WAYNE, NJ – It is said that while offense is a great thing to have, it is defense that wins championships. If this is true, the New Jersey Outlaws could be about set to bring a trophy home.
Outlaws’ goalie Dan McWhinney stopped all 34 shots he faced and his teammates gave his just enough offense as New Jersey defeated the Cape Cod Bluefins 3-0 in games two of their FHL Commissioner’s Cup playoff series Saturday night at the Capital One Ice Vault. The Outlaws now lead the best-of-five series two games to none as the teams head to Hyannis, MA for game three on Wednesday.
The tenor of Saturday’s tilt was much different than Friday’s series opener. Game one saw a total of 14 goals between the two teams and plenty of chippy play. Game two was more of a defensive struggle and just one real scrap.
The first period went by scoreless but it wasn’t for lack of effort. The Bluefins put a healthy ten shots on McWhinney who handled them with ease. Down the other end, Cape Cod netminder Adam Roy faced 18 Outlaws shots and he too turned every one away. There were just three penalties called but none resulted in a power play goal.
The second period started off much like the first had gone. The goalies continued to be perfect in denying the opposition offense. McWhinney faced two early Bluefins man advantage situations and handled them while Roy thwarted an Outlaws power play. Cape Cod thought they had opened the scoring when a shot got past McWhinney but it clanged off the crossbar and the officials ruled it never crossed the line.
Midway through the period, New Jersey finally broke the ice when veteran Matt Puntureri found a way to beat Roy at the 10:36 mark. It was the lone goal of the period as Roy and McWhinney remained stingy between the pipes. The Outlaws once again out-shot the Bluefins, this time by a count of 17-11, but the lead was just one heading to the third.
The final period, as it has been on many occasions this year, belonged to New Jersey on the scoreboard. Matt Miller lit the lamp 2:13 into the stanza to double the Outlaws lead. It was a bit of luck for Miller whose centering pass from the wing caromed off a Cape Cod defender and past Roy. McWhinney was on his game as the Bluefins tried to increase the pressure in hopes of getting back into the contest. Nathan Oke stuck the final dagger into Cape Cod’s hopes when he took a pass from Travis Kauffeldt and buried a wrist shot in the back of the net at the 15:06 mark, sealing the win and a commanding series lead.
Game Notes: New Jersey was without Craig Cole and Jeff Winchester who were both sitting out one-game suspensions for incidents in Friday’s game…Kauffeldt may miss game three after being given a major penalty and a game misconduct for elbowing late in game two…For the game, the Outlaws out-shot the Bluefins 42-34…Roy, who started in place of Chris Testa who was banged up in game one, recorded 39 saves in suffering the loss…The sole fight of the game came with less than four minutes remaining when Cape Cod’s David Lun squared off with New Jersey’s Brett Angel. It was Lun’s second fight in two nights…Game three at the Hyannis Youth Community Center is set for Wednesday at 7:35 pm. If a game four is needed, it will be played at the HYCC on Thursday.
Contact the author at gary.marchese@prohockeynews.com

WAYNE, NJ – Through 24 minutes of play Friday night at the Capital One Ice Vault, the New Jersey Outlaws lived up to its billing as the top seed in the FHL Commissioner’s Cup playoffs. Then the roof almost caved in.
After squandering a four goal lead, the Outlaws used a five-goal third period to take game one of the best-of-five series over the Cape Cod Bluefins 9-5. Kevin Cooper led the New Jersey attack with a hat trick, including the game-winning short-handed tally midway through the final stanza, and an assist while teammate Jason Reese stepped up with a two-goal, three-assist effort. Game two of the series is set for Saturday night at the Ice Vault starting at 7:35 pm.
Coming into Friday’s inaugural playoff game for both franchises, the Outlaws were considered a huge favorite based on their performance in the regular season including winning ten of the eleven match-ups with the Bluefins. Cape Cod goalie Chris Testa was strong in the early going, keeping the high-powered New Jersey attack at bay.
Testa’s dam finally broke at the 8:25 mark of the opening period when Reese lit the goal light for the first time. Less than five minutes later, Reese set up Cooper for his first of the night to double the lead and when league MVP Jeff Winchester beat Testa with just nine ticks left on the clock before the first intermission, the Outlaws had built themselves a 3-0 cushion.
With Dan McWhinney, who received the outstanding goalie award, seemingly on his game, Matt Puntureri’s goal 4:08 into the middle stanza put New Jersey up by four goals and it looked like the rout was on. However, Cape Cod coach Mike Nugnes found the right words on the Bluefins bench and his team began its improbable rally.
Dan Gordon started Cape Cod on its way at the 8:59 mark when he beat McWhinney (30 saves on 35 shots). 49 seconds later, Vincent Amigone Jr. found the back of the net behind the Outlaws netminder to cut the margin in half. Then at the 10:46 mark, Brad Surdam, a member of the FHL All-Rookie team, notched his first goal of the playoffs and suddenly in less than two minutes of playing time it was now 4-3. Todd Chinova later beat McWhinney at the 16:19 mark to complete the comeback, tying the contest at 4-4 where it stayed heading into the second intermission.
Obviously stunned by the Bluefins refusal to roll over, New Jersey coach Chris Firriolo needed a big speech in the locker room before the teams came out for the final period. His players heeded his words and jumped back in front when Matt Miller beat Testa 5:50 into the period. It took Cape Cod just 43 seconds to respond when Justin Barr hit the back of the net to once again even the score.
From that point on it was all Outlaws. With his team down a man, Cooper took a pass from Travis Kauffeldt and put the puck past Testa (42 saves on 51 shots) to give his team a lead they would not relinquish. The Outlaws sealed the victory with three more goals in less than two minutes as Reese picked up his second at 16:02, Winchester notched his second at 17:41 and Cooper finished off his hat trick at 17:59.
Game Notes: The game did get testy in the third, leaving fans to wonder what will happen in game two. New Jersey’s Craig Cole received a five-minute major and game misconduct for charging which could carry with it a suspension. Cape Cod’s David Lin and the Outlaws’ Kauffeldt also got into a scrap late in the contest, During the fight, Kauffeldt appeared to injure one of his hands. Two other checking from behind penalties against New Jersey could also fuel the fires of the visiting Bluefins as they look to even the series… Testa’s availability could also be in question after he was run over during the game…The three stars for the game were Reese (first), Cooper (second) and Winchester (third).
Contact the author at gary.marchese@prohockeynews.com

BROOKLYN – With nothing on the line for them this weekend, the New Jersey Outlaws are thinking ahead to the upcoming playoffs that start at the end of this coming week. Unfortunately in doing that, they are getting into some bad habits.
After needing a huge comeback Friday night, the Outlaws went to the Aviator Sports and Recreation Complex in Brooklyn and were stomped by the host Aviators 9-3 Saturday night. The Aviators were led by Nick Petriello and Chris Campanale who each notched a hat trick in the contest.
Things started off well for the visiting Outlaws. Kevin Cooper got his team on the board first by scoring the first of his two goals a mere 17 seconds after the opening puck drop. It took Brooklyn just over seven minutes to find a way to beat New Jersey starting goalie Adam Dekker but when Campanale did so, the score was tied. Rookie Andrew Owsiak then put the Aviators in front with a score of his own at the 10:54 mark. Not to be outdone, Cooper potted his second of the first period behind Brooklyn netminder Michael DiLorenzo at the 14:35 point to knot the score at 2-2.
From that point, the rest of the period, and for that matter the game, belonged to the Aviators. Petriello took advantage of a New Jersey penalty to score a power play goal just over a minute after Cooper’s tally to put Brooklyn in front to stay. A subsequent Outlaws penalty provided the Aviators with another man advantage and they made good use of the chance. Jason Dolgy beat Dekker (10 saves on 14 shots) with a shot to make it 4-2 and end the night for the Outlaws goalie as coach Chris Firriolo replaced him with Dan McWhinney. Brooklyn out-shot New Jersey 19-8 in the stanza and took that two goal lead into the first intermission.
The Aviators went on the power play again early in the middle period and increased the lead when Petriello picked up his second score (and second power play goal) of the game at 2:22. Campanale then beat McWhinney for his second lamp-lighter at the 8:02 mark to increase the margin to 6-2. Four minutes later, New Jersey’s Anthony Battaglia stopped some of the bleeding when he scored a goal to cut the deficit to three. It was the final score of a period which saw the teams each register eleven shots on net but the scoreboard was anything but even at 6-3 heading to the final twenty minutes.
DiLorenzo, who started in place of Josselin St. Pierre in net for the Aviators, was on his game in the third period. He stopped all 16 shots that the Outlaws threw at him on the way to a 32-save performance. Brooklyn was not however done with scoring goals for itself. Steve Koich put a shot past McWhinney 5:33 into the frame to push the lead back to four goals. McWhinney (23 saves on 28 shots) was able to hold the Aviators at bay for more than ten minutes before Campanale notched his hat trick goal at the 15:17 mark of the period to make it 8-3. Less than a minute later, Petriello potted his third of the night to join Campanale in the hat trick club and finish off the scoring for the night.
Needless to say, Petriello (first star) and Campanale (second star) were picked as the top two players in the game. Teammate Michael Thomson (three assists) was picked as the third star. The two teams will travel down to the Ice Vault in Wayne for the regular season finale Sunday afternoon. Then it is on to the post-season which will start for the Outlaws at home on Friday against the Cape Cod Bluefins.
Contact the author at gary.marchese@prohockeynews.com

HYANNIS, MASS. – During the 2011-2012 FHL season, the New Jersey Outlaws have proven that they can certainly finish games when they jump out to a lead. It seems they can also play from behind as well.
Faced with a three goal deficit to the team they will meet in the first round of the playoffs, the Outlaws scored five consecutive goals to overtake the host Cape Cod Bluefins 6-4 Friday night. Matt Puntureri led the comeback with two goals for New Jersey, which sat captain Travis Kauffeldt out to get him some rest for next weekend.
With game one of the best-of-five series between the two teams set for next Friday at the Ice Vault in Wayne, this game was just as much about setting a tone than getting a victory. The Bluefins had nothing to lose and confidence to gain so they came out with all guns firing. Cape Cod out-shot New Jersey 14-9 in the first period and outscored the visitors by three.
The scoring started at the 3:45 mark of the opening period when Vincent Amigone Jr. beat Outlaws goalie Adam Dekker to give his team the early lead. Just under six minutes later, Stephen Kelley doubled the margin when he found the back of the net. When Derek Scanlon singed the twine behind Dekker at the 14:51 mark, the Bluefins had a 3-0 lead, much to the delight of many of the 487 people in attendance.
Cape Cod’s joy with the events of the first period quickly turned to dismay in the second. The Outlaws, obviously having been talked to between period by head coach and recently named FHL Coach of the Year Chris Firriolo, opened the middle stanza on fire. They got on the scoreboard just 46 seconds into the period when Anthony Battaglia scored seconds after the end of a power play. Then they put up two in the span of 1:10 midway through the stanza to tie the game. The first came at 9:54 when Matt Miller beat Bluefins goalie Adam Roy for a power play goal. The second and game-tying tally came off the stick of Puntureri at the 11:04 mark. The visitors took the lead for good late in the period when Trevor Karasiewicz scored at the 18:20 mark, sending his team to the locker room ahead 4-3.
After being out-shot 19-9 in the middle period, Cape Cod needed an answer in the third. Unfortunately for them it was the Outlaws who took advantage of the fast pace when Puntureri scored his second of the night at 6:43 to give New Jersey a two goal lead. The Bluefins answered right back as Andrew Hutton beat Dekker ten seconds after the Outlaws score, cutting the lead to one. The outcome wasn’t decided until New Jersey’s Brett Liscomb beat Roy at the 15:50 mark to create the final score.
For the game, New Jersey out-shot Cape Cod 42-39 with winning goalie Dekker making 35 saves while Roy stopped 36 in a losing effort. The Outlaws’ Karasiewicz (1 goal, 2 assists) picked up the game’s first star while teammate and newly named league MVP Jeff Winchester took the second star honors. Cape Cod’s Dan Gordon was awarded the third star for picking up three assists in the game.
Contact the author at gary.marchese@prohockeynews.com

WAYNE, NJ – As the standings sit with a handful of games left in the FHL regular season, the New Jersey Outlaws appear destined to face the Cape Cod Bluefins in the first round of the Commissioner’s Cup playoffs. This past Sunday, the two teams met at the Capital One Ice Vault with nothing but message sending on their minds.
Paced by a two-goal, three-point effort by captain Travis Kauffeldt, the Outlaws sent the message they wanted with a 5-2 victory over the Bluefins. The win continued to add to the Outlaws’ FHL-record victory total and at the same time avenged a loss to the Bluefins from two nights earlier.
Kauffeldt’s night began in the first period where he scored both of his goals. The first one came in a short-handed situation after teammate John Goffredo had gone to the penalty box. 39 seconds into the penalty kill, Kauffeldt beat Cape Cod goalie Adam Roy to put the Outlaws up 1-0 at the 3:46 mark. Just over two minutes later, Kauffeldt lit the lamp for the 44th time this season to double New Jersey’s lead. Netminder Dan McWhinney made the captain’s goals stand up into the first intermission by stopping all 10 Bluefins shots he faced.
Cape Cod found its game and gave the Outlaws everything they could handle in the second. AJ Tesoriero got the Bluefins on the scoreboard at the 6:51 mark, finding a way to put the puck behind McWhinney. The score stayed that way until there was less than six minutes remaining in the period. Goffredo made up for his penalty in the first by notching his 18th goal of the season at the 14:46 mark. Goffredo’s tally reestablished the two goal lead for the Outlaws but the Bluefins still had some fight left in them. Goffredo took his second minor penalty in the final minute and Cape Cod made him pay as Kevin McCready scored his 25th of the year on the man advantage to cut the margin to 3-2 at the break.
With the visitors breathing down their necks, the Outlaws needed a kill shot and they got it early in the third. Just 45 seconds into the period, Trevor Karasiewicz scored his 11th goal in 19 games for New Jersey to give his team its third two-goal lead of the game. Defenseman Jeff Winchester put the final touches on the scoreboard with his 20th goal of the season (6th with New Jersey in nine games) on a power play at the 16:30 mark, sealing the win for the home team.
McWhinney earned his 24 win of the season, making 33 saves on the 35 shots he saw. Cape Cod’s Roy stopped 34 out of 39 Outlaws shots in the loss. New Jersey has just three regular season games remaining starting Friday night in Hyannis against the Bluefins. Then it is off to the post-season starting with a best-of-five first round series that opens on March 9th and 10th in Wayne against sixth-seeded Cape Cod.
Contact the author at gary.marchese@prohockeynews.com

WAYNE, NJ – The New Jersey Outlaws have accomplished pretty much everything they could in their first season in the FHL. They have already won the FHL regular season title and assured themselves home ice throughout the playoffs.
Saturday night at the Capital One Ice Vault, they were coming off of a loss to Cape Cod on Friday and facing the rough and rugged defending FHL playoff champion Akwesasne Warriors. Instead of putting their play on cruise control, the Outlaws played for pride and came away with a 6-2 win. Travis Kauffeldt and Kevin Cooper each scored a pair of goals to lead New Jersey to its league-record 40th victory of the season.
The Warriors have played with a chip on their shoulder for much of the season and penalties would play a big part in the game. Akwesasne took a penalty just 1:38 into the first period and it cost them as New Jersey’s Kauffeldt notched his first of the night at the 2:04 mark on the power play. Midway through the period, Akwesasne’s Jean Rene Forget, who had taken the early penalty, atoned for his mistake by beating Outlaws goalie Dan McWhinney to tie the score. Despite a combined 23 shots by the two teams in the stanza, McWhinney and Warriors netminder Alexandre Vincent kept the score tied going into the first intermission.
The middle period was when the Outlaws began to flex their scoring muscles. It started when Kauffeldt beat Vincent for the second time in the game. The goal, the 42nd for Kauffeldt this year, came at the 6:23 mark and put New Jersey ahead to stay. Two and a half minutes later, Cooper struck for his 40th of the season on the power play to increase the lead to 3-1. Then just under three minutes after Cooper’s tally, Jason Reese found the back of the net to make it 4-1 in favor of the home team. Late in the period, Akwesasne was able to draw closer when Martin Beaulne scored a short-handed goal to cut the margin to 4-2.
Mixed in among the goals was a whole lot of chippy play. It started at the four minute mark when the Warriors’ Ahmed Mahfouz and the Outlaws’ Dan Mercer went off for unsportsmanlike conduct. Tempers flared at the 9:18 mark when Mahfouz dropped the gloves with New Jersey’s John Goffredo. It got a little bit worse when Mahfouz got tangled up with New Jersey’s Jim Jensen, who ended up with a five minute elbowing major. In all, the teams combined for 33 minutes in penalties before the second intermission came.
Things seemed a bit calmer in the third period as only five penalties including a pair of fighting majors were whistled. The Outlaws were able to extend their lead with Cooper’s second of the game at the 6:20 mark. Brett Liscomb finished off the scoring with a power play goal with just over a minute left in the game.
New Jersey ended up out-shooting Akwesasne 41-33 in the contest that took two hours and 43 minutes to play. The Outlaws went 3-for-9 with the man advantage while the Warriors were 0-for-3. McWhinney, who is handling all of the goaltending duties with teammate Adam Dekker up with the ECHL’s Trenton Titans, recorded 31 saves to notch his 23rd victory of the season. On the other end, Vincent stopped 35 New Jersey shots in the loss. Cooper was named the game’s first star with Kauffeldt earning second star and Reese, who added two assists to his goal, was named third star.
Contact the author at gary.marchese@prohockeynews.com