Flying Ace - Where Are They Now?

After capturing the FIAHL Championship in early Winter 2015, the Flying Aces disbanded and all went separate ways.  Here is where they are today (from right to left in above photo):

Eric K - Eric's visa expired and he returned to native Mexico in the Spring of 2016.  He continues to skate to this day with the Tijuana White Dragons as a third line center in the Agave Roller League. 

Darren J - Darren remained in local Hunterdon in the days following the cup win.  Eventually he returned to Boise in February of that year to continue his "Idaho - more than the Potato" marketing campaign. 

Craig J - Craig continued to play ice hockey at FIA. He is a plus 37 in 310 minutes of work for the once rival Bombers.

Matt S - Matt graduated from Harvard in January of 2016 but kept focus on his hockey career.  He is currently the top line center of the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League.

Mike P - After never being able to put one finger in the air (photo above), Mike resumed physical therapy at Hunterdon Medical Center and was successfully released after gaining this ability.  Since then, he has finished second in several table tennis tournaments and sales contests only adding frustration to his new found ability.

Donnie D - Most famous for scoring outside the blue line, Donnie could never return to his scoring ways.  His book, My Life in the Neutral Zone, went on to sell over 1000 copies.

Mike G/Kyle T. - Shortly after this photo, Mike was surgically separated from his conjoined brother, Kyle T.  Mike plans to finally get a right footed skate and rehab towards a return to C league hockey. Kyle plans to go camping.  Mike and Kyle T remain tied for the record for most "Too Many Men on the Ice" penalties in Federal League history.  The Aces played them as one skater, the league viewed them as two.  This record remains in the appeal process.

Nick B - After the brief stint as a hockey goalie, Nick returned as web designer for the Flying Aces blog.  He is currently working on the Season 11 Season stats shown to the right.  The first two games have already been added.  Great Job Nick!  He is also editing the "Elimination Frustration" column from 4/25/16.

Bill M. - Bill went on to be an eye doctor in Clinton NJ.

Derek W - Derek returned to life as a tattoo artist in Brooklyn.  He remains a hipster doing hipster like things like eating Sunday Brunch in the Village, living in Jamesburg, wearing skinny jeans, etc.

Ryan B - Once the heart and sole of the Flying Aces, Ryan became ridiculed for his Bleck Lives Matter campaign in late 2016.  He's currently on tour with Jefferson Starship, replacing Paul Kantner on lead guitar.

Steve L - Steve's hockey ability improved drastically after this photo was taken.  He can now skate backwards and forward including cross overs and C cuts.

Josh L - Josh went on to be an eye doctor in Clinton NJ.

Bubba M - Bubba recently starred in Raritan Valley College's production of the 1987 Box Office  hit "Over the Top".  He played the part of Michael Cutler, son of Arm wrestling phenom, Lincoln Hawk, to critical exclaim.

Kevin S. - Kevin went on to be an eye doctor in Clinton NJ.

Elimination Frustration

The four seed FLYING ACES closed out their tenth season in the Federal C with a first round playoff loss to the five seed FLYING DUTCHMEN. Craig Jones brought the 'Ace Case'. Steve Leoszewski and William 'The Mark' Marcolini were healthy scratches.

At seasons end the two teams were separated by a single point in the league standings. The ACES split the regular season series with the DUTCH winning the first in OT 8-7 and losing the second 4-5 in a shootout.

Sunday night the defending champion ACES found themselves down 4-1 early in the contest. But they rallied back in true ACE fashion to knot the game up 5-5 late in the third period. Ace forward, 'Juvy' Lou Johnson, had the possible game winner on his stick, but the DUTCHMAN goalie stood tall and shut down the break-away effort. Then with 1:50 on the clock the FLYING DUTCHMEN put in the game winner. An empty net goal made it 7-5. As the ACE season came to a painful halt, the reality of what a privilege it is to have your name etched upon and to raise the Ira Vail Cup started to sink in. The thrill of victory would not be so awesome if it were easy to come by. After the two teams participated in the time-honored tradition of sportsmanship in hockey, the customary end-of-series hand shake, a tradition started over 100 years ago, all the FLYING ACES had left to do was clean out their lockers and head to the off-season.

KIDS Don't COMEBACK

The ACES finished off their regular season on the road Sunday night at CBK. Bill Marcolini and Lou Johnson were scratches. Ryan Bleck and Matt Donahue once again brought the 'Ace Case'.

Winners of two in a row after a four game losing streak, the FLYING ACES, came in looking for a season sweep of the COMEBACK KIDS. And they found it. Strong goaltending from Minarik plus a stellar defense in front of him kept CBK scoreless for over two periods of Federal C hockey. The KIDS did score twice in the third. Once on a powerplay and once off a shot that deflected off one of 'The Brick's' defensmen. Mike 'The Machine' Petersen lead the offensive with two goals and an assist. Kyle Turner, still on fire, contributed two points on a goal and an assist. Mike Gianetti also had a two point night with two assists. Steve Leoszewski had a goal and Josh Lovering had an assist. Defensman Craig 'Tolchock' Jones continued his point streak with the huge assist that started it all. Jones collected his second First Star Patch for his ravenous play in the big 4-2 win.

The victory jumped the FLYING ACES from fifth place to a three way tie for second. Round one of the playoffs starts Sunday night for the ACES as they welcome in the very dangerous FLYING DUTCHMEN. Puck drops at 7:30. This game is sold out.

Two Roster Team Skates Six - ACES Pounce

The FLYING ACES hit the road Thursday night to battle the much hated SHAM-MULLIGANS for the 4th time this season. 2 too many if you ask your average ACE. And somehow the 24 man roster SHAMS could only come up with 6 skaters at puck drop. 7 when 'Stick Bag' arrived. The FLYING ACES recalled Stephen Kmet from Teterboro. Ryan Bleck and Donny Donahue brought the 'Ace Case'. Darren Jones, Mike Petersen and Bill Marcolini were healthy scratches. 

On the ice 'Dubba Trubba' Bubba McCabe started it off with a fantastic shot that went off Juvy Lou, pass the SHAM goalie and into the net. The SHAMMULLS fired back and quickly tied the game up. And then the ACES opened the flood gates. Leading the charge was Kyle 'Turbo' Turner with six points off 4 goals and 2 assists. Fellow 'Shock' liner, Kevin Smith, contributed 2 points on a goal and an assist and Josh Lovering also had 2 points on 2 assists.

Up 6-1 and playing very stingy defense in front of a solid Nick Minarik, the ACES, in the name of good sportsmanship, switched up the lines sending defensemen up and attackers back. The experiment was positive with Eric Kusznier scoring and Craig Jones getting an assist. It was negative in the since that the SHAMS scored 3 more goals. In the end, the 7-4 end, the ACES decided they would stick to their regular positions in the future. But for now the FLYING ACES would celebrate their 75th franchise win.

Bubba McCabe took the First Star Patch. His first. Juvy Lou Johnson took his first 'Johnny Ace' cap. Ryan Bleck, Steve Leoszewski and Derek 'The Dream' Weaver each had an assist on the night. The ACES finish off the season with a 9:00 puck drop Sunday night at CBK and then it's time to defend the Ira Vail Cup in the Federal League Playoffs. Those of you who took the under on the 'patch debate' are winners. And after Thursday's dreadful EuroVan music selection, van travelers will be happy to know that Sunday night is the official debut of ACE-mix radio.

BOMBERS SCORE FIRST, BUT ACES SCORE MORE

The FLYING ACES donned their teal jerseys on home ice against the A.S. Cup carrying BOMBERS in an attempt to halt a 4 game losing streak and prevent a season sweep. The game marked the return of ACE captain Darren Jones. The ACES recalled Stephen Kmet from Teterboro. Ryan Bleck brought the newly painted "Ace Case". B. Marcolini, B. McCabe, and J. Johnson were healthy scratches.

A scoreless first period was broken when the short benched BOMBERS took advantage of a FLYING ACE miscue. And the BOMBERS held that lead until late in the 2nd, when defenseman Derek 'The Dream' Weaver rushed forward to keep the puck in play. Weaver then ripped the puck to the right of the net, where Mike 'The Machine' Petersen put it in to tie the game at 1-1. Nick 'The Brick' Minarik, hungry for a win, was playing crazed in net, stopping all comers with sick and silly skills.  Midway through the 3rd period ACE defenseman Ryan Bleck sent a crisp pass to Kyle Turner, who was playing in only his second game of the season. 'Turbo' Turner gave the puck to Kevin "From the Heavens' Smith and Smith gave his team a 2-1 lead. With under 2:00 on the clock, the BOMBERS pulled their goalie and set up to tie the defending champion ACES. But after a few close calls, Steve 'Leap'n Leprechaun' Leoszewski took the puck cross town and scored the empty netter. After the BOMBERS goalie returned, Kyle 'Turbo' Turner struck again for the ACES making it 4-1.  As time ran out, the triumphant ACES were handed the A.S. Cup.  Derek Weaver took 1st Star Honors for his hot defense and his assist that started it all. Kyle 'Turbo' Turner got the 'Johnny ACE Cap' for his 3 point performance. 

With only 2 games left, the ACES hope to get everything in order in time for the playoffs. Thursday night the ACES face off against the SHAMROCKS.  Puck drops at 9:00. The ACES will be in 'Bad Guy' Black with victory patches aglow.

ACES BLOW 4-0 THIRD PERIOD LEAD

To find the last time the FLYING ACES lost 4 games in a row you would have to go way back to the tail end of the ACES 7th season in the Federal C. The league at that point was called the Aspen Ice Adult Hockey League. WHACK-A-MOLE was still a member of that league. The ACES had yet to win the championship. The Rolling Stones had never played in Cuba and David Bowie was still alive. Back in that 7th season, the FLYING ACES fell to the BOMBERS 7-4, the SHAMROCKS 7-5, the HITMEN 5-0 and in the first round of the playoffs, the MULLIGANS 6-3. And now the nose diving FLYING ACES have done it again, blowing a 4-0 3rd period lead and losing in a late night shootout to the FLYING DUTCHMEN. Nick Minarik gave his ACES 2 periods of shutout hockey, Josh Lovering scored twice with laser slapshots from the other side of the county, Craig Jones brought one of the best 'Ace Cases' ever and Bill Marcolini scored a goal. But none of this mattered. It was to be a DUTCHMEN night.

The ACES lose 4 straight and fall to 5-4-2. They sit in 5th place in the league known as the Federal C. With the playoffs looming just around the corner, the FLYING ACES need Darren Jones back from IR and they need Lou Johnson back on the roster regularly. Up next is a nasty contest with the battle ready BOMBERS. Holding the A.S. Cup and hungry for the regular season sweep of the ACES, the B-Boys are coming to town Sunday, April 3, for a 10:30 puck drop.

Sputtering ACES Look To Gain Ground

The defending champion FLYING ACES have now lost 3 straight. The last two losses at the hands of the BUZZARDS and POWERTIME. Though the ACES did manage a point in the P-TIME shootout loss, they have only grabbed 3 points in their last 5 games.

The shootout loss saw Kevin Smith's amazing 9 game goal streak come to an end. Smith scored 15 goals in those 9 games, hat tricking twice. His last goal came in the 4-3 loss to the BUZZARDS. A game that also saw Matt Stockwell get the 'Johnny Ace' cap for his 2 goal performance. A performance that surely would have earned him his 4th First Star Patch had the ACES won. The FLYING ACES currently sit in 5th place in the Federal C with 11 points. A win tonight would be a great start to this last leg of the season.

Aside from Darren Jones who is out with a lower body injury the entire ACE roster will skate tonight against the 4th placed FLYING DUTCHMEN. As usual the puck drops an hour and a half before midnight.