Today however, Niedert proved for one last time just how dominant he could be, making 43 saves as his Rockhoppers defeated the Brooklyn Aces 4-1 to claim the very first EPHL championship.

“Niedert was dynamite tonight,” said Aces head coach Chis Firriolo. “He showed why he was MVP.”

Despite an absolute lack of offense, the Aces were the aggressors in the first, out-shooting the Rockhoppers 16-9. Niedert was on top of his game, making several solid saves, but was also aided by a Jesse Felten shot that rang off the goalpost around the midway point of the period. On the other side of the ice, Eddie Neville wasn’t tested much, but held his ground and played his part in keeping the game scoreless after 20 minutes of play.

“He was great early on and it shut us down,” said Aces forward Kyle McCullough of Niedert. “I’m proud of the way we battled though. We worked really hard.”

The Rockhoppers came out much stronger in the second and scored the first goal of the game at 3:55 on the powerplay, courtesy of a shot in front by Chris Ferazzoli. Neville was stellar the rest of the period however, making 12 saves.

Felten’s line with Andrew Scampoli and “Super” B.J. Kuper continued to pressure the puck and get opportunities, but Niedert was just as strong, making 17 saves in the period.

Tony Resendes tied it at 1-1 at 6:15 in the third on an amazing wrist shot that beat Niedert over the shoulder after hitting the post. 25 seconds later, Drew Sanders scored, beating Neville glove side on a wrister of his own, giving Jersey their 1-goal lead back at 2-1.

“I was just trying to pick the guys up and get us back in that game,” said Resendes. “Things changed very quick though.”

With the game still close, Firriolo decided to try the team’s luck with an extra attacker, but Matt Puntureri scored at 18:34 with the empty net to make it a 3-1 game. At that point, the Aces were desperately trying to get back into the game but were stonewalled by Niedert. At 19:15, the Rockhoppers got another goal from Ferazzoli, his fifth of the series to put the game away at 4-1 and help Jersey claim the first ever EPHL championship.

The class of the league throughout the regular season, the Aces were heartbroken with the loss.

“I feel so bad for the guys; they worked so hard,” said Firriolo. “Last night was our night and it got taken from us, but the bottom line is we didn’t score. It was tough.”

Notes-

The Aces powerplay was 0 for four.

Neville made 30 saves on 33 shots.

Ferazzoli was named the playoff MVP.

Video-

Jersey’s celebration after the win.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr. Video by Sherrie Ocasio

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The way the Aces see it however, they were robbed.

With the Aces up 3-2 in the third, referee Michael Geoffrion was unable to sort out the massive amount of penalties he called, leading to a 25-minute stop in the action that Brooklyn never recovered from.

“He took this game into his own hands,” said Aces head coach Chris Firriolo. “He was terrible.”

Things did start out Brooklyn’s way however after Chris Holmes scored at 2:36 to give them an early 1-0 lead. Tony Resendes had an opportunity of his own a few minutes later, but missed the net on a two on one chance. That was all the offense in the period as both Neville and Niedert were solid, especially in traffic, where most of the chances were generated. However, with only 20 shots through the first 20 minutes, the majority of it was played in the neutral zone as neither team was willing to take chances big enough to induce real scoring opportunities.

Playing a huge part in the team’s win last night, the “Red Line” of “Super” B.J. Kuper, Jesse Felten and Andrew Scampoli paid dividends again as Felten assisted on a Chris Robinson goal at 1:42 with traffic in front to make it a 2-0 game.

“We were playing great,” said Resendes. “We were working them up and down the ice.”

A Chris Ferazzoli marker at 13:10 made things interesting, as the enigmatic Jersey forward was able to catch Neville out of position and slap the puck into a virtually empty net.

Brooklyn quickly bounced back at 18:51, after Mike Christensen scored after the puck was chipped towards his way inside the circles, making it a 3-1 game going into the third.

Things got a bit weird in the third at 3:07 when Geoffrion had no idea how many players were supposed to be on the ice after a few penalties were called, causing a nearly half hour episode that needed to be explained to both coaches. During this time, fans began to grow restless and players from both sides began to get off their respective benches and skate around the rink to stay warm.

Jersey defenseman Rich Jondo played his part in keeping the game from getting back in gear as well, protesting every time it seemed Geoffrion was ready to drop the puck.

“I have never seen anything quite like it,” said EPHL commissioner Jim Riggs after the game of Geoffrion’s prowess as an on-ice official. “How’s that for a quote?”

When things finally returned back to normal, Matt Tyree scored at 3:54 to make it a 3-2 game. 1:21 later, Ferazzoli scored his second of the game with a ton of traffic in front, tying the game at 3-3.

“If that delay didn’t happen and our guys didn’t get cold, we would have won 4-1,” said Firriolo. “It ruined everything.”

At that point however, Brooklyn was still in the game after McCullough answered the call this time for the Aces, scoring on a wicked wrist shot that beat Niedert with just 4:25 remaining. Just 13 seconds later, Tyree scored his second of the game, sending it into overtime for the second consecutive night.

As both teams headed off the ice, tempers began to flare as both teams voiced their displeasure with one another, adding even more intensity.

It took 7:10 into the overtime period for Jersey to light the lamp again, this time after a penalty was called on Eric Frank for hooking at 6:14, which opened the door for a Boudreau marker that gave Jersey the win.

Now faced with a must win game tomorrow, the Aces know that they can’t make any excuses and must come prepared.

Otherwise, their season will be over.

“We have to come back and win tomorrow,” said Frank. “That’s what it comes down to.”

Notes-

The Aces went 0 for five on the powerplay.

C.J. Tozzo led all skaters with eight shots.

Neville made 38 stops on 43 shots.

Attendance for the game was 1,517.

Site News:

Expect a breakdown of the entire penalty calling situation by early morning, as well as a pregame piece as always.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

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Boudreau led off the scoring at 7:41 of the first and the score stayed that way into the second period when Matt Puntureri tallied at 3:21 to make it a 2-0 game.

That’s when Brooklyn began to rally together, as Scampoli scored at 10:09 to cut the lead in half. However, New Jersey was a step ahead, getting a goals from J.P. Pauly and Boudreau over the next four minutes to give themselves a 4-1 lead going into the third.

Again Brooklyn fought back, getting goals from “Super” B.J. Kuper and Scampoli at 5:20 and 5:32, cutting the New Jersey lead to 4-3 with 14:28 left to play. Yogi Berra must have been in attendance for the game, because it was Deja-vu all over again., as the Aces attempted a comeback was spoiled by the Rockhoppers for a second time.

In a span of 31 seconds, New Jersey got goals from Rich Jondo and Anthony Becker at 11:26 and 11:57, making it a three goal game. Mike Christensen scored his team leading 31st goal for Brooklyn at 16:15 with the man advantage, but it wasn’t enough, as the Aces would be kept scoreless by Jersey goaltender Nick Niedert [44 saves] the rest of the way in an eventual 6-4 loss.

Notes-

Aces forwards Joe Pelle and Mike Thomson were not in the lineup.

Aces captain Rob Miller and fellow D-man Doug Hoffman had two assists apiece.

Aces goaltender Miro Recicar made 35 saves on 41 shots.

Brooklyn went one for four on the powerplay.

Attendance for the game was 741.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

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The struggling Aces offense did light the lamp first though at 5:52 of the first on a Kyle McCullough marker that gave them a 1-0 lead. The score stayed that way until Rockhoppers tough guy Jason McCrimmon scored his second goal of the season at 10:06 of the second to tie the game at 1-1. 5:52 later, New Jersey scored again, this time off the stick of Justin Todd, giving the Rockhoppers their first lead of the night at 2-1 going into the third period.

That’s when the Christensen show finally began.

Just 2:48 into the third, the shifty Aces center scored his 26th goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2. However, Brooklyn was unable to feed off the momentum, as 49 seconds later, Tom Boudreau scored to make it a 3-2 game.

Luckily for the Aces, Christensen wasn’t done yet and at 9:24 he scored again, this time with the man advantage, taking the game into overtime.

After five minutes of scoreless hockey in overtime, Christensen tallied in the shootout, but none of his teammates could follow suit. Boudreau and Matt Tyree scored for New Jersey though, inducing a 4-3 shootout win.

Notes-

The Aces powerplay was one for three on the night.

Joe Pelle was not in the lineup for Brooklyn.

Eric Frank had an assist and was a +2 after missing a game due to Bronchitis.

In addition to his two goals, Christensen also assisted on McCullough’s goal, giving him three points on the night. In 30 games this season, Christensen has 27 goals.

Both Eddie Neville and Nick Niedert made 48 saves on 51 shots.

Attendance for the game was 1,129.

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

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DANBURY, CONN-

For the Aces, this loss was an especially frustrating one, as the the team failed to convert on five powerplays and 35 shots on goal.

“We haven’t scored goals against Danbury or New Jersey in the past three weeks,” said Aces captain Rob Miller. “When you don’t score, you’re in trouble. It was happening when I was behind the bench and it’s still happening with me on the ice. We have to snap out of it.”

R.J. Gates led off the scoring for Danbury, taking swift advantage of a puck handling flub by Aces goaltender Eddie Neville and deposited a wrister in the back of the net at 7:08 of the first.

“Eddie was great tonight, but that mistake put us behind the eight ball,” said Aces head coach Chris Firriolo. “We were never able to get back on track after that.”

Newcomer Joe Pelle attempted to get the Aces back in gear in the second, taking on Danbury’s Matt Cosmos in a spirited-scrap, but Brooklyn couldn’t translate their efforts into anything that could be written on the scoresheet.

Danbury on the other hand continued to play an aggressive forecheck and made the most out of every Brooklyn mistake.

“I feel like they [the offense] made MacIntyre’s job too easy tonight,” said Neville. “Those guys are always in front of me and pushing into me and we weren’t doing that. No one was willing to pay the price in front of the net tonight.”

Already down 1-0, the Aces fell into deeper trouble in the second, after a Jesse Felten turnover led to a Brian Hannafin goal that doubled Danbury’s lead.

With a two-goal lead going into the final period, Danbury continued to play aggressive hockey and the Aces, despite continuous offensive pressure, were unable to get anything past MacIntyre. With 1:02 left Neville was removed for an extra skater and Danbury took advantage of that as well, nabbing a Chad Jones shorthanded marker that sealed the Aces fate at 3-0.

Scoring 14 goals in their last two games before last night, Brooklyn understands that they have to step up their play against Danbury and the New Jersey Rockhoppers, or else their playoff experience will be one they’d soon rather forget.

“Right now we’re not the best team in the league,” said Firriolo. “Right now, we’re probably third. That can can change though and it can change very quickly.”

Notes-

Neville made 37 saves on 39 shots.

The Aces are still nine points of New Jersey and 14 points ahead of Danbury for the top spot in the EPHL.

Pelle’s scrap with Cosmos has been added to the team’s fight page.

Aces forward Eric Frank missed last night’s game with Bronchitis, but will be in the lineup today against New Jersey.

Attendance for the game was 1,220.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

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Making 39 saves on the night, the gritty netminder guided his team to a 5-3 win over the Brooklyn Aces.

Things didn’t start off the Rockhoppers’ way however, as a Mike Thomson marker at 6:49 of the first gave Brooklyn an early 1-0 lead. New Jersey then bounced right back, getting tallies from Tom Boudreau and Chris Ferazzoli at 10:22 and 15:56, giving the Rockhoppers a 2-1 lead going into the second.

New Jersey extended the lead on a Kyle Bozoian score that made it a 3-1 game. Aces defenseman Doug Hoffman scored on the powerplay at 10:51, cutting the lead to 3-2 with only one period of play.

Nevertheless, the Rockhoppers weren’t done offensively, as Anthony Becker’s 16th goal of the season make it 4-2. Brooklyn still has some fight in them and Thomson ended up lighting the lamp for the 18th time this year, making it a one-goal game with 2:20 left to play.

Taking goaltender Eddie Neville out of the net for the extra man, the Aces were unable to tie the game. Ferazzoli added an insurance goal at 18:49 with the empty net to put the game away at 5-3.

Notes-

With the loss, New Jersey is just 10 points behind the Aces for the top spot in the EPHL.

Neville made 45 saves on 49 shots.

The Aces powerplay was one for four.

Attendance for the game was 1,292.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

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Making 35 saves against a hungry Brooklyn offense, the Rockhoppers netminder powered a 4-1 win over an Aces team that is looking far from the first place team it’s supposed to be.

“We’re going to create offense, we’re a skilled team; we just have to take advantage of our opportunities. We’re just a bit too vanilla right now ,” said Aces captain C.J. Tozzo. “We were a bit soft. We have to get hungry again.”

Things started off well for the Aces however, as Chris Holmes slapped his way on to the blank scoreboard in the first, depositing his own rebound past Niedert at 8:36 after a sexy pass from Kyle McCullough, giving Brooklyn a 1-0 lead.

Taking 19 shots in the period, the Aces avoided the flat early efforts that have become a concern this season. Brooklyn goaltender Eddie Neville was also sound in the period, making nine saves, many of them with confidence and from in front of the crease.

“I felt good,” said Neville “I felt confident.”

New Jersey was the aggressor in the next period however and after just 3:39, the Rockhoppers tied the game on an Anthony Becker howitzer that beat Neville. Things stayed that way the rest of the period as both Niedert and Neville made several spectacular saves. Aces defenseman Doug Hoffman did his fair share of puck stopping in the period as well, blocking a Matt Puntureri shot in the slot and later sliding across the crease to stop a barrage of New Jersey opportunities to keep the game tied going into the third period.

“He played great defense tonight,” said Aces head coach Chris Firriolo of Hoffman. “It was good to see him do that out there.”

The game’s frenetic pace continued into the third, but a Kyle Bozoian goal at 7:36 put New Jersey in the drivers seat. Brooklyn continued to put shots on Niedert, but every time, the Rockhoppers netminder obliged, keeping them scoreless the rest of the way. A Chris Ferazzoli marker at 10:39 put New Jersey up for good and a Matt Tyree empty net marker at 18:33 put the game away for good.

Dropping three games in a row for the first time all season, Firriolo isn’t concerned, but he wants his team to regain the offensive form that has them at the top of the league.

“We can’t finish,” he said. “I thought we played our best period all season in the first, but we couldn’t finish. Right now, we’re the top dogs and every one is gunning for us and they’re going a good job. Like I’ve said before, I’m not concerned. Every great team goes through a run like this. At the end of the day, it’s better that this happens now than later. We have to focus.”

Notes-

Forward Mike Baccaro, a teammate of Tozzo’s at Plattsburgh State, made his professional debut for Brooklyn, registering three shots.

Mike Christensen and Dan Carney were both out of the lineup. Christensen is suffering from a strained MCL and Carney has a broken finger. While Christensen’s status is still unknown, Carney, affording to Firriolo is expected to be in the lineup against Danbury.

The Aces powerplay went 0 for 3.

Neville made 34 saves on 37 shots.

Attendance for the game was 1479.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

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B.J. Kuper broke open the scoring at 1:38 on the powerplay after a Matt Tyree tripping penalty, giving Brooklyn an early 1-0 lead. The Aces wouldn’t score again until 12:37 of the second, when Mike Christensen scored on the powerplay. In between that lapse in offense for Brooklyn, the Rockhoppers got four goals from the quartet of Tyree, Kyle Bozoian, Matt Puntureri and Anthony Becker. Soon after Christensen’s goal, the Rockhoppers got another goal from Becker at 14:01 and one from Logan Bittle at 15:57, making it a 6-2 game going into the third period.

The Aces tried to fight back in the third as a Jesse Felten marker, his 19th goal of the season, at 1:50 cut the Jersey lead to 6-3. 5:57 later, Puntureri lit the lamp again, as New Jersey reclaimed their four-goal lead. C.J. Tozzo and Derek Kern tallied later in the period to cut the Rockhoppers lead in half and even took goaltender Miro Recicar out of the net for the final 1:03, but couldn’t get the equalizer.

With the loss, which was Recicar’s first in regulation all season, the Rockhoppers gained two points on the Aces and are now 18 behind Brooklyn for the top spot in the EPHL.

Notes-

The Aces powerplay was two for four on the night.

Aces defensemen Joe Lyle and Nick Grove were not in the lineup.

The Aces newest addition, Dan Carney had an assist on Kern’s goal and was -3 on the night.

Recicar made 33 saves on 40 shots.

Kern’s goal was his second in four games with the team this season. He also has five points.

Attendance for the game 1,468.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

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For 57 minutes and 58 seconds, that streak looked like it would continue, but behind a pair of late goals by Alex Redmond and Erik Kent, the gritty Danbury Mad Hatters skated to a hard fought 5-4 shootout win.

“They worked hard,” said Aces forward Eric Frank, who scored twice in the game. “But no one on this team wants to lose to them. We can’t make excuses. I think they just wanted it more in the end. We took it to them for 58 minutes and then we made mistakes. They’re a good team and they took advantage.”

Jesse Felten opened up the scoring at 1:52 of the first, giving Brooklyn the early lead. Eric Frank later scored on a juicy rebound after a Felten shot from in between the circles at 7:26 to make it a two-goal game. Frank tallied again at 9:57 after a gorgeous cross-ice pass from Kyle McCullough, giving the Aces a 3-0 lead after less than 10 minutes of play.

“It feels good to bury the puck,” said Frank. “It took me some time, but I feel I’m getting better. I just have to keep building on this.”

The Mad Hatters got back in the game quickly after Drew Madeiros’ rebound marker at 10:18. Alex Redmond lit the lamp for Danbury with traffic in front at 14:23 to make it a one-goal game going into the second.

Even though the next period ended with the score still deadlocked at 3-2, both teams picked up their physical play. The Aces’ Chris Robinson and Madeiros were the main aggressors, looking like bumper cars at Coney Island, slamming several players into the boards and keeping up the game’s frenetic pace.

“We tried to keep things simple,” said Robinson of his play and the performance of his parter Gabe Yeung. “We were just banging bodies out there. It’s been a long weekend and we felt that’s what we needed to do out there.”

The Aces extended their lead again in the third, after McCullough scored on a deflection on a shot from that point by Ian McLoughlin that was already tipped once by C.J. Tozzo, making it a 4-2 game. After that, the game continued it’s seesaw-like pace, but Recicar was solid again in net. That was until Redmond tallied again at 17:12 on a wrister with traffic in front, making it one-goal game. Just 46 seconds later, Erik scored for Danbury, tying the game at 4-4 and sending the game into overtime.

After a scoreless OT period, the Mad Hatters got the win on a Hank Carisio shootout marker, as Jesse Felten [who nailed the post in his attempt], Chris Holmes and Tozzo were unable to get the equalizer.

With key players the likes of McCullough, Nick Grove and Chad Wilcox all injured or playing hurt and Mike Christensen out of lineup this weekend, the Aces knew this stretch of games were going to be difficult. Nevertheless, they managed to nab five of out of a possible six points.

That doesn’t mean they were thrilled at coughing up a two-goal lead against their most heated rival though.

“This is a game we should have never have lost,” said Firriolo. “We’ve been having problems finishing teams off as of late and it’s a problem that is going to hurt us down the stretch if we can’t fix it.”

Notes-

The Aces leading scorer, McCullough, returned to the lineup after missing Saturday night’s game with a lower body injury.

According to Firriolo, the team has released forward Josh Coyle.

“He wasn’t the player we were looking for right now, “ he said. “We felt the need to go in another direction.”

Recent addition Derek Kern wasn’t in the lineup either, but is expected to play during the team’s following stretch of games next week.

Recicar made 35 saves on 39 shots in his first loss of the season. However, in spite of the loss, he has yet to lose a game in regulation this season.

The game’s attendance was 1,011.

Video- The shootout.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

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