55 players already in just 14 games, it’s extremely hard to assess what the Hudson Valley Bears can do on the ice. With apparent problems between their coaching staff and ownership, that process becomes an even more difficult task. Sure, they have a top-notch offensive defenseman in Dan Malloy, who leads the team in scoring with 20 points and the gritty Jerry Cardinale, who has five points with the team since coming over from Brooklyn via waivers, alongside the massive Gabe Yeung on defense, but with a 1-13 record and no real force behind the pipes, this game is not going to be pretty.

Unless the Bears can find someway to shut down the Aces offensive attack with a solid defensive effort and even better goaltending, this game will be over before the National Anthem is sung.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Today, he’s the only one to do so, twice.

Making 40 saves, Niedert proved why he was called up to ECHL a few weeks ago and then some, standing on his head and leading New Jersey to a 5-4 overtime win over the Brooklyn Aces.

After the team’s whopping 11-3 win over Hudson Valley on Friday, various members of the organization were concerned how the team was going to respond against a much better team in the Rockhoppers. Also, without James Brannigan [team suspension] and Rob Miller [injured reserve] the Aces couldn’t afford to fall behind early. Goals by Anthony Becker and Matt Tyree however forced Brooklyn to play catch up. Luckily for the Aces, speedster Tony Resendes, who filled in for Brannigan on the top line, scored two goals in the second, which cut the lead to 3-2 after a Tom Boudreau goal at 8:17 before his second tally at 11:20.

Logan Brittle, who had four points on the night, stretched the Rockhoppers lead to 4-2 in the third, which looked originally like it put the game away. But two goals by “Super” B.J. Kuper in three minutes during the later part of the third sent the game into overtime.

However, the Aces didn’t have any come from behind magic in them, as Chris Ferazzoli hit the back of the net for the game-winning tally, ending the Aces eight-game winning streak and putting the Rockhoppers only seven points behind the Aces for the EPHL lead.

Notes-

The Aces outshot New Jersey 44-24.

Aces goaltender Eddie Neville made only 19 saves on 24 shots.

Resendes had nine shots on goal.

The game’s attendance was 982.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Knowing full well that New Jersey is the only team that has beaten them this season, Brooklyn isn’t about to take any chances against Nick Niedert and the Rockhoppers.

“This is going to be a real test,” said Aces coach Chris Firriolo after the team’s win last night. “I’d rather coach a one-goal game where you see a great effort from both sides than what happened tonight out there. When a game gets as sloppy as this one did, you don’t really know what to expect the next day.”

What the Aces can expect in tonight’s game is another quality effort from newly returned defenseman Mike Richards, who in spite of sitting out the third period due to fatigue last night, was a solid +4 with a shot on goal. The same goes for defenseman/forward Ian McLaughlin, who was also a +4, but also notched an assist. With Rob Miller possibly out for the game as well, it’s crucial that the Aces get a repeat performance from these two.

Another guy coming off a good game last night is Doug Hoffman, who is now second in scoring among EPHL defensemen with 14 points in 10 games. In spite of his great game last night however, where he lit the lamp twice and dished out two helpers, Hoffman, like his coach, knows the team has to continue to work hard if they want to keep on winning.

“We have to keep that same intensity and passion,” he said. “Games like this are rare, so we have to keep our composure and come out strong against New Jersey. They’ll be ready for us.”

Coming off a 6-5 win against Danbury on Thursday, New Jersey is beginning to establish themselves as the clear-cut second place team in the league. With a quality goaltender in Niedert and plenty of solid offensive players in Chris Ferazzoli, Kyle Bozoian and Drew Sanders to go along with the toughness of Teague Willits-Kelley, the Rockhoppers will indeed give the Aces a run for their money tonight.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

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.

“They had a bad game,” said Holmes. “We had a good one. The score reflected it. We absolutely killed them.”

Hudson Valley then managed to get back into the game at 10:30, following a John Geverd shorthanded marker, but Mike Christensen answered back for Brooklyn just 28 seconds later, making it a 4-1 game. 29 seconds after that, Kyle McCollaugh scored, to give all three members of the team’s BMT line a goal and put the Aces up 5-1.

The Bears attempted a comeback again at 9:55 as Geverd potted his second of the night to cut the Brooklyn lead to 5-2. Tony Resendes and B.J. Kuper had other things in mind however, scoring 48 seconds apart with less than four minutes remaining, stretching the lead to 7-2.

Much like the first period, the second started timidly, until Holmes lit the lamp for the second time at 6:42, stretching the Brooklyn lead to 8-2. Despite slowing down the offensive attack the rest of the period, the Aces got another goal off a Doug Hoffman shot from the point with 2:06 remaining that made it 9-2.

“Games like this are good, but we know we have more work to do,” said Hoffman. “We’ll be facing better teams and we have to be sharper in the future. As far as me, I’ve been on a little bit of a slide lately and this felt good.”

Just when things looked like they couldn’t get much better for Brooklyn, they did, after Hoffman scored again from the point at 6:39 of the third and gave the Aces a whopping 10-2 lead. The lead continued to grow later in the third, as a Chad Wilcox tally at 7:51, that made the enforcer look more like a sniper, continued the Aces reign of terror and gave them a nine-goal lead.

With half the period remaining, the Aces quieted down the offensive attack even more, feeling they had Hudson Valley’s number by then, but defeated the cellar-dwelling Bears 11-3 after a late period goal by Joey Grasso.

With the win, the Aces are now 10-1 for the season and are currently riding an eight-game winning-streak.

Impressed at the poise and consistency of his team, Firriolo is one happy man.

“These guys are working really hard right now,” he said. “It’s a long season, but I’m very happy.”

Notes-

Aces goaltender Eddie Neville made 23 saves on 26 shots.

According to Firriolo, Aces defenseman Rob Miller may miss tomorrow’s game due to injury.

Mike Thomson was a healthy scratch.

Aces goaltender Miro Recicar is day to day with a sprained ankle.

Check out the Aces fight page to watch both scraps that occurred during the game.

Photos by Ron Hatcher.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

At 9-1, the Aces have the league’s best offense, best defense and best duo in net. Aside from one hiccup against the Rockhoppers and a few slow starts, Brooklyn has been as perfect as you can be up to this point.

In order for the Hudson Valley Bears to be able to hold their own tonight, they’ll have to do a pair of things.

1- Shutdown the Aces BMT Line of James Brannigan, Kyle McCollaugh and C.J. Tozzo.- So far this season, Brooklyn has scored 61 goals. The Aces top line has been responsible for 30 of those tallies, so obviously keeping them off the scoresheet, something no team has really been able to do this season, will prove to be pivotal.

What is even scarier is the Aces offensive firepower as a team. Minus the production of their top line, Brooklyn would still have a better overall offense than Danbury [25 goals on the season] and would be extremely comparable to Hudson Valley [31 goals] and New Jersey [39 goals]. Simply put, the Aces have three lines that can give you nightmares. Nevertheless, the top line is the one that has to be stopped if Hudson Valley wants to stay in the game.

2- Make the Aces defense work hard- With Andrew Scampoli off playing in Holland, the Aces will be leaning heavily on the trio of Doug Hoffman, Rob Miller and Nick Grove. Ian McLaughlin, a converted forward has proved to be a solid d-man, but hasn’t been given enough ice-time to prove how solid he can be in the crunch. Mike Richards was activated off IR a week or so ago, but it’s unknown how much of a factor he’ll be. If Hudson Valley can make the Aces defensemen work hard in both ends and play physical, they may be able to get a few second chance opportunities that they wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.

If they can get that done, this is going to be a great game to watch. If not, expect another six-goal affair from Brooklyn that results in a ton of shots and even more penalty minutes.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Despite picking up former Aces Jerry Cardinale and Dan Rohanna [who has yet to appear in a game for the team and may be still nursing a hand injury he suffered two weeks ago in a fight with Joe Pelle. However, at this time, his current status is unknown.] last week, the Bears [1-4] were defeated 9-2 by Brooklyn in their last game on Saturday. In spite of possessing a handful of capable offensive players in Chris Seifert [4 goals & 5 assists, good for 4th in the EPHL in scoring], former Ace Scott Estey [4 goals & 4 assists good for 6th in the EPHL in scoring] Scott Horvath [1 goal & 7 assists] and Dan Malloy, the Bears have looked out of sync on the ice this season.

Hudson Valley’s defense, which includes 6’5 behemoth Gabe Yeung, has had their problems as well, as they have yet to prove their shutdown ability. Because of this, the Bears goaltending trio of Jim Pelligrino, Len DiCostanzo and Ryan Hull have yet to show their real ability on the ice and have instead been left befuddled with wanton scoring opportunities all season.

The way the Aces offense and defense has played over their past four games, outscoring their opponents 31-11, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell that Brooklyn should be in great shape if they can continue to play their game. In spite of getting great goaltending from Eddie Neville and consistent play from their defense, the offensive firepower the team has is truly the thing the coaching staff and fans have been most thankful for this season.

However, much the case with the team earlier in the season, the Aces will need a 60-minute effort in order to dominate and cannot get themselves into penalty trouble. All three lines have the potential to contribute offensively and it’s important that they get started early, which would force an already thin Hudson Valley defense to not take a shift off all night. As the Aces have proven on multiple occasions this season, they have unparalleled depth on both their forward lines and defense and if the cinergy and gelling can continue to take place tonight, they should be able to put up big time offensive numbers against whoever is in between the pipes for the Bears.

Photo by Marty Bromberger.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

But after the first two periods, the Aces, looking flat and unenergized, seemed destined for another loss at home.

However, after a three-goal third and 61 shots on goal for the night, they clawed out a 7-6 come from behind win.

“We battled back and chipped away,” said Aces coach Chris Firriolo. “We have to be more disciplined though. We came out on fire in the third and I was proud of them for it.”

Things started out sloppy in the first, with both teams committing early turnovers and their respective goalies responding. Bears forward Scott Horvath then broke the early stalemate, putting Hudson Valley on the board first after beating Aces goaltender Miro Recicar from the doorstep at 3:20. At 7:41, Hudson Valley stretched the lead to 2-0 after a Chris Seifert shorthanded goal that seemed to take the fans in attendance out of the game.

“We played sloppy,” said Aces forward Mike Thomson. “We battled back though. We just kept going.”

Brooklyn’s speedster Jesse Felten answered back on the powerplay just 26 seconds later at 8:05 however, cutting the lead to 2-1. Just when things started to look brighter for Brooklyn, they got a lot worse. Forced to kill a 43 second five on three powerplay after Rob Miller and Mike Christensen landed in the penalty box for hooking and tripping, the Aces found themselves in a tight squeeze. With eight seconds left on Christensen’s penalty, Hudson Valley then reclaimed their two-goal lead after another goal on the doorstep, this one by Devin Guy.

With the score remaining at 3-1 through the end of the first period, the Aces needed to come out strong in the second and after just 1:08 of the period, Seifert added his second goal on the night, stretching the lead to 4-1.

1:08 later, the Aces battled back once again as Ian McLoughlin scored to make it a two-goal game.

Still down two goals in the second, Aces captain Dan Rohanna got the fans back into it at 4:19 with an evenly-matched scrap with Joe Pele. All of a sudden, Brooklyn had the jump that netted them 12 goals in their first two games on the road and was back and buzzing. At 7:08, Brooklyn’s hard work paid off after newbie Andrew Scampoli, playing in his first game of the season with the team, scored, making it a 4-3 game.

Former Ace Scott Estey, claimed by the Bears a few weeks ago, then broke the momentum for Brooklyn, scoring at 16:54 to give Hudson Valley their third two-goal lead of the night. Refusing to give up, the Aces scored with 18.4 seconds remaining in the period, as sniper James Brannigan notched his fifth goal of the season, making it a 5-4 game after two periods of play.

“I love it here so far,” said Scampoli, who joined the team yesterday after starting the season with Danbury. “We got together after the first period was over and we decided to get to work. Our drive and athleticism really shined through tonight.”

Down by a goal with only 20 minutes to play, Christensen got the Aces off on the right foot in the third, catching Hudson Valley goaltender Len DiCostanzo sleeping, bouncing a wide angle shot from the corner off his right pad and into the goal, tying the game at 5-5. Brooklyn continued to run into penalty trouble in the third however, as Miller and Felten were both sent to the sin bin, giving Hudson Valley another five on three. Recicar was confident in net this time around however, making several solid saves.

With Recicar holding down the fort after a shaky first two periods, the Aces got a powerplay opportunity and made the most of it after a nice passing play by Nick Grove and Brannigan that eventually found it’s way to C.J. Tozzo with 9:05 remaining. With their first lead of the night, Brooklyn then doubled it after Kyle McCollaugh scored shorthanded at 12:20. The Bears proved resilient however and battled right back, as Estey scored for the second time, just 17 seconds later, making it a 7-6 game.

Hudson Valley’s offense was shut down the rest of the way however, as Brooklyn tightened up defensively and got some help when Hudson Valley head coach Scott Beneke was ejected with 2:41 remaining, securing a 7-6 come from behind win.

Now 3-1 after four games played, the Aces have outscored their opponents 22-16 and are currently in first place. Nevertheless, Firriolo believes his team still has a lot of work ahead of them.

“This is the third game in a row we came out flat,” he said. “This is a problem we’re going to have to fix. We have a lot of problems to correct and a lot of work ahead of us. ”

Notes-

Rohanna and Pelle dropped the gloves again later in the game, with Rohanna clearly getting the better of the Hudson Valley forward the second time around.

Video- Rohanna vs. Pelle Round 2

Photos by Ron Hatcher and Patrick Hickey Jr.

Video by Patrick Hickey Jr.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.