BKN Aviators ~ Regular Season Finale

From the desk of:   THE SKATES OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  Wins Against Danbury and New Jersey Lock Up Fourth Place and a Playoff Date With the Whalers.



FRIDAY FINALS:

Danbury   1
Brooklyn  7

1000 Islands   15
Akwesasne      8




With wins Friday and  Saturday evening, that should be a wrap.  The A's have secured fourth place.



Friday night, the 1000 Island Privateers wrecked the Akwesasne Warriors 15-8, while Brooklyn made guppies out of the Danbury Whalers.  The night's results gave Brooklyn a ten point lead over the Warriors, on this, the final weekend of the regular season.



A game after Danbury goalie Peter Ventri stymied the A's on Wednesday, Flatbush stormed back in Friday night's return game to defeat the Whalers 7-1 at The Hangar.  Brooklyn jumped out to an early 2-0 first period lead on a power play goal by Nick Petriello, and a goal by Steve Koich.



In the second period, Flatbush again made the Whalers pay for their misplays.  First, Joe Dabkowski put the A's up 3-0 after eight minutes of play.  But it was Michael Thomson who did the damage with two power play goals, for a 5-0 Brooklyn lead.



The Aviators kept pressing matters in the third period with another two goals before Danbury could even score their first.  Michael Thomson completed his hat trick at the 1:40 mark.  And Brian Marks converted on yet another Brooklyn power play opportunity for their final goal of the game.



In all, the Aviators were 4 for 10 on the power play.  Josselin St. Pierre was back in net making his first start in four games.  He faced thirty-one shots while stopping all but one for the win.





SATURDAY FINALS:


New Jersey   3
Brooklyn      9

1000 Islands   8
Akwesasne   20  <   this is not a type-o!




Then Saturday; Wow!  After the drubbing they took from the Privateers Friday, Akwesasne went completely medieval on 1000 Islands and butchered them with twelve goals in the third period, and twenty-two goals overall.  The Warriors' Pierre Dagenais scored three hat-tricks!  Yes, he had ten goals in total all by himself.  For Akwesasne however, this was their last game of the regular season.  That's what you call going out with a bang though.  However, they will be falling short of fourth place and Brooklyn in the standings.  They will be the five seed, and will just picke-up where they left off against 1000 Islands once the second season start.



Meanwhile, Brooklyn was busy with their continuing recent success on the power play against the first place New Jersey Outlaws.  Over the last two games, they are now 7 for 17 with the man advantage.



New Jersey scored first when old friend Matthew Puntureri assisted on a Kevin Cooper goal just 0:17 into the game.  But Brooklyn answered back with a pair.  Chris Campanale's goal tied it inside the seventh minute.  Just over three minutes later, Andrew Owsiak scored and unassisted goal for a 2-1 Flatbush lead.



Kevin Cooper answered back for the Outlaws to make it a 2-2 game.  But Flatbush countered again making them pay on the power play.  Brett Liscomb was sent to the box after a hit from behind putting the A's on the power play.  Nick Petriello cashed in midway through the man-advantage for a 3-2 Flatbush lead.  Then Jason Dolgy scored Brooklyn's second power play goal of the period after the Outlaws were called for a high sticking penalty.  And so they took a 4-2 lead into the first intermission.



At 2:22 in, Flatbush opened up the second period with another power play goal on Nick Petriello's second of the game.  Chris Campanale also added his second goal of the game giving the A's a 6-2 lead.  But New Jersey's Anthony Battaglia got one back making this a 6-3 game after two periods of play.



The third period was all Flatbush.  Steve Koich made it 7-3 inside the fifth minute.  For two Aviators, he only thing left was a race for the hat trick.  Chris Campanale won.  He completed his when he scored his third goal of the game at the 15:17 mark.  Less than a minute later, Nick Petriello completed his to cap off a 9-3 Flatbush final.  Of note, that's three Brooklyn hat-tricks in their last two games.



Coach Miller decided to make Michael DiLorenzo responsible for guarding the pipes again.  He faced thirty-five Outlaw shots on goal and stopped thirty-two for the win.



By night's end, Brooklyn finished with seventy-nine points and have fourth place locked up.  Tomorrow, Sunday, the A's will wrap up their regular season with another game versus the New Jersey Outlaws over on their ice.  Saturday evening was the Warriors' last game.  Akwesasne ends the season with sixty-nine points.




***It wouldn't be right for me not to admit this, but all this time I was under the impression the top four teams made the playoffs.  Apparently, the top six teams participate.

SUNDAY

REGULAR SEASON FINALE

BROOKLYN AVIATORS

vs.

New Jersey Outlaws

From,

The Other Side of the Harbor

Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Flatbush in a Dogfight to the Finish

From the desk of:   THE SKATES OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  Flatbush Sweeps Two From Danville Dashers.  Overtake Akwesasne in the Standings.  A's Back in the First Division With Four to Play.



SATURDAY FINAL:   BACK IN FOURTH PLACE!

Brooklyn   7
Danville     3



Let's understand for a moment Danville only has four wins this season.  So it's not like defeating the Danville Dashers; this season at least; is the stuff legends are made of.  Although the any-given-day rule still applies to all teams.  I am merely going to suggest, with the Aviators needing wins most, Jesse Felten stepped-up to remind his mates how to seize the moment; as several of his current mates were part of Brooklyn's miraculous run towards the playoffs last season.


Thanks in large part to their forward, the Aviators are back, but far from safe, in fourth place after defeating the Dashers 7-3 Saturday in the first of a two game series.  The win finally allowed Brooklyn to punch through the percentage points lead Akwesasne held over Flatbush and puts them back in the first division again with only five games left to play.  The Warriors lost to the New Jersey Outlaws 6-2 Saturday, and will be idle Sunday.  Advantage Brooklyn.


Michael DiLorenzo earned his third win in four starts for Brooklyn by turning back twenty-four of twenty-seven shots on goal by Danville.  The night started with a Kings County sized gasp when Danville scored just 0:39 into the game.  But in what are now must-win-games, the "old" Brooklyn vet, Jesse Felten, stepped in to lead Flatbush, when a leader was needed.


Midway through the first period, Felton tied the game with his twenty-fourth goal of the season.  And before the period's end, Jason Dolgy scored at 17:53 on the power play after Danville's Ryan Stern got whistled for cross-checking.  From then on, attitudes and comportment deteriorated.  But the game pressed on without too much chicanery.


Danville got off to another quick start to open the second period.  Four minutes in, this game was tied at two apiece.  But a few minutes later, Matt Atsoff put his Brooklyn mates up by one again.  Then midway through the period, Jesse Felten scored his twenty-fifth goal of the season on a power play to make it a 4-2 game.  Danville answered yet again with a goal at the 11:55 mark.  But it would be their last of the night.  Before the second period expired, Steve Koich gave the A's a 5-3 lead with his sixth goal of the season.


The third period was all Brooklyn.  Just over a minute in, Steve Owsiak scored his seventeenth goal of the season.  Then Jesse Felten and Jason Dolgy finished this game off the same way they started it.  Jesse Felten scored goal number twenty-six of the season at the 2:09 mark on a power play to complete his hat trick.  Jason Dolgy netted his second goal of the game and Brooklyn's final of the  evening for an 8-3 Flatbush win and their sixty-seventh point of the season; four better than the Warriors.





SUNDAY FINAL:  GAIN THREE MORE POINTS OVER AKWESASNE WARRIORS!

Brooklyn   4
Danville    2



Fourth place was now a matter of which team had more points again and no longer based on win percentages.  With the Warriors not playing, Sunday represented a huge opportunity to put some more distance between Flatbush and Akwesasne before both teams take the ice again Wednesday night.


With a day game after a night game, Coach Miller gave John Dorman his first Aviator start between the pipes Sunday after starting Michael DiLorenzo Saturday.  Regular goalie Josselin St. Pierre was not penciled into either game.  Regardless, in his first game in net since November 2011, John Dorman stopped fourteen of sixteen shots Brooklyn's defense allowed Danville.  At the other end, Flatbush peppered Danville's goalie; Nick Wydock; with twenty-one shots in the first period alone.


Sunday's overall shots on goal total was Brooklyn forty; Danville sixteen.  The final score was Brooklyn four; Danville two.  Who accrued more penalty minutes can be figured out if you try.  But ascertaining the number of punches thrown this afternoon is useless.  Saturday's simmering hostilities and lingering feuds boiled over throughout the first and third periods of Sunday afternoon's raucous affair.


When they weren't littering the ice with sticks and gloves, Brooklyn was doing just enough to win their third straight game, and more importantly gaining three more points in the standings over the idle Akwesasne Warriors.


There was no hat trick from Jesse Felten Sunday.  He played facilitator this time, instead assisting on three Brooklyn goals.  Five minutes in, he assisted on Henry Coxe's opening goal of the game.  A little over two minutes later, Jesse Felten again had the primary assist on Andrew Scampoli's power play goal.  With three and a half minutes left in the first period, Danville scored on a power play to end the period 2-1 Brooklyn.


Michael Thompson scored the only goal of the second just 1:31 into the period.  Then in the third period, Jesse Felten recorded his third assist of the game on Andrew Owsiak's goal at the 6:21 mark.  Danville scored a late short-handed goal to make the score a respectable 4-2 final.


That's seventy points and a job well done.  Now, Flatbush has four games left in the regular season.  The Aviators have a seven point lead over the Akwesasne Warriors and for the moment, own the final playoff spot.  Brooklyn now has a daunting task before them.  They will close out the regular season with a home-and-home against the third place Danbury Whalers, then a home-and-home against the first place New Jersey Outlaws.  The defending FHL Champions; Akwesasne Warriors; only have three games remaining.  One game remains against Danville this Wednesday.  They will then finish with a home-and-home against the second place 1000 Islands Privateers.


Should the playoff's fourth seed remain undetermined by March 3rd, Brooklyn's scheduled Sunday, March 4th game against New Jersey can quite literally turn out to be their "ACE" in the hole as Akwesasne will have concluded their season on Saturday.



Let's Go A's!





Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Upstate Showdown; Warriors, Come Out to Plaaay!

From the desk of:   THE SKATES OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:   It's Upstate Versus Downstate With a Playoff Spot Up For Grabs.

AVIATORS BEGIN FINAL TEN GAME STRETCH

In a trying season for the A's, these next two games are as important as any they will play down the stretch.  The Brooklyn Aviators touch down in Akwesasne this weekend for two games against last year's FHL Champions; the Warriors.



In addition to losing to the Whalers last Friday, Brooklyn had their weekend cut short last week.  And so with more games played, the Danbury Whalers moved ahead of Brooklyn in the standings.  The Whalers now own third place with seventy-one points.  Brooklyn is in fourth place with sixty-four points.  The Warriors trail them with fifty-seven points.  For Brooklyn, a sweep of these two games will go along way towards keeping them in the first division and securing a playoff berth.  With two wins of their own, the Warriors can pull within a point of the A's.



Brooklyn will have their work cut out for them.  Akwesasne sports three of the top eight scorers in the League.  The Warriors' Pierre Dagenais is tops with 113 points.  Sylvain Deschatelets (87 points) joins two New Jersey skaters in the 80 point range.  And Nicolas Corbeil is third on the team and eighth in the League with 61 points.  For Flatbush, both Andrew Owsiak and Jesse Felten come into tonight's game with forty-one points apiece.



Flatbush is 3-1 in their last four games while Akwesasne comes into tonight's game 1-3 over the same stretch.  The Warriors however play very well at home and have a 11-2-1-4 record to show.  On the road, the A's have played to a disappointing 6-0-3-9 record.



This is the final push.  There are only ten games left in Brooklyn's regular season.  Lets Go Aviators!!





Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Pressing on into February

From the desk of:   THE SKATES OF FLATBUSH






BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  Taking Body Blows and Counter Punching; Coach Miller's Boys Will be Fighting to the Very End.



So where are we?  Who are we?  And what are we doing?  Sorry, since attending Ace's birthday party in The Hangar two weeks ago, I've had New York Giants of the brain.


The A's are currently skating with the second division in fifth place.  Although Brooklyn (55) has more total points than fourth place Akwesasne (51), the Warriors lead the Aviators by percentage points.  Cape Cod, Delaware, and Danville, round out the FHL trailers. 


New Jersey has been, and still is the clear cut power of the circuit with 93 points this season.  Second place 1000 Islands trails them by thirteen points.  And Danbury has recently made a climb in the standings (59 points) into third place. 


Fourteen games remain on the schedule.  The A's will have between their February 2nd game versus Danbury, and March 4th, to earn themselves a spot along with the top seeds for a hopeful spot in the playoffs.  The team's situation does not seem as dire as they faced last year with twenty-some games left in the season.  They just need a little consistency right now.


Who are we?  For starters, back-up goalie; Peter Dundovich; was waived on January 27, by the Boss-Man Coach Miller.  Goalie Richard Scarsella came and went.  Adam Avramenko was then signed to back-up Josselin St. Pierre but has since been loaned out to the CHL.  So that leaves rookie Jeff Rose as Flatbush's back-up goalie.  Back on January 24th, Jarrett Rush and Andrew Owsiak were packing up to play for ECHL clubs but have since returned.  And lastly, Brendan Baumgartner was traded to the 1000 Islands Privateers for defensemen Vinny Geonnetti.


No Brooklyn.  Although several players remain, this is not the same team that went on a torrid twenty-some game winning streak last season and steamrolled into the playoffs.  Coach Miller continues to tinker with this roster as he has all season.  Over that time, too many games were lost, specifically earlier on in the schedule, for a failure to secure wins during regulation time and thus finishing many nights shy one additional point. 


What are we doing?  For starters, we're suffering from a lack of identity.  Are we still a team led by veterans; Chris Ferazzoli; K.C. Timmons; Jesse Felten; Chris Scampoli; and Casey Mignone?  Or did our gumption exit along with Vladimir Nikiforov; Stephen Obelnicki; and some of last year's favorites like Puntureri, and Goffredo?  And of the newer class?  Rookie; Matt Atsoff; Trent Trentowski; Lucas Schott; Steve Koich; will they be making this their team?


Secondly, we're bobbing up and down like an ocean buoy.  The month of January is representative of just how up and down this season has gone for the Floyd Bennett Aviators.  They started the month losing their first five contests.  Then went on a five game winning streak which was snapped this past Saturday by the Whalers in an 8-2 drubbing up in Danbury.  And so the A's end the month with a 5-6 record.


When they resume play Thursday, the Whalers and Brooklyn will play a home and home starting in Danbury.  The series then comes to Hangar Five on Saturday night.  They'll finish the weekend in New Jersey as they take on the Outlaws again, whom they finally defeated this season for the first time.


We need to gain some altitude Boys.





Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Time to Round-Up The Outlaws

From the desk of:   THE SKATES OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:   State of The Hangar.

TEAM LEADERS:


After twenty Aviator games this season, Andrew Owsiak has taken over the team lead in points with twenty-seven, versus twenty-six for long time team leader Chris Ferazzoli.  Andrew Owsiak is also tied with Jesse Felten for the team lead in goals with twelve.  While Chris Ferazzoli still leads the team with sixteen assists.  Jesse Felten leads all Flatbush skaters with a stellar +15 rating.


Between the pipes, Peter Dundovich actually owns the League's best Goals Against Average with a 2.19 mark.  But that is based on seven games played as Brooklyn's back-up goalie.  The rest of the League's regular goalies are averaging about twelve starts by now.  Dundovich owns a 3-1 record.  The A's starting goalie, Josselin St. Pierre is 5-3 since signing on to replace Thomas Lee.  Josselin has a 3.51 GAA in ten games.




UPCOMING SCHEDULE:


Thursday and Friday the Coolest Guys in Brooklyn are headed to New Jersey for another back-to-back set against the first place Outlaws.  And they aren't in first place for nothing.  In four meetings this season, the Aviators are winless against them.  Additionally, New Jersey has outscored Brooklyn in those four games by a 20-13 margin.  Overall this season, New Jersey is 18-3 with fifty-six points. 1000 Islands is in second place with fifty points.  Then Brooklyn and Danbury are locked in a tie for third with thirty-six points each.


The New Jersey Outlaws sport three of the League's top ten scorers:
2) - Kevin Cooper-44 points;
4) - Travis Kauffeldt-40 points;
6) - and former Brooklyn favorite, Matthew Puntureri with 37 points.


The A's will then return to The Hangar for a Saturday tilt against Cape Cod again.  Brooklyn is fresh off sweeping a pair of games against the Blue Fins last weekend.  Their season series is now tied at four games apiece.  As of Wednesday afternoon, the Cape Cod Blue Fins are in sixth place with twenty-two points.





Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Catch of the Day

From the desk of:   THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN






BROOKLYN AVIATORS:   Gone Fishing; The Skates of Flatbush Hook Two Wins Against the Blue Fins.



The A's showed no rust for being off eleven days since their last game against Akwesasne.  Finally back on ice, Brooklyn netted twelve goals against Cape Cod's eight over six plus periods of hockey  this week, and completed a two game sweep of the Blue Fins at The Hangar.



In THURSDAY NIGHT's contest the A's struck for six goals and were 3 for 5 on the power play. 



Just over five minutes into the game, newcomer Peter Drikos, put Brooklyn's Coolest on the board first.  Then Cape Cod equalled the score for a first period tie.



This game wasn't marred with some of the more exotic penalties these two teams have collected for brutishness or unsportsmanlike behavior like some of their previous encounters.  Instead, more wholesome penalties like Holding; Interference; and High Sticking; laid doom to Cape Cod's night.  The A's scored two power play goals in the second period.  At 3:14, Jordan Bernier scored off a big assist by goalie Josselin St. Pierre.  Six minutes later, Brendan Baumgartner cashed with a second power play goal for the A's.  Cape Cod picked up a power play goal of their own to end the second period with Brooklyn ahead by a 3-2 score.



To start the third period, Ken Trentowski put the A's in front 4-2 with Brooklyn's third consecutive power play goal.  Matt Atsoff added an unassisted goal.  Then Jesse Felton capped off the night with Flatbush's sixth goal of the night.  The Fins scored once in the third period to complete their end of a 6-3 final.




FRIDAY'S GAME was far more in line with the art of hockey.  With penalties held to a minimum, a really good back and forth contest took place.  And to the delight of the Flatbush Faithful, the game came replete with a dramatic comeback, and overtime win by the Coolest.



Jordan Bernier opened up the scoring.  After Cape Cod scored to tie (they scored twice in the period), Brooklyn rode the strength of two power play goals to a first period 3-2 lead.  Within a minute of each other, Cape Cod committed back-to-back cross checking penalties; their only two real mistakes of the night.  Brooklyn cashed in on each offense.  Jesse Felton netted his twelfth goal of the season off the first penalty.  Andrew Owsiak scored thirty-four seconds later with power play goal number two, making it a 3-2 Brooklyn lead.



The second period was almost all Cape Cod.  Brooklyn watched The Fins score three consecutive goals inside the first three minutes of the second period before they answered back with a goal at the 14:12 mark by Lucas Schott. 



The Skates of Flatbush went into the third period trailing 5-4 and it stayed that way for the first ten minutes until Brendan Baumgartner broke through for a game tying goal, and his second of the weekend. 



The rest of regulation time stayed goal and penalty free.  So into overtime they went.  The home town Flatbush Faithful crowd didn't have to sweat the free-hockey portion of the evening very long.  Thirty-nine seconds into the extra session, an Andrew Owsiak shot found net, and Brooklyn completed a weekend sweep of The Fish.  And off went the Fans happily into the Brooklyn night, free to start a very Merry Christmas weekend with two victories in hand.



Josselin St. Pierre picked up his fourth and fifth wins of the season since replacing Lee Thomas as the A's goalie.  He's now 5-3 with an overtime loss mixed in.  He faced fifty-two shots over the weekend and turned back forty-four Blue Fin shots.  The season series between Cape Cod and Flatbush is now tied at four games apiece. 



Two victories this weekend make ten wins on the season.  The A's upped their season point total to thirty-six which gets them out of the second division and anchored into a tie with Danbury for third place.  FHL games resume after the Holiday break on Dec. 27th.  The A's will be back on the ice Dec. 29th against the Outlaws in New Jersey.



Merry Christmas Guys.  Let's Go Brooklyn!

Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Time To Teach FISH a Lesson

From the desk of:   THE SKATES OF FLATBUSH

 

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  You Can't Let Something Like a Broken Bus Get In Your Way!  Get Back To Work and Beat THE FISH.




Oh...!  What happun? 


A not-so-funny thing happened on the way to Danville last week....   We had a..., uh..., a little hiccup in the season folks.  Last weekend's games scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights against the Dashers out in Danville, Illinois, were cancelled because the... uh,  Aviators' team bus broke down.


I know a guy who could have fixd it!  He's got an awesome set of tools.


While someone attends to the bus, the A's have hockey to be played tonight in The Hangar.  Smell that?  That's right.  that unmistakable waft of Cod Fish can only mean one thing....  -  Well, make that two things if you're familiar with Jamaica Bay.  But that smell can only mean one other thing; the Cape Cod Blue Fins are in town.


Man, I'm really starting to dislike these guys.  We're ten points better than them in the standings.  But they've played us like we were the Washington Generals on ice.  The Fish lead the season series four games to two and have won the last two meetings.  The Blue Fins shut-out the A's 3-0 last time they met.


Missing games last week have taken a toll in the standings.  The A's are now twenty-two points behind the FHL leading New Jersey Outlaws.  The 1000 Islands club is running a loose second with forty-four points this season.  Then there's the pack -  Danbury is in third place with 33 points, Akwesasne is next with 32 points, followed by the A's with 31 points.


And by the way..., your Aviators have a newly named Captain.   Coach Miller tabbed defenseman Jarrett Rush as the team's next Captain.  He will be sporting the "C" on his jersey for the first time tonight against the Blue Fins.  The promotion to Captain fills the void left open when former Captain, Steve Obelnicki, was lost for the season to injury.  Additionally, fellow defenseman KC Timmons and Andrew Owsiak have been named the Alternates.


Now that everything is in place and we are on home-ice.... Let's Get It On!

TONIGHT

Cape Cod Blue Fins

vs.

BROOKLYN AVIATORS

FROM

HANGAR FIVE

Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn

 

Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Wake Up in Time to Salvage Weekend

From the desk of:   THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN




BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  Who Were Those Guys, and What Happened to the Skates of Flatbush?



FRIDAY FINAL

SATURDAY FINAL:
3 - Cape Cod Blue Fins
0 - Brooklyn Aviators


What the....?  This game was no less bizarre than the disappearance of Emilia Earhart, who also once took-off from Floyd Bennett Field.  Remember what happened to her....?   For the Aviators though, talk about flying into your random worm hole.



Apparently, the Aviators held a practice around Cape Cod while the Blue Fins continued to treat the night like a regularly scheduled Saturday night in the Hangar.  While the A's were busy doing...something, The Fish paced themselves in the relaxed atmosphere during an unusually quiet night on South Flatbush Ave.  Cape Cod posted a goal in each period for a 3-0 victory.  Whether Brooklyn got that memo is still unknown.



Not exactly trying to get in any one's way, the A's spent their ice time taking shots at Fish goalie; Chris Testa, who was nice enough to stop thirty nine attempts, and there-by preventing Brooklyn from having to retrieve their own pucks.


Brooklyn's Jarrett Rush was guilty of Brooklyn's lone penalty of the game; a tripping minor in the first period.  Cape Cod reciprocated with an interference call as the first period closed.  Otherwise, thanks for stopping by.  There is literally nothing else to report about this game outside of the fact the Fish now lead the season series four games to two.

Yeah.....Odd to say the least.  Is this thing on?

Kory Hilowka; Andrew Owsiaak; Jordan Bernier; and Andrew Scampoli all registered a minus-two for the game.  Josselin St. Pierre suffered another loss minding Brooklyn's net.




SUNDAY FINAL:
2 - Akwesasne Warriors  
5 - Brooklyn Aviators



The Brooklyn Aviators played the role of pacifists Sunday.  The Warriors came into the Hangar apparently wanting a mass escalation of on-ice non-hockey activity, but the A's seemingly wanted no part of it.  They played this game close to the vest to secure a rather disciplined 5-2 victory over Akwesasne.



At 3:06 of the first period, Akwesasne got whistled for it's first penalty of the night.  Everything went down hill for the Warriors after that.  The visitors effectually spent the rest of the period; and the game for that matter; interfering, roughing, cross-checking, and collecting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, with nary any tangible retaliation on Brooklyn's part except for A's goalie, Josselin St. Pierre, who picked up a first period slashing penalty of his own.



The A's did their talking on the scoreboard Sunday.  Heading into the first intermission, the A's sported a 2-0 lead on goals from Jesse Felten (power play), and Andrew Owsiak.



In the second period, Akwesasne cut into Brooklyn's lead and laid into the refs for good measure.  On this night at least, one of the few penalties the A's did commit cost them.  KC Timmons' slash at the 17:32 mark of the second period resulted in a power play goal for the Warriors at the 18:41 mark.  Midway through the period however, Akwesasne's Nicolas Corbeil lost his mind after getting whistled for a hooking penalty.  Clearly not happy with the call, he picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct/misconduct penalty, as well as an Abuse of Officials game misconduct.



In the third period, Brooklyn goalie Josselin St. Pierre picked up his second penalty of the game; a roughing call.  That is a story in itself, when your goalie has to take matters into his own hands.  Be that as it may, Brooklyn lit the lamp three more times to seal the deal on a 5-2 victory to salvage a rather uninspiring and odd weekend at the Hangar in which they dropped two of three games.



Andrew Osiak scored his tenth goal of the season, and Matt Atsoff nailed a pair of goals during the final session.







Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Stepping Up in the Standings

From the desk of:  THE SKATES OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  The Coolest Guys in Brooklyn Rewarded Themselves With a Six-Pack of Points This Weekend For a Job Well Done.


The Skates of Flatbush spent the weekend in Hangar Five taking on the visiting Danbury Whalers and  1000 Islands Privateers.  Their dual victories earned them six more points and inched them a little closer to the circuit leaders.  After the FHL's weekend schedule concluded Sunday in Danbury, the Brooklyn Aviators now find themselves in third place with twenty-eight points; thirteen points behind first place New Jersey, and only eight points behind 1000 Islands who occupy second place.




Friday Final:
Danbury Whalers - 2
Brooklyn Aviators - 4


In quite the civil game by their standards, dotted by mere charging; roughing; and boarding penalties; the Aviators took advantage of extra-man advantages two times in eight opportunities; first to tie the game in the second period, then to seal the deal in the third.


Half way through the first period, Anthony Iaquinto started Brooklyn's night with a goal assisted by Jordan Bernier and KC Timmons.  Then a little over four minutes later, Danbury struck back with an inexcusable short-handed goal, tying the game at one each.


Danbury jumped ahead in the second with a go-ahead goal at the 4:33 mark. Then a tripping minor to Danbury's Kelly Miller opened the door for Chris Ferazzoli's power play goal the the 5:06 mark which tied the score at two.  At 8:10 of the second period, Andrew Owsiak followed-up and put Brooklyn ahead 3-2 with his seventh goal of the season.


When Danbury's Adam Blanchett got whistled for slashing at 3:39 of the third period, Chris Ferazzoli took the opportunity to score on the ensuing power play, upping his team lead in goals to ten, and increasing Brooklyn's lead by two.


And with the score set at 4-2, the game went final.  Josselin St. Pierre made the start in net for Brooklyn and stopped thirty-three shots of the thirty-five he faced.  It's his third win this season since being signed to replace former goalie; Thomas Lee.



Saturday Final:
1000 Islands Privateers - 3
Brooklyn Aviators - 6




In their second ever trip to Brooklyn, the 1000 Islands Privateers were looking pretty good after one period at the Hangar.  They were leading 1-0 on a Ryan Pearson goal scored a little shy of the half way mark.  They also held Brooklyn scoreless after allowing them two power play opportunities.  The A's weren't without their chances however as they put seventeen shots on net during the period.




The second period?  Not so pretty for the Privateers.  Brooklyn lined up the cannons and opened fire lobbing four volleys past 1000 Islands goalie Matt Anthony.  Ken Trentowski fired off the first two goals of the period.  His first was unassisted and came at the 2:26 mark.  A little over two minutes later at 4:32, Jason Dolgy assisted on Ken Trentowski's second goal of the period.  The next blow against the Privateers hit it's mark at 10:13, when Jesse Felton gave Brooklyn a 3-1 lead.  And the final Aviator shot to find net this period came at the 15:32 mark, scored unassisted by Casey Mignone.




The Privateers spent the better part of the third period trying to mount a comeback and came close.  They made it a 4-2 game at just 1:34 into the final session.  Then made it a 4-3 game at exactly 13:00 on a Michael Richard goal.




But Brooklyn got play going their way again and made it a 5-3 game when Matt Atsoff made 1000 Islands pay for a boarding penalty called against Jeff Winchester.  His power play goal came after the 17:45 mark. 




Having to take the necessary step of pulling the goalie for an extra attacker, 1000 Islands suffered the riskier side of the move.  Jesse Felton scored his second goal of the night into an empty net at 19:41 to give this game an ultimate 6-3 final.




Josselin St. Pierre picked up his third win versus one loss (...and an OT loss).  He faced thirty-seven shots and turned back thirty four.  So far in his short time minding Brooklyn's net, he's sporting a  .905% saves percentage and a 3.38 goals against average.






Next weekend should be a lot of fun folks.  The A's will be hosting three games at Hangar Five starting Friday night, Dec 9th against the first place New Jersey Outlaws.  After dropping a pair of back-to-back games on their ice recently, it would be nice to get a measure of pay-back against some of the A's former team-mates and anything generally associated with New Jersey.  Hey!  Rivalries need to start some how.  Right?




Saturday is the fight game I'm really looking forward to.  The Cape Cod Blue Fins are coming back to Flatbush.  If you're in the neighborhood Saturday night, I assure you, this match-up will not disappoint.  Drive down Flatbush Avenue and check this one out.




Sunday, we welcome back an old competitor in the Akwesasne Warriors; whom we met and lost to in last season's FHL Championship series.






Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ N.J. Outlaws Hold-Up A's Weekend

From the desk of:  THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN







BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  One Wrong Exit Off the Turnpike and What You Get is a Lost Weekend in Jersey.



Talk about losing your way in the Garden State.  The Aviators' short flight over the skies of New Jersey ended in a lost weekend for the locals.  Emelia Earhart once landed and took off from Floyd Bennett Field too ya know.  How'd that go?



After taking a game from the then first place 1000 Islands Privateers before the holiday, it was Black Friday and Bleaker Saturday for the Aviators in New Jersey this weekend.  In two games on consecutive nights on New Jersey's turf, the Skates of Flatbush dropped a pair to the Outlaws.  After hoping the A's could close the gap with three games against the circuit leaders, the two losses now drop Brooklyn ten points behind New Jersey and 1000 Islands who are tied for the league lead with thirty-two points each.



Friday's game ended in a 5-3 final.  After an opening period goal by Matt Atsoff put Brooklyn ahead at the 6:22 mark, five different New Jersey players proceeded to score the next five goals over the first two periods against Aviators' goalie Josselin St. Pierre, who was making his second start since being acquired.  After three second period Outlaw goals, two former A's scored two more in the second.  John Goffredo scored N.J. goal number four on the night.  Matthew Puntureri followed up with the fifth and final score for the Outlaws. 



The A's were pretty much toast after that.  They managed two third period goals; one by Casey Mignone on the power play at 12:21 of the third.  The second Brooklyn goal of the period came on Chris Oswiak's shot at the 15:30 mark.



In taking the loss, Josselin St. Pierre faced forty-three shots; stopping thirty eight.  Brooklyn managed thirty-three shots on goal and were 1 for 5 on the power play, while holding New Jersey scoreless in three opportunities.



In the second game on Saturday, the teams took turns dominating the first two periods before ending the third session in a stalemate which necessitated over-time to determine a winner.



New Jersey had their way with Brooklyn over the last half of the first period.  Three goals; the third coming short-handed; put Brooklyn behind 3-0 at the intermission.



In the second period, it was Brooklyn's turn to dominate.  Andrew Scampoli scored goal one of the period on a power play at 6:15; assisted by A's blueliners Ken Trentowski and KC Timmons.  Goal number two came at 13:07 when KC Timmons again figured in the scoring with his third goal of the season.  Then just before the second period ended, Casey Mignone tied the game at three with his goal at the 19:33 mark.



At 3:29 of the third period, Matt Atsoff put Brooklyn ahead 4-3; assisted by Andrew Owsiak and Jason Dolgy.  But a little under ten minutes later, a Ken Trentowski slash put New Jersey on the power play.  Matt Miller cashed in for the Outlaws with his second goal of the game.



Into over-time they went.  And it didn't last long at all.  At 1:32, Travis Kauffeldt got a shot past Josselin St. Pierre for a 5-4 New Jersey win.  It was the second consecutive night St. Pierre yielded five goals to the Outlaws.  He faced thirty-eight shots in this game and stopped thirty-three.  He now owns one win against two losses as a starter.



Brooklyn finishes the weekend with a 6-5-0-4 season record and sit in fourth place with twenty two points.  The A's are off till Friday night, when they take on Danbury at the Hangar.







Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ First Look at First Place 1000 Island Club

From the desk of:  THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN

BROOKLYN AVIATORS: The Skates of Flatbush Get Their First Look at First Place 1000 Islands Privateers.


Tuesday night in Hyannis, the fifth regular season game between Brooklyn and the Cape Cod Blue Fins was a resounding win by the Fish.  They out-shot Flatbush in the game and outscored them by a wide margin.  The 8-2 final score now gives the Fins a 3-2 season series lead over the A's.



The story of the game?  The Skates of Flatbush were 1 for 15 on the power play.  Cape Cod? - 3 for 5.  What makes this worse?  Cape Cod's fifth goal of the game came short-handed.



Cape Cod seemed content keeping the A's on the power play and did so for forty-eight generous minutes.  Actually, the Blue Fins tried instigating a whole lot-o-stuff Tuesday.  But it didn't seem like Brooklyn cared to bite on the steady flow of baiting.  I'm wondering if Coach Miller had anything to do with that after a brutal session against the Cape last Friday.  And yet in fifteen opportunities with man-advantages, somehow, the Aviators could only manage one puck past Blue Fin goalie; Wes Vesprini.




A's starting goalie; Thomas Lee; on the other hand, lasted two and a half periods before Coach Miller had seen enough and mercifully lifted Lee in favor of Peter Dundovich who made his second relief appearance of the season.  Dundovich stopped all four shots he faced in a little less than ten minutes played.  Thomas Lee suffered his worst night of the season in net.  Of forty-three shots on goal, eight managed to get past him in what turned out to be a Blue Fin rout.




Brooklyn's Andrew Owsiak scored a first period goal, assisted by Anthony Iaquinto.  The A's second and last goal was a power play effort credited to K.C. Timmons, assisted by Andrew Owsiak and Vladimir Nikiforov.




The loss drops Brooklyn's record to 5-4-3, and remain at eighteen points.




The A's will be right back at it Wednesday evening when they get their first look at the 1000 Islands Privateers inside Hangar Five.  The first place Privateers are currently ahead of Brooklyn by eight points, sporting a 9-1-0 record.




Justin Lecav is 1000 Islands' leading point scorer.  The winger is tied for the team lead in goals with Paul Kelly at eleven apiece.  Justin also leads the team in assists with fifteen.  Both of the Privateer's Alternate Captains; Paul Kelly and Michael Richard; each have twenty points.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

 

 

1000 Islands Privateers Web Site

 

1000 Islands Privateers

vs.

BROOKLYN AVIATORS

From

HANGAR FIVE off FLATBUSH AVENUE,

BROOKLYN

 

Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Flatbush Faithful Get First Two Wins

From the desk of:

THE SKATES OF FLATBUSH  -  THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  The Skates of Flatbush Finally Gain Their First Two Home-Ice Victories; But Needed to Hurt Some Feelings Along the Way.



In the first meeting between the Danville Dashers and Brooklyn Aviators, our gracious and most hospitable Flatbush Avenue Skaters allowed the visiting team from Illinois to score the opening goal midway through the first period SATURDAY night in Hangar Five.  The token offering and respectful welcome to Kings County are just some of the classy reasons why our local hockey club are The Coolest Guys in Brooklyn.  Hospitality has it's limits though.  And on Flatbush Avenue, well...the definition of that word changes a little.  But how is a team from Illinois supposed to know that?  ...Answer; - gotta learn the hard way.

Mistaking Aviators kindness for a weakness, Danville misstepped with that first period goal.  The plan was for them to idly stand by while we won the game.  And because Danville's goal didn't go over so well with the home crowd, the A's responded by dashing any hopes Danville might have had regarding their own first victory of the season, much less on our ice.



The locals responded with four first period goals.  The first one should have served as an omen for Danville.  It came on a short-handed effort by Brooklyn's Steve Koich at the 12:02 mark.  Danville should have dashed away then, before Vladimir Nikiforov put Brooklyn ahead at 17:52 with his eighth goal of the season.  Then inside the final minute of the first period, Andrew Owsiak effectively put an arrow through the Dashers' night with two more goals within twenty-one seconds of each other.




Ouch!




Danville came out fighting to start the second period however.  After Ken Trentowski's period opening goal at 2:55 put Brooklyn up 5-1, Danville's Chris Affinati decided to drop gloves with Brooklyn's Jari (Rocky) Balbotowski.  Two minutes later, the Dashers netted their second goal of the game scored by Ryan Stern to make it a 5-2 game.




It was a nice try on their part.  Any Brooklynite can appreciate the effort.  But alas, it was a mistake on their part.  And Brooklyn showed them just how much they didn't appreciate Danville's behavior in our Hangar.  For good measure and to teach the expansion team a lesson for the next time, the A's went on to score another four-pack of goals.  Between 8:01 and 16:17 of the period, Jesse Felton sandwiched a Casey Mignone goal with two net-finders of his own; - Felton's second came on a power play.  Andrew Owsiak completed a hat-trick with his goal at the 16:41 mark to make this a 9-2 affair after just forty-minutes of hockey.  Danville scored one more inconsequential goal in the third period but wound up leaving Brooklyn a wounded animal.




Sorry guys.
 



Peter Dundovich started in net for Brooklyn after Thomas Lee started Wednesday and Friday night's games.  Peter stopped 22 of 25 shots on net for his second win.

Saturday's victory over Danville was Brooklyn's second consecutive home-ice win.  After posting an 0-2-2 record playing on Flatbush ice, the Aviators finally gained their first win inside Hangar Five the night before.  The home crowd's first taste of victory this season came against our newest adversary; the Cape Cod Blue Fins.  Brooklyn did some Friday night fishing off Jamaica Bay and enjoyed their fresh catch with a 5-3 filleting-o-The-Fish.  Brooklyn's first home-ice win also evened the season series between these new enemies at two games apiece.

In only their fourth game against each other, these two teams are rewriting the FHL penalty codes with an ever growing myriad of creative and seldom-called acts of brute force, ignorance, and battery.  It's making for an entertaining renaissance of the good old fashioned Canadian-style, on-ice justice system.  You can now add a Butt-Ending Major/Game Misconduct to the arsenal of unscrupulous tactics these two teams have resorted to and employed against each other in the past.




After Friday night's opening period of civilized hockey ended in a 1-1 tie thanks to goals by Cape Cod's Steve Brown and Brooklyn's Jesse Felton, the A's got the better of the Fins during a ferocious second period mix of delinquency and thuggery, with just a pinch of Hockey for taste.




Brooklyn's Chris Ferazzoli scored at 0:35 into the period.  More than just making this a 2-1 game, his goal lit a fuse that set-off the rest of the night.  For just over a minute later, Aviator's defenseman Jarrett Rush tapped into his inner pugilist and earned a swath of penalty minutes after he picked a fight with Cape Cod's Brad Surdam.  As tossed gloves made their way back to their rightful owners, short-tempered Jarrett was charged with two minutes for Instigating, another five for the Fighting Major, and an additional ten minute Game Misconduct, for a total of seventeen penalty minutes.  That translates to one thousand and twenty seconds of Goon Time.  Now that's how you seize the moment with conviction.  No more hockey game for you.




A little under six minutes later, hostilities resumed as Brooklyn's Colin Ronayne and Cape Cod's Kevin McCreedy took swipes at each other.  The hey-makers didn't stop there.  At the 10:00 mark, Brooklyn's Anthony Iaquinto and the Cape's Luke Frey decided they'd introduce each other to their fists as well.




With about three minutes left in the second period, at least Jesse Felton still had enough composure to score his second and third goals of the game for a hat-trick.  His goal at 17:05 put Brooklyn ahead by a 3-1 score.  His third goal of the game then came on a power play at 18:53 which extended Brooklyn's lead to 4-1, and which also turned out to be the game winning goal.




In the final period, of all things, a hockey game broke out again.  The return of sportsmanship allowed Cape Cod to actually use athleticism and skill to get back in this game.  But, apparently Casey Mignone didn't get the memo and got whistled for slashing at the 7:45 mark.  The Blue Fins' Anthony Sarno scored on the ensuing power play to make this a 4-2 game.




With time running out on the Blue Fins, the decision was made to pull the goalie in favor of the extra skater.  At 19:07, that decision paid off.  Garrett Peters' goal brought the Fins to within a goal.  Continuing to gamble with that strategy in order to tie, the riskier aspect of the plan materialized and ended Cape Cod's night with a loss instead.  Brooklyn's Vladimir Nikiforov scored on an empty net at 19:22 to send the Blue Fins off into the Jamaica Bay night to sleep with the rest of the fishes.




Aviators' starting goalie; Thomas Lee; faced forty-three total shots, and turned back forty for his third win of the season and a job well done; for Cape Cod out-shot Brooklyn in this game 43-32. 




...And with two more wins under their belts, a successful weekend against the Federal Hockey League's bottom two teams comes to an end.  But Brooklyn and Cape Cod will have little time to heal their wounds.  They have a quick turn-around this week and will face-off against each other again Tuesday night up in Hyannis. 




Can't wait!





LINKS:

Federal Hockey League
Brooklyn Aviators
Cape Cod Blue Fins
Danville Dashers








Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Flyin' High; Win Game One

From the desk of:  THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  Comeback Against Defending Champs In Season Opener With Disciplined Play and Composure.



For the Aviators, the memory of losing and watching the Warriors hoist the Championship Trophy on home ice to end Brooklyn's most previous season no doubt rushed back to their minds upon taking the ice Thursday night in Lewiston, Maine for a return engagement against Akwesasne.  But for a night, the Aviators displayed more discipline and composure than did the defending FHL champions.  And for Coach Miller, watching both characteristics play directly into their Opening night victory must have been especially satisfying considering many of his players are still learning how to play together.  For their efforts in the season's first game, they adhered to many key fundamental values.  The A's won Thursday night by grinding the game out a little longer than the Warriors did, and playing an increasingly cleaner and sharper game against the Warriors the longer the contest went on.



It seemed over the first two and one half periods, the A's carried the play; spent less time in the box; got more shots on net; and appeared to be the more disciplined team.  Yet Akwesasne and the scoreboard were unyielding, reflecting a 2-1 score in the Warriors' favor after fifty minutes of regulation time.



Over that span, Akwesasne even put Brooklyn on the man-advantage three times as many as the A's allowed the Warriors.  Both teams combined to go a woeful 0-12 on the PP to that point.  And frustratingly, the Aviators accounted for 0-9 of that.  Chris Ferazolli wound up scoring the first goal of the Aviators' season at even strength.  At the time, his score only served to cut a 2-0 Akwesasne lead in half.  But the defense and Thomas Lee set about ensuring Ferazolli's goal would factor into the outcome.



The Warriors opened the FHL's 2011-2012 scoring this season at 15:55 of the first period on a Miguel Delisle goal past A's starting net minder; Thomas Lee.  And that's how the initial period ended.  Brooklyn managed thirteen shots on goal in the period as Akwesasne unleashed seventeen with one finding net.  Penalties put Brooklyn on the PK three times but they held the Warriors scoreless during the man advantages.



Brooklyn clamped down and limited the Warriors to just four shots on goal the entire second period.  Yet one shot still managed to find net behind Thomas Lee.  At the 7:03 mark of the second session, Akwsasne's Pierre Dagenais scored to make it a 2-0 game. 



Then, just under four minutes later at the 10:50 mark, Chris Ferazzoli's first goal of the season finally put Brooklyn on the scoreboard.  He was assisted by Jordan Bernier and Chris Jones.  Brooklyn put fifteen shots on goal during the second period and behind their defense, the A's game started to gel.  But the second period ended with the A's still down by a 2-1 score.



While the teams traded second period goals, they traded second period punches as well.  Things began to get chippy back when Akwesasne's Carter Trevisani and Brooklyn's Jordan Bernier closed out the first period with roughing penalties.  Then tempers flared between Akwesasne's Ahmed Mahfouz and Brooklyn's Anthony Iaquinto when they dropped the gloves at the 10:58 mark of the second session.  Both received five for fighting.  And bad attitudes prevailed the rest of the period.



Midway through the third period and two power play opportunities later, the Aviators' tying goal still remained elusive.  Then, at 13:23 of the third, Brooklyn's patience was rewarded.  Their attention to detail finally paid off when Anthony Iaquinto scored for Brooklyn and tied the game at two apiece.  The assists came from Andrew Owsiak and Jarrett Rush.



At the 14:14 mark, Akwesasne's penchant for penalties this night opened the door to another Hangar-sized opportunity.  Brooklyn cashed in as the power play finally hit pay dirt when Jordan Bernier buried the go-ahead goal to make it a 3-2 game.  The goal was assisted by Andrew Scampoli.



After allowing seventeen shots on goal in the first period, the defense kept the number of shots against goalie Thomas Lee relatively low the rest of the way.  Four shots in the second period and eight in the third were all Akwesasne could muster.  Meanwhile, Brooklyn peppered Warriors' goalie David Plouffe with fourteen shots in the third period and forty-two overall.  Additionally, the Aviators did very well to stay out of the box.  And even though Brooklyn's power play was 1-10 Thursday night, they scored on the one opportunity that mattered most; their last.



And so Aviators' victory number one came in rather dramatic fashion Thursday night.  If this game is an indication, then it's going to be a fun Winter folks.



Game two of the new season will be Friday night in Cape Cod against the Blue Fins before the Coolest Guys In Brooklyn come home for their Saturday Night Showdown against their newest rival, the New Jersey Outlaws, who now feature former A's fan favorites, Matthew Puntureri and John Goffredo.

FRIDAY NIGHT

BROOKLYN AVIATORS

vs.

Cape Cod Bluefins

From

Somewhere in Massachusetts

Mike.BTB