Aviators, Warriors ready for FHL finals

BROOKLYN, NY – The gleaming Commissioner’s Cup is polished but blank, awaiting its debut. All it needs is a name – the name of the inaugural Federal Hockey League champions.
That name will belong to either the Akwesasne Warriors or the New York Aviators, who begin the best-of-five battle for the cup this weekend at the Aviator Sports and Recreation Complex. Game one is set for Saturday night at 7:35 pm

with game two the next day starting at 5:05 pm. The showdown between the first place Aviators, who were 32-15 in the regular season, and the second place Warriors, who went 30-17, should be a defensive battle with special teams leading the way.
The Aviators come into the finals off of a hard-fought five game South division series against the Danbury Whalers. They came from down two games to one to win the final pair of games including game five when Matt Puntureri scored the winning goal in overtime. The grueling series, which ended last Sunday, left the Aviators exhausted and with only six days to rest and prepare compared to Akwesasne’s two-week hiatus since winning the North division finals against Thousand Islands.
When asked about the difference in down time between series, Aviators head coach Rob Miller didn’t think it would have much affect on the finals.
“It (finals) comes down to heart and determination,” Miller said. “Everyone is willing to do what they need to do to win.”
The Aviators were 2-4 against the Warriors during the regular season with one loss coming in overtime and another in a shootout. Akwesasne came out of the gates strong, dominating the league in October and November with a pair of six-game winning streaks. All four of the Warriors’wins over New York came during that early part of the season. The Warriors held onto first place until the Aviators gained momentum in January and February, highlighted by a record-setting 21-game winning streak that did not end until the closing days of the regular season.
In the playoff series against the Whalers, New York had a power play success rate of 33.33 percent with ten goals scored. When the Aviators went on the penalty kill, they were successful 86.96 percent of the time, giving up only three goals. By comparison, Akwesasne connected on 30.77 percent of its man advantage chances against the Privateers, scoring four times and killing penalties at a 84.62 percent rate, giving up two goals while scoring two short-handed tallies.
New York’s power play is led by Puntureri (12 points with 6 on power play, plus-5 rating), Michael Thomson (9 assists with 5 on power play) and Andrew Scampoli (5 points with 1 goal on power play, plus-2) up front with defensemen KC Timmons (4 points with 3 on power play, plus-1) and Nick Grove (2 goals and three points) quarterbacking from the blue line. Miller said that because of the fire power that both team possess on the man advantage, he has been impressing on his players the need to stay out of trouble in the form of dumb penalties.
“Players need to control themselves on the ice, no retaliation and no stupid stuff after the whistle,” he said.
Miller said that at this time of the year, most of the breakdowns in play are mental,not physical. He noted that practice during the week would include video review sessions to illustrate the small mistakes than can ultimately cost the team games.
If the defense falters, Miller has an ace in the hole with FHL Most Valuable Player Kevin Druce in net. Druce was 3-1 with a second loss coming in overtime against the Whalers with a 2.68 goals against average and a .912 save percentage and one shutout to his credit. The goalie said that the Danbury series left the Aviators with plenty of confidence in regards to the Akwesasne match-up and that he and his teammates are heeding their coach’s words on discipline.
“We’re confident and we know that we can beat them. We are not the team that we were in the beginning of the season,” Druce said. “Akwesasne has one of the best power plays in the league. We need to limit our penalties and keep them off the scoreboard.”
Aviators’ forward Jesse Felten, who tallied four goals and six assists and a plus-five rating in the Danbury series, also noted the high-octane offense that the Warriors put on the ice. He said that the recently announced returns of defenseman Carter Trevisani and forward (and former NHLer) Pierre Dagenais to the lineup for the finals will mean that New York will have to pay more attention to staying out of the penalty box.
“If we give them a lot of power play opportunities, they are going to capitalize on them,” Felten said. “However, our best games against them are when Dagenais and Trevisani are on the ice.”
On the other side of the ice, Akwesasne head coach Angelo Sanseverino also figures the series will key on goaltending, special teams and discipline, just as they did for the Warriors during the North division finals against the Privateers. Akwesasne won that series in four games, including a 10-4 blowout in the final game.
Top playoff performers Dan Tessier, Miguel Delisle, Daniel Sauve and Ahmed Mahfouz all had their post-season game in tune during that last contest in Alexandria Bay. They each had three or more points,Tessier recorded the FHL’s first playoff hat trick and Sauve had a phenomenal six assist game. Sanseverino expects all four of the top executors to bring their momentum into the finals.
Tessier, who only played in three games during the Thousand Islands series, tied Delisle and Sauve for points in the series with nine. His numbers (5 goals, 4 assists) were similar to New York’s Felten who had four goals and six assists in five games against the Whalers. Sauve, the Warriors’ top defenseman, notched nine assists and was a plus-9. Tessier and Delisle each scored five goals and share the playoff lead with the Aviators’ Puntureri.
Akwesasne had a decided advantage against New York during the regular season. The Warriors won four of the six meetings, each one with Carter Trevisani and Pierre Dagenais in the lineup. They had the special teams advantage on both the power play (22.7 percent to the Aviators’ 14.3 percent) and the penalty kill (85.7 percent to New York’s 77.3 percent). The goaltending match-up between New York’s Kevin Druce and Akwesasne’s David Plouffe was virtually equal as Druce posted a 3.98 goals against average and .870 save percentage to Plouffe’s 3.99 goals against and .893 save percentage.
Coach Sanseverino sees the Aviators’ playing style and player experience as being on an even par with the Warriors. He considers both teams to be playing arelatively simple style and having the ability to draw from their experienced talent pool. New York’s combination of style, experience, stellar goaltending and fast moving forwards is what Sanseverino attributes the Aviators’ success and appearance in the finals to.
“I think it’s going to be a very, very entertaining series. I think the people that are going to be there are going to enjoy the game,” Sanseverino said. “Do I think it’s going to be rough? No. I think it’s going to be rough as in good, clean body checks.”
One thing that Akwesasne was very good doing during the regular season was adapting to the loss of top talents. The Warriors’ post-season success thus far is an indication of how the squad has come together to rely on a team effort instead of depending on individual talents.
The return of both Dagenais and Trevisani to the Akwesasne lineup will surely increase the scoring and defensive posture of the Warriors as well as increasing the entertainment factor for the fans. Prior to leaving for Italy at the end of January, former Olympian Trevisani had rackedup 49 points and a plus-12 rating in 36 games. Former NHLer Dagenais headed to Europe in late December, playing in just 23 games for Akwesasne. Even in that short period of time, he led the FHL in goals (26), assists (28) and points (54), all marks that were not surpassed for more than two weeks by either teammates or opponents.
Sanseverino admitted that he has tried to downplay the return of Trevisani and Dagenais to the lineup in light of how his team responded when they left. Even though he stresses the regular season and playoff success that the Warriors have achieved without the pair, he said it’s not hard to foresee a positive impact with them back.
“Let’s face it. They’re two key guys and everyone knows it,” he said. “Nothing is really changing. We’re still going to go with the same game plan basically, as if they (Dagenais and Trevisani) weren’t here.”
Team owner and President Basem Awwad is extremely excited and happy to have the two star players back to add to what has become a very dangerous roster.
“It’s pretty exciting. I can’t wait. The new guys on our team I’m sure are very excited to have Pierre back. Not every single-A venue can offer its players the opportunity to do their 9-to-5 with former NHLers and Olympians,” Awwad said. “If the New York Aviators had a lot of confidence going into the finals, it might change now. Pierre Dagenais is scary out there. He is scary. I mean, if I was on that other team, I’d be scared because he’s going to shoot that puck any second now.”
One interested onlooker will be FHL Commissioner Don Kirnan. He is anticipating a back-and-forth series with an outcome difficult to predict. The re-injection of talent to the Warriors’ roster and the highly energized fan base in Brooklyn are just two elements that he sees possibly helping to determine the outcome.
“The team that Akwesasne had in the middle of November was just awesome. If they can get close to that team that we saw in the middle of November, they’re going to be difficult for anyone to beat,” Kirnan said. “We’ll see. We’ll have to see what happens. Everybody is excited about the product. The New York fans base has never been better. The fan base is really revved up.”
Editor’s Pick: Akwesasne has been off for two weeks while New York battled hard and has had just six days to rest and ramp back up. Both the Aviators and Warriors have high-octane offenses, especially when they get onto the power play, so as both coaches said, staying out of the penalty box will be huge. The goaltending battle will either be a classic or a complete bust thanks to the firepower on the ice. Even though both squads have parlayed a team first attitude, the additions of Trevisani and Dagenais should give Akwesasne an advantage. The Warriors take this one in four games, winning the cup on home ice at the Turtle Dome. Contact the authors at susan.erichsen@prohockeynews.com and wendy.hull@prohockeynews.com