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 ~ Flatbush Strikes Back!

From the desk of:   THE SKATES OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:   Math Proving to be a Tougher Foe to Combat than the Akwesasne Warriors.



Flatbush is clearly against the ropes.  Thursday evening, they landed a tremendous counter-punch against the team they needed to defeat most, in order to give themselves a chance to not just survive these last few games, but win them, and gain that elusive last playoff spot.  There are now six games left in the season in which to get that done.



There's a problem however.  An unequal number of games played this season among Brooklyn and Akwesasne is giving the A's a problem punching through into fourth place.  The A's have played forty-four games this season, while the Warriors have only played forty-one.  Flatbush has sixty-seven points heading into Saturday's action.  The Warriors are four behind Flatbush with sixty-three points.  Yet, due to less games played, the Akwesasne Warriors sit in fourth place with a .512 win percentage, versus Brooklyn's .508 mark.



So with a little voodoo math working against them, Flatbush finds themselves on the outside looking in.  And the A's have no doubt been reeling lately.  Even before dropping two straight to the Warriors, Brooklyn had already played, and let Danbury slip past them in the standings the weekend prior.  The Whalers now have a firm grip on third place.  Then.., came Akwesasne and Brooklyn's exit from the first division; with a loss against New Jersey to boot.



Alas, this past Thursday, Flatbush struck back with a retaliatory blow against the defending FHL Champs, defeating the Akwesasne Warriors 7-1 inside Hangar Five.  After a couple of recent rough starts, Coach Miller turned back to Michael DiLorenzo to man the pipes again.  The Brooklyn back-up to goalie Josselin St. Pierre responded to his Coach's wishes by stopping thirty-three of thirty-four shots on goal.



Brooklyn posted five unanswered goals over the first two periods before the Warriors managed to break the shut-out a little over thirteen minutes into the second period.  Then Brooklyn eliminated any notion of a Warriors' comeback by netting two more goals for good measure.



Seven minutes into the first period, Brooklyn assumed control of this game and never looked back.  Jason Dolgy got the A's started with the first of his two goals of the evening.  Michael Thompson then followed with what would also by his first of two goals of the evening.  Matt Atsoff capped off the first period scoring with his 17th goal of the season.



The Aviators added two more goals before the Warriors answered back with their first.  Joe Dabkowski scored in the first 0:33 seconds of the second period for a 4-0 Brooklyn lead.  Then Michael Thompson made it 5-0 with his second goal of the game.



The third period was all Flatbush again.  Nick Petriello picked up a goal inside the seventh minute.  Then Jason Dolgy finished off the Warriors with his second of the game, to make this a 7-1 final.



Just maybe, the schedule makers may have found favor with the A's this weekend.  While the A's spent Friday travelling to Illinois, the Warriors dropped a 7-3 affair to the third place Danbury Whalers which is good news for Aviator fans.  Brooklyn is off to Danville where the Dashers will host the A's for a pair.  Danville has struggled mightily this season, winning just four games all season.  If the A's are to make a move on fourth place, I'd say this is the weekend to do it.  Akwesasne will have their hands full playing against the run away first place New Jersey Outlaws Saturday and will be idle Sunday.  If the A's can take two in Danville Saturday and Sunday, they'll have a tremendous opportunity to upend the Warriors in the standings.  Both Akwesasne and Brooklyn will be in action again Wednesday, with Brooklyn playing in Danbury, and the Warriors hosting the Dashers.  By the time next Wednesday night is through, there will be three games remaining in the season.



Where will the Brooklyn Aviators be then?  We'll see.  Gotta drop the pucks first.

SATURDAY NIGHT PUCKS

Game One of Two

BROOKLYN AVIATORS
vs.

Danville Dashers

From,

Some ice rink in far-off Illinois

Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Crash Landing in Akwesasne; Game Two Tonight

From the desk of:   THE SKATES OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:   Akwesasne Gives Flatbush a Third Period Scalping as Coach Loses Cool Against the Warriors.



Pre-Game Post



This game was most frustrating.  As in Coach Miller watching his team melt down over the final ten minutes of the game.  As in leading 3-1 and giving up three goals in the third period to lose.  As in Coach Rob Miller blowing off a lot of steam.  As in ending the game at the sixtieth minute with an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty called against him.  As when the A's can least afford losses like this, then going out and suffering a loss just like this. 

Or, was Coach incensed over his own decision to give Michael DiLorenzo his second start in net as an Aviator over his regular goalie, Josselin St. Pierre?  On that one, who knows?  But it's worth asking.  To his credit however, Michael DiLorenzo was very good over the first two periods; stopping twenty-four of twenty-five shots.  Then midway through the third period, the bottom dropped out on the Aviators' night.

It's probably safe to say the third period Unsportsmanlike Conduct Bench Minor called against Lucas Schott at 9:45 had something to do with Coach Miller's frustration.  Because at 10:16, Akwesasne scored on the power play making the score 3-2 A's, but more importantly, ignited the Warriors' greater comeback.

Three Brooklyn goals over the first forty minutes by Nick Petriello, Steve Koich, and Matt Atsoff went for not as the Warriors made the third period a very one sided affair.  Akwesasne's comeback caused a shift in the standings as well.  The Warriors moved up to fourth place based on win percentage while the Aviators slide down to fifth and for the moment, out of the first division.

They'll drop the puck on the second of this two game series Saturday evening.  Nine games remain in the Aviators' season.  So wins and points are of the essence.

Let's Go Aviators!

SATURDAY NIGHT HOCKEY

BROOKLYN AVIATORS

vs.

Akwesasne Warriors

From

The Frozen Tundra

of Upstate New York

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 ~ A's Crash ACE's Party in Hangar Five

From the desk of:   THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN

Friday Night ~ Pre-Game Skate

NEW JERSEY OUTLAWS vs. BROOKLYN AVIATORS

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  It Was Party Night at Hangar Five Friday Night; Until the Home Team Crashed It.




Seeing Matthew Puntureri and John Goffredo certainly brings back memories, doesn't it? - Back to a time when they used to score goals for the home team and leading us to the Finals last season.  Without them, life in Hanger Five has been somewhat of a struggle this season.



The return of Josselin St. Pierre wasn't enough to thwart a fourth consecutive loss by the Aviators.  New Jersey heisted the game from Brooklyn in a big first period.  The A's were left chasing down the Outlaws the rest of the night.

Jesse Felten rushes back on defense.

The Skates of Flatbush were grounded before they ever took off.  In the first period alone,

One Goal - Two Goals - Three Goals - Four Goals, found net beyond Josselin St. Pierre before the Aviators could muster even one before the session expired.

John Goffredo scored New Jersey's fourth goal of the first period.  That's when Coach Miller decided to use his time-out.

Later, Matthew Puntureri scored a third period power play goal to make the game a 6-3 affair at the time.  Brooklyn ultimately lost a 7-3 final to the FHL's first place team.

#27 - Casey Mignone

The Aviators were kind of skating around in figure-eights right around this time last season also.  Then, along with a bunch of this year's A's, former Brooklyn favorites Matthew Puntureri and John Goffredo embarked on a remarkable twenty-one game winning streak, and rode that wave all the way into the Finals against Akwesasne.

If that's Brooklyn's plan again this year.  They had better hurry up.  There's only twenty-three scheduled games left in the season.  And there's no time like the present.  The Coolest Guys in Brooklyn will try to end this four game losing streak in the second game of a home-and-home series out in Wayne, New Jersey tonight.

The final score might have sent everyone home in a somber mood.  But it was a festive night inside Hangar Five during the first intermission.  Team mascot, ACE, celebrated his second birthday Friday night.  Seven hundred-two fans and a few of ACE's closest friends stopped by to offer their congratulations to the Crazy Bird and Keeper of the Hangar.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ACE!

Johnnie, the St. John's Red Storm mascot stopped by.  And the Brooklyn Cyclones' own Sandy the Seagull came down off his perch atop the Parachute Jump in Coney Island to help ACE make sure he had some fun on his birthday.

Ace's party gift?  -  An opportunity to take a couple of slap-shots against his unprotected and vulnerable buddies.  Johnny and Sandy didn't walk away too bruised though.  ACE has quite the accurate shot.  Many of his goals found nothing but net although you couldn't convince Sandy of that.

Sandy better stick to Baseball because there is no future Brooklyn's beloved seagull as a goalie.  Look at all those pucks in the lower left corner that got by.  I think this shot (pictured) clipped Sandy in the wing.  But just look at the smile on Ace's face.  You know that Crazy Bird was having fun and that's all that really matters.  Johnnie from St. John's was forced to put his body in front of a few shots as well.  His message was simply - Real Mascots don't wear pads! - Then ACE let him have it.

After scoring some goals, even more little friends joined the on-ice party, and along with the fans, joined together in singing Happy Birthday to ACE.

Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Stranded on 1000 Islands

From the desk of:   THE COOLEST BUYS IN BROOKLYN

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  Coach Miller Still Tinkering Between the Pipes.





Coach Miller is still trying to fix cracks in the pipes.  Brooklyn tabbed back-up Peter Dundovich to start Friday night's game against 1000 Islands.  Since Thomas Lee's release, Josselin St. Pierre has started most of Brooklyn's games.  On December 31st, Coach Miller then signed and started Jeff Rose (rookie) last week in a winning effort against Cape Cod.  On January 5th, Coach signed goalie Richard Scarsella to a contract, and was listed as the back-up to Peter Dundovich last night.  With no indication of any players' release, the A's tentatively have four goalies under contract.




Friday night however, it wouldn't have mattered if they had Eddie Giacomin between the pipes.  Brooklyn wasn't scoring against Matt Anthony and the 1000 Island Privateers.  He held the A's to one goal on thirty-three shots.  The Skates of Flatbush' lone goal came in the second period of a 4-1 loss.  That goal came courtesy of Andrew Scampoli's second of the season.  The assists came via newly acquired Henry Coxe, and Steve Koich.




Brooklyn played a relatively penalty free sixty-minutes, but went 0-3 when playing with the man advantage.  Peter Dundovich faced thirty-three shots and stopped thirty.  The Privateers scored an empty-netter to close out the game.




The two teams will do it again tonight and who starts in net for Brooklyn is any one's guess right now.  The team from upstate New York is still firmly entrenched in second place with sixty-two points on the season.  The New Jersey Outlaws continue to run away from the circuit with seventy-one points.  Brooklyn?  We're still in the first division with thirty-nine points this season.  Our fourth place standing is slightly ahead of the Akwesasne Warriors who claim fifth place with thirty-two points.





Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Fixing Cracks in the Ice

From the desk of:   THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN

BROOKLYN AVIATORS:  Beware!  Coach Miller is Watching.


Look what the New Jersey Outlaws did to us...again!  New Jesery has only lost three times all season, and the Aviators quite literally did little to change that.  We are now 0-6 versus the cross-harbor bad guys.  And in those games Brooklyn has been out-gunned 34-16, largely based on the branding they put upon us last weekend at the Outlaw's Jersey hideout.



Thursday's game was bad, and Friday's game got worse.



Casey Mignone's two third period goals weren't enough to undo the damage from the first two periods of Thursday's game.  The first period went fairly enough.  Former Aviator; John Goffredo; scored a mere :41 seconds into the game for New Jersey.  From then on Brooklyn would never lead nor tie at any time over these two games.  Half way through the period, the Outlaws scored again for a 2-0 lead.  But Brooklyn had an answer for that one.  Jordan Bernier scored a power play goal at the 14:27 mark, to bring the A's within a goal again.



However, New Jersey poured it on in the second period with two more goals against Brooklyn goalie Josselin St. Pierre.  Then in the third period, New Jersey answered Casey Mignone's two goals with two from Brett Liscomb making the final score 6-3 Outlaws.



Friday night?  Let's just say after Thursday's night loss, Peter Dundovich made the start in goal for Brooklyn.  And let's just say Josselin St. Pierre still had to enter the game in the third period in relief of Dundovich.  In the first period, New Jersey took fifteen shots against Dundovich.  Two got by for a 2-0 lead.  In the second period, New Jersey took nineteen shots against Dundovich.  Four more got by for a 6-0 New Jersey lead.  Coach Miller then turned to Josselin St. Pierre to stop the bleeding.  New Jersey then took seventeen third period shots against him.  Two more goals found net to make this game an 8-0 final.



No; there was no Brooklyn offense to speak of.  This was perhaps their worst defeat of the season.  Their previous low might have been their 8-2 loss in Cape Cod back on November 22nd.  But clearly getting shut-out 8-0 by the top team in the league qualifies as the worst.



Whether because Coach Miller most certainly had something to say regarding the last two games, and the previous night's game in particular, or, whether the Aviator skaters realized they just may have cost their goalie his starting job, - which ever the case A) - signed back on December 31st; new Brooklyn goalie Jeff Rose made his first start in net.  And B) - the Aviators responded to a message apparently received loud and clear, and scored six first period goals against the Cape Cod Blue Fins on Saturday night back in The Hangar.  The final score of that game was 7-3 A's.

With the win, Brooklyn may have salvaged an otherwise disastrous weekend against the League's top team.  But more importantly, some Aviator players might start thinking about what it takes to keep an A's jersey on their back in Coach Miller's eyes.





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 ~ 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

BKN Aviators ~ Training Camp; Day Two

From the desk of:  THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN

BrooklynAviators.com

BROOKLYN AVIATORS  ~  Coach Miller Fine Tuning His Club Before Take-Off.

Training Camp opened this past Thursday for the Brooklyn Aviators and will continue through Wednesday before opening the regular season Thursday night against the Akwesasne Warriors.

During camp, the doors to Aviator Complex are open to the public for viewing practice free of charge.  Saturday I dropped by to see this year's version of the Coolest Guys in Brooklyn in Day Two of on-ice drills.

BROOKLYN AVIATORS - TRAINING CAMP  2011-2012

HANGAR FIVE

Head Coach - Rob Miller

Coach Miller designing drills.

How the roster is shaping up so far:

Tentative Roster

 

 

Opening Night is Saturday, October 29th.

 

Mike.BTB

BKN Aviators ~ Doors to Hangar Five Open October 29th

From the desk of:  THE COOLEST GUYS IN BROOKLYN

BROOKLYN AVIATORS HOCKEY CLUB ~ 2011-2012:

Coach Miller Making Final Preparations Before Take-Off.

Back in July the organization officially dropped "New York" from their name and opted instead to more accurately represent the Borough of Kings and the local crowds who cheer for them inside Hangar Number Five off Flatbush Avenue.

As the start of the second Federal Hockey League season draws closer, Coach Rob Miller is busy scouting and finalizing his roster.  Many of the Coolest Guys from last season will be returning.  Unfortunately, two very popular players and key contributors from the previous season's success will not.  But all players starting this season forward; whether returning from last season or are new faces to the team, and any future club member, will now represent and play as:

THE  BROOKLYN  AVIATORS

This just reaffirms what I've been saying about them generally being regarded as,

The Coolest Guys in Brooklyn! 

To drop the puck on the 2011-2012 campaign, the Aviators and Akwesasne Warriors will pick up where left off last season, which is on Warriors home-ice where Akwesasne's home team defeated the A's three games to one to win the Federal Hockey League Inaugural Championship back in March. 

Brooklyn and Akwesasne will officially start the FHL season on Oct. 27th.  The A's will play a second road game on Oct. 28th against the Cape Cod Blue Fins.  Then, Brooklyn's home-ice opener will be on Saturday, October 29th, versus one of the three new additions to the League; the New Jersey Outlaws.

The Federal Hockey League is an eight team circuit now.  The returning member clubs from last season are Brooklyn; Akwesanse; 1000 Islands Privateers; and the Danbury Whalers.  Last year's Broome County Barons are now this year's Cape Cod Blue Fins.

The three new teams joining the League for the 2011-2012 season are the Danville Dashers; New Jersey Outlaws; and the Vermont Wild.

One of the most popular players not returning to the A's this season is the 5'10" little bull and (now former) crowd favorite; Matthew Puntureri.  He was traded to the New Jersey Outlaws back in May.  The transaction was an unfortunate situation Coach Miller admitted was made due to financial considerations.


You don't just seemingly and suddenly ignite like the A's did last season and roll off a 21-game winning streak and finish the regular season in first place only after playing at such a ferocious pace as they did to close out last season, without riding your Goalie like an old WWII Flying Tiger.  The Aviators did just that, and their goalie was Kevin Druce.  He also will not be returning this season.


But many familiar names to us locals are returning for another campaign at Hangar Five.  Forwards -Andrew Scampoli, Steve Obelnicki, Anthony Longo, Jesse Felton, Michael Thomson, Casey Magnone, John Goffredo, and Nick Vandenbeld are some of the returning skaters.


On Defense - The truth is, we're thin.  KC Timmons and Jarrett Rush will be back on the blue line.  Nicholas Kuqali makes three signed defenseman.  After that, this is perhaps the team's biggest issue and Coach Miller's toughest challenge ahead.  Coach hopes to solidify his blue line through scouting the southern circuit before the season's opener.


In goal tender Kevin Druce's absence, the Aviators will mostly likely go with a tandem of Peter Dundovich, and Ryan Scott in net this season.


We'll see what new players earn a Brooklyn jersey once Training Camp concludes.  Until then...



...Let's Go A's!




Mike.BTB