BROOKLYN, NY – As if blasted from a t-shirt cannon the Brooklyn Aces sped out on long arc and have never really reached the apex.  The Aces stormed out to an early lead in the 4-team EPHL circuit but they never relaxed and finished in first by a wide margin.

The real battle in the EPHL was for the second spot in the regular season and the automatic berth in the inaugural post season series.  With little margin for error all season the Jersey Rockhoppers and the Danbury Mad Hatters went to the final week before the Rockhoppers secured the inevitable right to face the Aces for the EPHL championship.

Offense

The Aces have been dominant to say the least on the score sheet this season.  CJ Tozzo (EPHL Rookie of the Year) and Kyle McCullough led the Aces this season with 34 (96 points) and 30 goals (94 points) respectively.  The two led the EPHL in scoring for the season.

The Rockhoppers were not strangers to the score sheet either.  Tom Boudreau was third in the EPHL in scoring and pi cked up 37 goals and 82 points for the second place West Orange, New Jersey squad.  Kyle Bozoian was close behind Boudreau with 33 goals and 36 assists on the year.

Defense

Doug Hoffman leads the way on the blueline for the Aces and has chipped in on the score sheet as well.  The defensive corps for the Aces is solid and plays well but relies heavily on the offense to score early, often and repeatedly.

The Rockhoppers’ defense is led by Rich Jondo who skated in 49 games for the Hoppers and collected 4 goals and 20 points for the Jersey club.  Meanwhile Alex Hager kicked in 5 goals and 29 assists to support the blueline’s contribution to the Rockhoppers’ success.

Goaltending

Miroslav Recicar and Eddie Neville lead the Aces in net.  Brooklyn has been able to play both goalies this season and each has logged quality time in the nets.  Recicar notched 18 wins on the season and Neville was right there with 16 victories of his own.

Across the Hudson in Jersey the Rockhoppers relied on Nick Niedert (EPHL MVP) in net who posted a 25-15-1-1 record with a save percentage of 0.905 and a 3.80 GAA.

Outlook

It is hard not to pick the Aces to claim the inaugural EPHL championship cup.  All three games of the series are scheduled for the Aviator Arena in Brooklyn giving the Aces home-ice advantage for the entire series.  How many Rockhoppers’ fans will travel the short distance through tunnel or over bridge to cheer the team on?

This one will be close and a surprise for the EPHL.  The Jersey Rockhoppers will skate the EPHL cup around Aviator ice in a 2-1 series decision.  Why?  Gut feeling that the Jersey boys will have a little extra in the tank and a solid goaltender to make the difference in a short series.

Contact the author at lou.lafrado@prohockeynews.com.