BKN Aviators ~ The Long Bus Ride Home

From the desk of:   THE SKATES OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  Say Goodnight Gracie.  The Fat Lady Sings.



By any standard, or at any level, the Brooklyn Aviators and Danbury Whalers just concluded a great playoff series.  The Federal Hockey League can be proud of this one, for the circuit supplied local hockey fans of Brooklyn and Danbury with three superb games.  And in return, both teams and the league experienced good nights at the gate.



Last season, the A's needed all five games plus two overtime periods to advance past Danbury in the opening round of playoffs.  In the recently concluded regular season, the A's and Whalers split ten games down the middle.  In this year's post-season, Danbury was the third seed, and Brooklyn entered as the four seed.  And with two of their three games going into overtime, this last series only reinforces how close these two teams will remain.  The Whalers get to advance now.  And for Flatbush, it's time to close the Hangar doors on another season.

Federal Hockey League Playoffs

Game Three Final:

BROOKLYN AVIATORS   4

DANBURY WHALERS       5

OVERTIME

I - DNW 5; BKN 4*

II - BKN 5; DNW 2

III - DNW 5; BKN 4*

*overtime

Danbury wins series 2-1

1000 Island Privateers Defeat Akwesasne Warriors 2-1

ROUND TWO

DANBURY WHALERS

vs.

1000 ISLAND PRIVATEERS

All Flatbush could muster were three shots on goal throughout the entire third period.  Josselin St. Pierre faced fifty-one shots in the game and made forty-six saves.  You can't find fault with that.  The A's Tweeted and described the Whalers' game tying goal in the third period as "fluky".  Then came overtime.  And well, with no second chances, there is only one outcome that satisfies.  It's a hard way to end a season.



The game was almost a replay of Friday's game.  It was a back and forth affair, with each team taking turns at a run.  In game one, a last second goal sent them into overtime.  In game three, it was the dreaded "fluke" goal that extended the game.



In quick fashion, the Whalers jumped out to a very early 2-0 first period lead.  Goal number one came at 1:07, and goal two followed at the 3:27 mark.  But unlike game one when Danbury took their 3-0 lead into the intermission, Brooklyn responded this time and matched goals.  At 4:28, Joe Dabkowski answered back with Brooklyn's first goal.   At 5:38, Jason Dolgy answered back with Brooklyn's second goal.  And that's what they took into the first intermission this time.



Brooklyn kept things hot in the second period.  At 6:57, Casey Mignone scored on the power play when Danbury got whistled for a 'Too Many Men' bench minor.  Rob Schweyer followed with Brooklyn's fourth goal (unassisted) of the game at the 9:57 mark for a 4-2 Flatbush lead.  Then back came Danbury.  Greg Holt scored at 18:57 to bring Danbury within one again.



For the first 11:59 of the third period, Josselin St.Pierre fended off shots while Brooklyn mustered too few.  And then, one Danbury shot trickled by.  One of Danbury's leading scorers, Sean O'Malley, was credited with tying the game at four apiece.  Brooklyn finished the third period unable to put any kind of pressure on Peter Vetri.  And so into overtime they went.



Sean O'Malley wasted little time in dispatching the Aviators to their bus and starting the long ride back to Brooklyn.  He scored the game winner, and the series clincher 1:54 into the extra session.





It was a great season guys.  Can't wait to start things up again in the Fall.  Have a great Summer and thanks for the fun.

Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Crushing OT Loss; Face Elimination in Danbury

From the desk of:   THE SKATES OF FLATBUSH

FRIDAY NIGHT FINAL ~ GAME ONE

Danbury Whalers   5

Brooklyn Aviators  4

OVERTIME

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  The Skates of Flatbush Must Now Duke Out Two Wins in Danbury.

Danbury Whalers Fans Have a Wild Time in Brooklyn.  A's Answer Three Whaler Goals With a Four Goal Comeback.  Danbury ties Game With 0:03 Left on Clock; Win in Over-Time.

Links:

Danbury Whalers

Brooklyn Aviators

Federal Hockey League

There were no fights or acts of questionable character - just a small assortment of typical Hockey infractions that do not induce players to lose their composure during playoff games.  This was a very well played game actually; - Not that we should be surprised.  Brooklyn fans did get caught off guard however.



The first period against Danbury gave Aviator fans every indication Game One of these playoffs was going to be a long night.  The Whalers' faithful fanatics, generally acknowledged as the league's most rabid supporters, invaded Hangar Five in numbers.  They came donned in their green, blue, and white colored jerseys, and basically had their way of the place.  They were raucously loud and for good reason too.  After the teams spent the first ten minutes or so shadow boxing, Danbury went to work on the Aviators' goalie, initially scoring at 13:42, then two more times within the nineteenth minute to close out the opening session staked to a 3-0 lead.

The Whalers' Rooters did their part too, as they were in Brooklyn's Josselin St. Pierre's ear most of the night, but more so when he tended net on the scoreboard side of the ice.  He was the target of a tireless stream of jeers and heckling emanating from sections nineteen and twenty in particular.  That three goal Whaler lead after the first twenty minutes had them all feeling pretty good about themselves.  And in the spirit of sharing, they expressed their opinion of St. Pierre often.  They savored all forty-four Danbury shots against the Flatbush goalie like forty-four indelible moments in time.  Gotta give 'em credit for that.

Jesse Felten tried quieting them down with a power play goal at the 2:51 mark of the second period, making it a 3-1 game.  But after Peter Vetri denied Flatbush upon being awarded a penalty shot, the Danbury contingent was right back at it.



However, Brooklyn was getting their chances and Josselin St. Pierre had a much better second period.  Then came the comeback.  It was now Peter Vetri's time to struggle stopping pucks.  Two and a half minutes into the third period, Michael Thompson's goal got Flatbush to within one.  At the 7:33 mark, Chris Campanale tied the game at three, off assists by Andrew Scampoli, and Michael Thompson.  And needless to say, Hangar Five was hearing less and less from the first two sections off to the right.  Then, at 11:25, Michael Thompson assisted Casey Mignone's goal for a 4-3 Brooklyn lead.  After four unanswered goals over the last two periods, it was now Flatbush Fans pumpin' up the noise in their house.



For the next 8:32, Brooklyn nursed their one goal lead.  Josselin St. Pierre was holding up as Brooklyn was limiting Danbury to their lowest shots-on-goal total of the three periods.  Then Coach Esposito did what any coach should do in the closing moments of this game.  He pulled his goalie in favor of the sixth skater.  And it paid off.  With just three second left on the clock, Danbury scored.  And yeah, sections nineteen and twenty went bonkers.



At 13:40 of overtime, the Danbury Whalers scored again; unassisted no less.  Game over.  And for the people dressed in green, blue, and white jerseys, it was party on.  Once they all regained their composure, it was back to Connecticut for them.  Depending on traffic, the seventy mile drive back to Danbury should take about an hour and a half.  While the A's damn-nearly sent them all home in silence, instead I'm sure there will be car loads of people recapturing the moments of a great game; a great win, and a great trip over all to Brooklyn; for them at least.

Instead, Flatbush will have the quiet drive north.  They'll have seventy miles to ponder how they let one get away after staging such a resilient comeback.  And they'll now have to think about winning two games in a place that will packed with just more than two sections of people wearing green, blue, and white jerseys.  In Danbury, they pack the joint with four-digit figures.  And they certainly won't be there to welcome Brooklyn with open arms either.



I'm sure Coach Miller and his Aviators are stewing.  They had their chance.  In last season's playoffs, Brooklyn had to win Game Four in Danbury to avoid elimination, then won Game Five in Brooklyn to clinch a trip to the championship round.  They are faced once with having to win two in row again if they are to duplicate last year's effort; albeit in a best of three series this time.  But they need to win this evening just to stay alive first.

GAME TWO

BROOKLYN AVIATORS

vs.

Danbury Whalers

From,

THE DANBURY ICE ARENA
Delay Street, Danbury





GAME ONE SHOTS

Let's Go A's!

Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ First Round Preview Versus Danbury Whalers

From the desk of:   THE SKATES OF FLATBUSH

2011-2012

FEDERAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

PLAYOFFS

 

ROUND ONE

Best of Three:

I - DAW @ BKN

II - BKN @ DAW

III - BKN @ DAW*

*if necessary

 

FRIDAY NIGHT PUCKS

GAME ONE

#3 - Danbury Whalers

vs.

#4 - BROOKLYN AVIATORS

From,

HANGAR FIVE

Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn

 

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:   Hello Danbury.  We Meet Again.

Brooklyn and Danbury will face-off in a best two of three series to open the 2011-2012 Federal Hockey League playoffs...; Again.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.  Decades from now, when someone sets out to write the history of these two teams, the early years will most certainly focus on this two years young, yet very intense rivalry.  But why wait, right?  Let's do this now!

Word is there were circling complaints within the League regarding Akwesasne's overly-aggressive and highly physical play this season.  I know this much, none of those gripes came out of Brooklyn, or Danbury.  If anything, the Warriors are just picking up on a trend Danbury and Brooklyn started last season against each other.  But yeah, the Warriors have been a bunch of brutes this season; no doubt.  However, that's old hat to Danbury and Flatbush.  Their dislike was a mutual feeling upon their first ever face-off.  And so, here we go again.

Brooklyn defeated the Danbury Whalers last season to advance to the FHL Championship round; only to lose to the fore mentioned Warriors.  But they needed all five games against Danbury to get there, and then some.  They split the first two games in Brooklyn.  Then Flatbush suffered a crushing over-time road loss in game three.  With their backs to the wall, they won game four in Danbury to bring the deciding game five back to Brooklyn.  Regulation time ended in a 3-3 tie.  And so they went into over-time for a second time in the series.  Shortly into game five's sudden death session, Jesse Felten assisted on the game's winning goal.  And now, he'll try and lead his team against the Danbury Whalers again this season.

Flatbush and Danbury clashed ten times and split the season  series down the middle, winning five games each.  So they know each other well; very well in fact.  Entering Friday night's game, Brooklyn is 3-2 against the Whalers when hosting at The Hangar.  Flatbush has outscored Danbury by a 43-30 margin this season.  In fact, they scored six or more times in four of the five wins Brooklyn has over Danbury.







The Aviators got caught in a bit of a tail spin to begin the new year.  And Danbury capitalized on the opportunity to pass Brooklyn by in the standings.  Once the Whalers took hold of third place, they were never threatened by Brooklyn or Akwesasne the rest of the way.  Number three seed Danbury finished the regular season with twenty-eight wins and eighty-nine points.  Number four seed Brooklyn, finished with twenty-five wins, and eighty-two points.



Without excuses, Brooklyn has played through their share of ECHL call-ups.  Of the players remaining, centerman Jesse Felten leads Brooklyn's scorers with twenty-seven goals and twenty-seven assists, for fifty-four points.  Matt Moffat is Danbury's leading scorer with seventeen goals and forty-two assists, for fifty-nine points.



Danbury sports three other players with over forty points.  Greg Holt has fifteen goals and forty-six points.  Sean O'Malley has twenty-goals and forty-two points.  And Chris Siefert has twenty-one goals and also has forty-two points.  While at season's end, Brooklyn's other remaining top scorers were Casey Mignone, who scored nineteen goals with forty points.  Matt Atsoff had eighteen goals with thirty one points.



But Brooklyn has other players to consider in light of ECHL call-ups.  Lucas Schott has twelve goals in twenty-six games.  Nick Petriello has twelve goals in twenty-three games.  And Michael Thompson has nine goals in sixteen games.

In discussing the guys between the pipes, Danbury's starting goalie, Peter Vetri (l.) is all too familiar to the A's.  After the pair of net-minders the #1 New Jersey Outlaws platoon between the pipes, the Whalers' goalie was perhaps the League's best this season.  With twenty-one wins, he was third in the circuit behind New Jersey's Dan McWhinney, who tied for the League lead with twenty-four wins, along with 1000 Islands' Matt Anthony, who also had twenty-four wins.  Vetri came in second in the League with a .919 Save Percentage, and was number three with a 3.28 GAA.  Whalers' back-up Nick Neidert played in thirteen games with a 5-6 record.

Brooklyn's main guy in net is Josselin St, Pierre.  While seemingly not impressive as Vetri's record, in twenty-five games, St. Pierre (r.) was 12-9-2-0 this season.  He placed fourth, right behind Peter Vetri in GAA with a 3.35 mark.  His .903 Save Percentage also ranked just behind Peter Vetri's mark, and again was good for fourth best in the League.  He was one of only four goalies this season to have a better than .900 Save Percentage; keeping in mind, New Jersey boasts two of them, leaving Vetri and himself.



But Coach Miller is just as likely to start back-up Michael DiLorenzo as well.  Coach Miller gave his newly acquired goalie substantial minutes between the pipes down the stretch, as if to hopefully get him up to game speed in time for the playoffs.  He only has fifteen games played all season.  In eight games for Brooklyn, he was 5-2, with a 3.00 GAA, and a .915 Save Percentage.  In seven games with Delaware prior to his acquisition, his numbers are less appealing.



Friday night, Game One of the best two out of three series will be in Hangar Five.  Game Two, and if necessary Game Three, will be played before, what I'm sure will be a raucous, League's best, Danbury crowd.  The winner of this series will move on to play the winner of the 1000 Islands/Akwesasne series.



I'm expecting nothing short than an intense, hard hitting, somewhat chippy, but well played series by both teams.  While tempers are always liable to explode when these two teams meet, I think hockey will prevail and sportsmanship doesn't deteriorate too badly.  And if mood mismanagement does bring out the worst in each other, well, that's always fun too.



Good Luck to the Danbury Whalers, although I really don't mean it.  But then again, we need each other in order to create great moments in FHL Hockey.  I hope I did you guys some justice here.



And Let's Go Aviators!!





Mike.BTB

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 ~ 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 ~ Face Off Against Rival Danbury Tonight

From the desk of:   THE SKATES OF FLATBUSH

FRIDAY NIGHT PUCKS

Danbury Whalers

vs.

BROOKLYN AVIATORS

From,

HANGAR FIVE

Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  Flying High; Winners of Eight of Their Last Nine Games.  Swept Pair of Games From Danbury Last Weekend - Look to do the Same Tonight.



The A's will play their lone game of the weekend against their chief rivals, the Danbury Whalers, tonight in Hangar Five.  They'll try and pick up where they left off last weekend, when they took both games of a home and home against Danbury, and then took a huge game from first place New Jersey.


The three wins propelled the A's into third place who now have sixty-four points.  New Jersey is still running away with the circuit with ninety-six points, while 1000 Islands maintains a firm grip on second with eighty-six points.  Even though they only have fifty-four points, the Akwesasne Warriors still hold an advantage over Danbury by percentage points due to having played six less games than the Whalers (and Brooklyn).  But the Danbury Whalers do have sixty-two points and can pull even with Brooklyn tonight.


Since losing back-to-back games against the New Jersey Outlaws in January, the Skates of Flatbush have gone on to win eight of their last nine games.  They rebounded to defeat New Jersey twice since then, and beat the 1000 Islands Privateers once.  And after taking a pair from the Whalers last weekend, Brooklyn leads the season series versus Danbury four wins to three.


Thirteen games remain in the Aviators' season.  Brooklyn will play Danbury three more times after tonight.  They have four more games against last place Danville.  Three games remain against the Outlaws.  And three games remain against last year's FHL Champion; Akwesasne Warriors.


The battle to stay within the first division will not be easy.  But this season is headed towards another fun finish as the A's are seemingly ironing out the wrinkles involved with incorporating new players into the fold.




REMINDER:  Don't forget, Saturday's home game against the VERMONT WILD has been cancelled.  There is no game.  There is no more Wild.  That is all.




I'll be at the game tonight.  Maybe I'll see you there.  Tweet me.





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 ~ Making a Move on First Place

From the desk of:  THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  After Knocking 1000 Islands Out of First Place, the Skates of Flatbush Seek to do the Same Against the New Jersey Outlaws.




*FHL NEWS ~ VERMONT WILD CLUB FOLDS:

Prior to this season's start, Brooklyn Head Coach Rob Miller stressed the necessity of all Federal Hockey League member club's ability to finish out their season schedules was paramount to establishing not only a strong foundation for the League, but to also gain much needed credibility for the two year old circuit if they are to survive. 



At this level, players must have a certain degree of confidence in a League's operational viability before they commit.  We hockey fans in Brooklyn have been given a small dose of understanding into this matter with the coming and going of the Brooklyn Aces.  Lest we forget some of our current Aviators were cajoled into coming to Brooklyn from the more established southern circuits.  



The FHL took a bold step step forward into expansion this season by adding teams in New Jersey, Cape Cod, Danville, and Vermont.  And now the Federal Hockey League has announced The VERMONT WILD will cease operations immediately.  The ramifications for the league are wide and varied.  First and foremost, the League must address rescheduling.

*   *   *   *

The A's take on another one of those expansion teams tonight.  Brooklyn's Coolest are headed to New Jersey where they will take on the currently in first place Outlaws for two games on consecutive nights on their ice.  This is still somewhat of an implied rivalry as true tensions between the teams are yet to materialize due to the teams having played each other infrequently.  That should start changing tonight.  With two wins in New Jersey, the Aviators can pull up along side the first place teams.  None the less, the Outlaws sport two former popular Aviators that should get this rivalry kicked-up a notch.  Former Brooklyn forward, Matthew Puntureri, was recently named FHL Player of the Week.



In their last game Wednesday night at the Hangar, the Skates of Flatbush welcomed the then first place 1000 Islands Privateers and gained victory with a 5-2 final score.  Goalie Thomas Lee was waived on Nov. 23rd.  Making his first start against 1000 Islands, new pick-up, goalie Josselin St. Pierre, made the start and gained his first win as an Aviator.  Josselin was a member of the Privateers last season.  He faced twenty-six shots on goal from his former team and turned back twenty-four.



In another transaction, Coach Miller waived Anthony Monte and signed two forwards; RW-Joseph Pelle Jr.; and C-Jason Dolgy.  And in making his debut for Brooklyn, Jason Doly who comes to us via the Vermont Wild situation, scored a power play goal at 12:48 of the second period Wednesday night, and assisted on another.  At the time, Dolgy's goal put Brooklyn ahead of the Privateers 2-0.



Also joining in on the scoring against 1000 Islands was Chris Ferazzoli who started the night with his eighth goal of the season at the 4:40 mark of the opening period.  Casey Mignone and Matt Atsoff chipped in with a goal apiece.  And Vladimir Nikiforov took over the team lead with his ninth goal of the season on an empty netter at the 19:01 mark of the third period.

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

BROOKLYN AVIATORS

vs.

New Jersey Outlaws

FROM

Somewhere in NYC's Backyard

 

Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Friday Night Fillet-O-Fish

From the desk of:  THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  The Skates of Flatbush Have a New Adversary on the Block This Season. 


Entering tonight, the A's have lost their last two straight games both to the Danbury Whalers.  Since last season, the two teams have cultivated a fierce rivalry together.  Whenever Brooklyn and Danbury get together, they literally make a mess.  At some point in the game, the ice gets littered with dropped gloves as opposing players go off and fight in a corner somewhere.  They've competed in tough games against each other for sure.  But Danbury remains just that; our rivals.



There's a new team in the FHL folks, that has now officially earned this Brooklyn hockey fan's ire.  They might be new, but after only three games against them, The Cape Cod Blue Fins have officially been declared an adversary....by me!



Back on October 28th, in our first meeting against Cape Cod, the Fish posted a 3-2 overtime win in Hyannis.  Then on November 5th, Cape Cod made their inaugural visit to Brooklyn and slapped us up inside Hangar Five with a second consecutive overtime victory over the A's; this time by a 5-4 score.  The Aviators finally gained a measure of revenge in their return visit to Hyannis on November 11th with a 6-1 clubbing of the Fish.  Tonight, we invite the Blue Fins back to Hangar Five again for what I hope will be a season series tying win for Brooklyn's Coolest.  More importantly, the A's are still skating for their first win on home-ice.  They are 0-2-2 when playing off Flatbush Avenue in this young season.  And so, it's time to take back the block Boyz...



As mentioned, Brooklyn has lost two straight.  Both team's last game was Wednesday night.  The Blue Fins defeated Danville 6-1 for their third win and seventh point of the season.  The A's have twelve points and sit in fourth place.  Cape Cod is seventh in the circuit.  Garrett Peters is their stand-out scorer with seven goals and ten points.  Chris Ferazzoli continues to be Brooklyn's lead scorer with six goals and fourteen points.

Friday Night

Cape Cod Blue Fins

vs.

BROOKLYN AVIATORS

From

Hangar Five off Flatbush Avenue

BROOKLYN

Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ WILD Weekend Starts Thursday

From the desk of:  THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  The Coolest Will Try and Finally Skin The Fish Friday Night.   But First They Welcome FHL New-Comer, the Vermont Wild, to the Hangar on Thursday.



Those Fish did it again.  For the second time in as many meetings, the Cape Cod Blue Fins beat Brooklyn in over-time.  Last Saturday, they came to Flatbush Avenue to do it too.  But Brooklyn's Coolest will get another chance to see if they can finally turn the tables on Cape Cod in what will be their third meeting this season when Brooklyn travels to Hyannis Friday evening for their only road game of the up-coming weekend.



In last week's loss against the Fins, new-comer Vladimir Nikiforov continued his grand arrival on the team by notching his first hat-trick as an Aviator; coming in part on the strength of two short-handed goals.  Jordan Bernier was the other Brooklyn goal scorer.  After two weeks and five games, Chris Ferazzoli leads the team with nine points.  Vladimir quickly has found his way to second on the list with eight points.  And Jordan Bernier is the third leading point scorer for Brooklyn with six.  Goalie Thomas Lee suffered the hard-luck loss.  He made thirty-three saves on thirty-eight Blue Fin shots on goal.  He has started four of Brooklyn's first five games.

Week Three of the season picks up Thursday evening at Hangar Five.  Brooklyn will host one of the FHL's newest teams, the Vermont Wild, who are making their first ever trip into the Borough of Kings.  Vermont is having a rough start to their season and are still seeking their first victory.  Right Wing Jon Esposito is their leading scorer after four games with six points; all goals.




After their game in Cape Cod this Friday, the Aviators will return to Hangar Five for another scrum against the rival Danbury Whalers this Saturday to wrap up the weekend's action.  The A's put a hurting on them in last week's encounter up in Connecticut.



In the standings so far (prior to the Wednesday night game between Danville and Akwesasne), three teams were tied for the circuit lead with twelve points; 1000 Islands; Akwesasne; and New Jersey.  Then comes Brooklyn in fourth place with eight points after five games.

THURSDAY NIGHT

Vermont Wild

vs.

BROOKLYN AVIATORS

(2-1-2)

From

Hangar Five off Flatbush Avenue,

Brooklyn

 

Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ A's Harpoon Whalers; Blue Fins Are Next

From the desk of:  THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  After Spearing the Danbury Whalers, the Kings County Coolest are Looking to Hook Some Blue Fins.



Mission accomplished.  The sortie over Danbury hit it's mark; eight times to be exact.  Return to base.



Brooklyn's Coolest quieted down the Friday night Danbury crowd with a three goal barrage in the first period, then sent the Whalers' faithful home gagged after Brooklyn dropped another five goals on them in the third.



Newest Aviator, Vladimir Nikiforov opened up the scoring midway through the first period with a power play goal; his first as an Aviator.  Brooklyn followed that up with two more goals before the first period expired.  Jordan Bernier scored at even strength at the 17:36 mark, assisted by Nikiforov, making the score 2-0.  Then just as the period expired, Chris Jones scored the A's second power play goal of the period, unassisted.



Danbury got one back in the second period when centerman Chris Siefert scored on A's starting goalie Lee Thomas.  Brooklyn's defense kept the Whalers' shots against their goalie limited to roughly ten per period.  Thomas faced thirty-one shots in total; stopping thirty while the A's finished the night with fifty-three shots.  Other than the lone Danbury goal, it was all Aviators this night.



Brooklyn scored at 3:10 into the third period on Jordan Bernier's second goal of the game; assisted again by Nikiforov.  Then over the next seven minutes, Brooklyn continued to lace Danbury with four more goals.



Chris Ferazolli and Vladimir Nikiforov joined Bernier as Brooklyn's multiple goal scorers of the evening.  Ferazolli cashed in after Bernier's earlier third period goal.  Then new blue-liner Ken Trentowski snuck in his first goal as an Aviator to make the game a 6-1 affair.



On a later power play, Chris Ferrazolli scored his second goal of the period at the 7:57 mark.  Then forward Vladimir Nikiforov capped off one hell of an Aviator debut for himself, in what was an overall formidable performance by Brooklyn, with his second goal and fifth point of the night, as he had three assists on the evening as well.



Tonight, a little pay-back is in order.  In game two of the season, the Cape Cod Blue Fins defeated Brooklyn 3-2 in overtime up in Hyannis, Mass.  Back home in the Hangar this evening, it's time for Brooklyn to even the score with those Fishy characters.

Saturday Night is Alright for Fighting...

Cape Cod  Blue Fins

vs.

BROOKLYN AVIATORS

From

HANGAR FIVE

off Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn

Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ A's Touch Down in Brooklyn Tonight

From the desk of:  THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN

BROOKLYN AVIATORS

OPENING NIGHT at HANGAR #5

Air tower, clear the landing strip at Floyd Bennett Field.  The Aviators are finally coming home.  After opening the season in Lewiston , Maine on Thursday and playing in Hyannis, Massachusetts on Friday night, it's time for the local blades to take to their home ice off Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn.



The Aviators took Game One of the season in a return match scheduled in Maine against the defending FHL champion, Akwesasne Warriors.  Two goals in the third period and playing shut-down defense over the last forty minutes Thursday, along with Thomas Lee's 29 saves helped the A's gain victory.



However, in Friday night's game against the Cape Cod Bluefins, two goals by Casey Mignone were good enough to get the A's into overtime.  But they couldn't manage to score another in the extra session.   Cape Cod beat them to it when Dan Gordon scored the winning goal past Brooklyn's starting goalie on this night, Pete Dundovich.



Although they were hard luck over-time losers Friday, the name of the game is points.  And the A's are making a five point landing as they arrive in Brooklyn.  Five points in their first two games puts the A's in an early season lead over the circuit as they head into their first game at home.



Opening Night at Hangar Five will be against the expansion New Jersey Outlaws who now sport two former Aviator players and fan favorites; Mattew Puntureri and John Goffredo.  New Jersey won their Friday night game against the Danbury Whalers at home after dropping their first game in Danbury as part of a home-and-home opening series.

LET'S GO AVIATORS!

TONIGHT

New Jersey Outlaws

VS.

BROOKLYN AVIATORS

From

HANGAR FIVE

FLATBUSH AVENUE, BROOKLYN

Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Season Opens Thursday

From the desk of:  THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  Cleared For Take-Off!  Time to Drop the Puck.


The Brooklyn Aviators were involved in another trade.  On October 24th, the League announced Brooklyn center John Goffredo was part of a three team trade that ultimately landed Goffredo in New Jersey with the expansion Outlaws.  The trade reunites John Goffredo with former Aviator team mate; Matthew Puntureri; who was traded to the Outlaws over the summer.  John Goffredo was originally dealt to the Danbury Whalers for right-winger Anthony Monte.  Danbury then turned and traded Goffredo to New Jersey completing the three team deal.



Anthony Monte will join another off-season acquisition, Chris Ferazzoli.  Chris Ferazzoli played in the SPHL last season.  The thirty-one year old last appeared at Hangar Five in 2009-2010 when he visited with the N.J. Rock Hoppers who played the then Brooklyn Aces of the old ECHL circuit.



Final rosters were due to be submitted to the League this afternoon.  Team rosters are limited to eighteen dressed players with two additional inactive players.  The Aviators last day cuts were as follows:

C - Michael Guera
C - Joseph Harcharik
G - Jeremy Dupont
G - Michael Younes
LW - Anthony Longo




The face of the Aviators is taking on a very different look heading into this season.  Local favorite and Staten Islander; Anthony Longo; makes another very popular player from last season who will not be on this year's Opening Day roster.  His release comes in addition to the fore-mentioned trades of Matthew Puntureri and John Goffredo.  Additionally, last season's League stand-out goalie Kevin Druce also will not be returning.



One more player's appearance will merely be delayed in a manner of speaking.  Returning right winger, Michael Thompson won't be ready right away.  Coach Miller suspended the forward for twenty games.  What ever the case may be, that must have been no small infraction to warrant twenty games.



Coach Miller went down south in search of much needed defensemen.  He came back with a pair; James Rettig and Brian Dunford.  They will join returnees, Jarrett Rush and KC Timmons, along with acquired Nicholas Kuqali on the blue line.



The second Federal Hockey League season kicks off tomorrow when the Brooklyn Aviators and the defending champion Akwesasne Warriors square off from Maine.  The A's will then play Cape Cod before coming back to Brooklyn for their home ice opener this Saturday against the New Jersey Outlaws.

2011-2012
Federal Hockey League

OPENING GAME

BROOKLYN AVIATORS

vs.

Akwesasne Warriors

From

Lewiston, Maine

Mike.BTB

N.Y. AVIATORS ~ A's Face Elimination In Game Three Tonight

From the desk of:  The Coolest Guys In Brooklyn

FRIDAY,  March 25, 2011

GAME THREE

FEDERAL HOCKEY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP

AKWESASNE LEADS SERIES 2-0

NEW YORK AVIATORS

vs.

Akwesasne Warriors

ONTARIO, CANADA

FederalHockeyLeague.com

New York Aviators: Must Win Tonight! 

As Kevin Druce goes, so shall the Aviators go.  In both games of this series, after establishing early leads, the third period has proven to be the team's achilles heel.  Akwesasne's secret success however, has been their 4-0 record on the road through two rounds of playoffs.  As a result, they are in position to win this year's FHL Title tonight.  They'll have two chances to win one game on home-ice and clinch a championship.  Meanwhile, the Aviators are faced with having to sweep the next three games.  If they manage to win the next two games, they will come back to Hangar #5 in Brooklyn for a series finale.

After the first period, the Aviators led 3-1 in Game One.  But Akwesasne came back to hand New York a 4-3 loss.  In game two, Jesse Felten kept the A's ahead for the first two periods; recording a goal in each session.  The Akwesasne Warriors then exploded for 6 third period goals.  The Aviators managed two more goals but lost 6-4.

They now face elimination in Game Three. 

Bring the series back home.  Let's Go Aviators!!!




Mike.BTB