ACES BEAT HUDSON VALLEY 10-5

Sunday night at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, NY the Brooklyn Aces extended their current win streak to seven games, beating the Hudson Valley Bears 10-5. The Aces became the first EPHL team to go an entire game with no penalties. They were too busy scoring to spend any time in the penalty box. Ian McLoughlin got the scoring spree started in the first period by taking a puck in from the blue line while fighting off two Bears defenders and flipping the puck over goalie Peter Maro's right shoulder. Hudson Valley's Scott Estey answered with his first of two goals on the night just a few minutes later, but the Aces meant business. Chris Holmes gave Brooklyn the lead, taking a Mike Christensen pass and putting it in the net. Less than two minutes later, BJ Kuper put himself in front of the net and in prime position for teammate Eric Frank to find him from behind the net. "It was a beautiful play by Frank. He went behind the net and drew the goalie opposite," said Kuper. "Then he passed it over a defenseman's stick, and my only option was to go top corner, and I hit it."

Frank would add a goal of his own, his third of the season later in the period. After Joey Grasso scored his first goal as an Ace, Brooklyn found themselves with a 6-1 advantage just 14 minutes into the first period. All-in-all 8 different Aces scored on Sunday night, with Mike Christensen and Jesse Felten each scoring twice. Felten also added two assists to be named the game's First Star. Newcomer Gabe Yeung had three assists against his former mates to help the Aces to victory.

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Tonight at the Essex County Richard J. Codey Arena at South Mountain the Brooklyn Aces (16-2-1-0) defeated the Jersey Rockhoppers (9-7-0-0) 4-3. The host Rockhoppers got on the board first, when Kyle Bozoian scored his 11th goal of the season on a pass from Tom Boudreau. The Aces evened the score when Jesse Felten put one in on the power play. "The puck was bouncing everywhere," said Felten. "Kyle (McCullough) and CJ (Tozzo) both took swipes at it and missed, so I just reacted, took a swing at it, and it went in." Jersey would have the last laugh of the first period however, as Chris Ferazzoli put in a rebound to give Jersey the 2-1 advantage.

Chad Wilcox started the second period with a bang, scoring his 2nd goal of the season to tie the score at 2-2. While Jersey was killing a penalty in the second period, their best penalty killer was in net, in the person of Nick Niedert. Nick made several amazing saves to keep his team in the game, and the score tied. But Brooklyn's offense kept coming, and Eric Frank broke through with the go-ahead goal midway through the second period. Kyle Bozoian added his second of the night to tie the game at 3-3 heading into the third period. That's when reigning EPHL Goaltender of the Week, Eddie Neville, shut down the Rockhoppers offense, holding them scoreless in the game's final frame. After failing to capitalize on several power play chances, CJ Tozzo put home an even-strength game-winner with less than 5 minutes remaining to secure the win for the Aces.

CATCH TONIGHT'S GAME ON THE WEB

For those fans that cannot make the trip to the Essex County Richard J. Codey Arena on Friday night to see the Aces take on the Jersey Rockhoppers, be sure to tune in to the Aces' webcast. Announcer Tom Willms of IYMSportsRadio.com will be giving the live play-by-play as the Aces try to extend their first place lead.

Tonight's pre-game show will begin at 7:50 pm, with the opening face-off scheduled for 8:00 pm. Simply visit www.iymsportsradio.com and click the 'Listen Live' link.

NEVILLE NAMED GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Eddie Neville has been named the Eastern Professional Hockey League's Goaltender of the Week. In wins over Danbury on December 23rd & 26th, Neville stopped 61-of-66 shots. The Ozone Park, NY native leads all EPHL goaltenders with a 2.91 goals against average, a 91.6% save percentage, and a record of 8-2-1. Neville is in his first professional season having played junior hockey in the NAHL & USHL and college hockey at Bowling Green State University.

ACES 'SWEEP' DANBURY WITH 3-1 WIN

Saturday afternoon at the Aviator Arena in Brooklyn, NY the Brooklyn Aces (14-2-0-1) took on the Danbury Mad Hatters (6-8-0-1) for the third game in a row. And for the third game in a row, the Aces emerged victorious, defeating Danbury 3-1 in what has quickly become the EPHL's most heated rivalry. Danbury struck first on Saturday when Igor Karlov scored on an assist from Mike O'Sullivan five minutes into the first period. But it would be all Aces after that. Forward Mike Christensen continued to play well, scoring his 13th goal of the season on the power play, midway through the first period. Less than two minutes later, again on the power play, James Brannigan put a CJ Tozzo pass into the back of the net for his league-leading 21st goal of the season. The Aces success on the power play was matched by their ability to kill penalties on Saturday.

Their best penalty killer was in the net, in the form of Miroslav Recicar, who stopped 20-of-21 Danbury shots on goal and remained undfeated this season (6-0). The Aces are back in action on Sunday as they travel to Newburgh, NY to take on the Hudson Valley Bears at 4:30pm.

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ACES WIN 4-2

Tonight at the Danbury Ice Arena in Danbury, CT the Aces (13-2-1-0) defeated the Danbury Mad Hatters (6-6-0-1) 4-2. The Aces were outshot for just the second time this season, but remained undefeated in that situation. Danbury struck first in this hard-fought battle, when Mike O'Sullivan found Igor Karlov in front of the net for his 7th goal of the season, less than two minutes into the first. Jesse Felten evened the score at 1-1 with his 5th of the season, late in the first, and the Aces never looked back.

Chris Holmes scored for the 9th time this year on an assist from Mike Christensen midway through the second period. Later in the period Christensen struck again, leading James Brannigan to his 20th goal of the year, giving Brooklyn the 3-1 advantage. Christensen had an assist on all four Brooklyn goals in the game. Goalie Eddie Neville remained hot, stopping 35-of-37 Danbury shots on goal, improving his league leading save percentage. A late goal by Danbury's Dan Hickman would not be enough, and Brooklyn held on for the 4-2 win.

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ACES BEAT ROCKHOPPERS 4-2

Saturday night at the Aviator Arena in Brooklyn, NY the Aces (11-2-1-0) defeated the Jersey Rockhoppers (7-5-0-0) 4-2. Jersey ended the first period with a 1-0 lead. This was the third consecutive game that the Aces went scoreless in the first period. But they made up for it in the second. BJ Kuper got the Aces on the board less than 2 minutes into the period, scoring on an assist from Mike Richards and newcomer Eric Frank. 54 seconds later, James Brannigan added his 18th goal of the season to give Brooklyn a 2-1 lead.

Goaltender Eddie Neville was outstanding in net, stopping 28-of-30 Rockhopper shot attempts. Midway through the second period, Mike Christensen scored his first of two goals on the night, taking a soft pass from Chris Holmes and putting it in the back of the net. The Rockhoppers would cut the lead to one on Logan Bittle's 3rd goal of the season later in the period. But Christensen and Holmes teamed up again for the insurance goal with just over a minute remaining in the third to seal the victory.

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RESENDES NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Aces forward Tony Resendes has been named the Eastern Professional Hockey League's Player of the Week. Resendes had a six point week, scoring three goals and adding three assists in two games. In only seven games with the Aces, the Wilmington, Massachusetts native has 13 points (4 goals & 9 assists). The twenty-one year old forward began the year with Twin Cities in the SPHL.

ACES LOSE TO JERSEY 5-4 IN OVERTIME

Tonight at the Essex County Richard J. Codey Arena at South Mountain the Jersey Rockhoppers (7-4-0-0) defeated the Brooklyn Aces (10-1-1-0) 5-4 in an overtime thriller in West Orange, ending the Aces' 8-game win streak.

Jersey struck first midway through the first period when Anthony Becker scored his 1st goal in a Rockhoppers uniform with just under 10 minutes remaining in the period. Brooklyn's high-powered offense was held scoreless in the first period for just the third time all season.  After another Jersey goal, Tony Resendes cut the lead to 2-1. The goal was Resendes' 3rd of the season, but he did not stop there. Resendes would score again later in the 2nd for the Aces on an assist from CJ Tozzo. The Aces ended the 2nd period trailing 3-2.

After a back-and-forth opening to the 3rd period, Logan Bittle scored his 3rd goal of the seaon for Jersey, on a pass from Chris Ferazzoli to give them a two goal lead. But the Aces would fight back. Looking for an answer, the Aces found it in their 'resident pest' BJ Kuper. Captian Chad Wilcox found Kuper in front of the next with less than 7 minutes remaining in regulation, cutting the deficit to one. BJ would score again less than 3 minutes later to tie the game, and send the Aces to overtime for the second time this season.

Just over a minute into the extra frame, Chris Ferazzoli took a pass at the top of the Rockhoppers' circle and skated up-ice. After shaking a defender in the neutral zone, Ferazzoli skated wide of the net and wristed a short-side backhanded shot over the shoulder of Eddie Neville, earning the Rockhoppers the victory.

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