HYANNIS, Mass – After dropping the first two games of a best of 5 series in New Jersey, the Cape Cod Bluefins found themselves in a do or die situation when they returned to the Hyannis Youth & Community Center for game 3 of their semi-final matchup against the Federal Hockey League regular season champion New Jersey Outlaws. New Jersey was without their leading scorer Travis Kauffeldt who was suspended for an elbow to the head which he threw on Cape Cod’s Brad Surdam. Unfortunately, Surdam who was one of the Bluefins leading scorers in the regular season was knocked out of Wednesday’s game as a result.
 
The only goal of the first period came at 8:46 when the Outlaws’ John Geoffredo took a pass from Billy McCreary and put it past Bluefin’s goalie Adam Roy. The visitors took a 1-0 lead into the locker room after the first period and despite being outshot 18-9,  The Fins were not discouraged as they were very much in the game.  
 
At 4:31 of the second period Craig Cole made it 2-0 when he fired a snap shot that beat Roy and the Outlaws were in control. However, at the 10:10 assistant captain and player coach, Dan Gordon jumped off of the Bluefin bench, picked up a loose puck and raced in alone on Outlaw goalie, Dan McWhiney. Gordan made a fantastic move which froze McWhiney as he shifted to his backhand and lifted a shot up into the net. It was now 2-1 and the Fins were back in it. Unfortunately, the hype was short lived as at 17:31 Lawne Snyder scored a power play goal and put the Outlaws up 3-1.
 
The third period began as perhaps the last period the Bluefins would play this season if they could not dig themselves out of the hole that they were in following 2 periods of play. Coach Mike Nugnes must have reminded them of this as just 24 seconds into the frame Justin Barr made it 3-2. Barr’s 22^nd goal of the season was assisted by Andrew Hutton and Matt Harrington. But again, the Outlaws wouldn’t let the Fins hold on to the momentum as just 26 seconds later they again went up by 2. This time it was off the stick of Anthony Battaglia. Battaglia’s goal was assisted by Jeff Winchester and Brett Liscomb. For Liscomb it was his 3^rd assist of the game.  Then at 9:32, Corey Bellamy brought the home town team within one again on a nice hustle play. “Bells” stole the puck behind McWhiney and attempted to stuff it past the Outlaw goalie. McWhiney made the initial save but Bellamy, not giving up on the play jammed the rebound past the Outlaw net minder.  New Jersey scored again at 13:49 on a goal by Luke Flicek and the walls were all but caving in on the Bluefins season. It was 5-3 and the clock seemed to be ticking double time and as the time dwindled away down to the final seconds and the players saluted the home town faithful, the fans stood on their feet and applauded this young and talented team who’s inexperience ultimately spelled their demise.
 
The game and the season ended for the Bluefins but their fans and all of Cape Cod should be proud of their new professional hockey team. Now with a full FHL season under their belts, next season promises to be a better one with lessons learned and a newly formed outlook.
 
The Outlaws will face the winner of the Danbury Whalers and the 1000 Islands Privateers in the FHL Championship.
 
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WAYNE, NJ – Nathan Oke tallied one goal and two assists, Matt Puntureri and Matt Miller each tallied goals, and Dan McWhinney made 34 saves in leading the New Jersey Outlaws to a 3-0 victory over the Cape Cod Bluefins Saturday night at the Capital One Ice Vault. The Outlaws now take a commanding two games to none lead in the best -of-5 series in the FHL Commissioners Cup Playoffs.
 
The first period started off with both teams methodically measuring each other in the first 10 minutes. But once the Outlaws started on their first power play did the shots start flying for both sides. But after 20 minutes of play, both McWhinney and Cape Cod’s Adam Roy were more than equal to the task, with Roy turning aside 17 shots and McWhinney 11 in a scoreless stanza.
 
In the second period, the Outlaws finally drew first blood, but not without controversy. Cape Cod had thought they took a 1-0 lead, only to have their blast ruled off the crossbar by the officiating crew. Shortly after that, the Outlaws took their good fortune down the other end, with Matt Puntureri converting a Jason Reese pass to give New Jersey the 1-0 advantage at the 10:36. Nathan Oke also assisted on the play. But Roy stood tall after that making several big saves and keeping the margin at 1 by making 20 saves in the second. The allimportant second goal came at the 2;13 mark of the third period. Matt Miller rushed into the Bluefin zone on the left side, and his centering pass attempt deflected off of a Cape Cod defender in front and through the pads of Roy. Oke and McWhinney earned assists on the goal that gave the home side a 2-0 advantage. Cape Cod would push hard to cut into the deficit, but McWhinney and the Outlaw defense made several key plays in preserving the two-goal edge. Finally, at 15:06, Nathan Oke put the game out of reach. He received a pass from Travis Kauffeldt in the slot and wristed one over Roy’s shoulder to give New Jersey the 3-0 that would hold for the remainder of the contest. Trevor Karasiewicz also earned a helper on the goal. The next game in the best-of-5 series will be at the Hyannis Youth Community Center in Cape Cod on Wednesday night at 7:35 pm. The game can be seen on the livesportsvideo.com. If necessary, Game 4 will be at HYCC on Thursday and Game 5 will be at the Ice Vault on Saturday night.
 
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WAYNE, NJ – The New Jersey Outlaws took on the Cape Cod Bluefins in Game One of the first round of the FHL playoffs. The Outlaws got off to a fast start and had a 3-0 lead after one period. In the second period it was a totally different story as Cape Cod scored four goals, three of them in about three minutes. At the end of the second period it was a 4-4 game. In the third period it got very chippy but the Outlaws took a 6-5 lead shorthanded and then scored three more goals in the last couple of minutes of the game. The Outlaws won the game 9-5. It should be an interesting game two tomorrow night here at the Ice Vault.
 
The goals in the first period were scored by Jason Reese, Kevin Cooper and Jeff Winchester. The goals were scored at the 11:35 mark, the 6:55 mark and the last goal was scored with nine seconds left in the first period. 
 
In the second period Matthew Puntureri scored to make it a 4-0 game. The goal was scored at the 15:52 mark of the second period. The Bluefins started their comeback at the 11:01 mark as Dan Gordon scored and 49 seconds later the Bluefins made it a 4-2 lead on a goal by Vincent Amigone Jr. The Bluefins then made it a 4-3 game at the 10:46 mark by Brad Surdam. The Bluefins tied the game at four at the 3:41 mark. The goal is scored by Todd Chinova. 
 
In the third period the Outlaws took a 5-4 lead at the 10:59 mark as it is a shorthanded goal and scored by Cooper. The Outlaws killed off a big five on three and a five minute major at the same time. The Outlaws had a one goal lead with 5:50 left in the game. At the 3:58 mark they made it a 7-5 game on a goal by Reese. They made it a 8-5 game at the 2:19 mark as Winchester scores his second of the game. The final goal was scored by Cooper as he scores the hat trick. The goal came 18 seconds later. 
 
The Outlaws have a 1-0 lead in this best of five series. Game two will be at 7:35PM tomorrow night here in Wayne,NJ. It got very chippy towards the end as there were a couple of big fights. Kauffeldt was in one and ended up knocking the guy out. The bluefins goalie also got ran over which was a crazy play and he may be too hurt to play tomorrow. It should be a very interesting game two tomorrow night. There should be bad blood between the teams and the Bluefins will be a desperate team trying to even the series before going home to play games three and four if necessary. The final tallies for shots on goal were 51-35 in favor of the Outlaws. The three stars of the game were #24 Winchester as the third star, #11 Cooper as the second star and #16 Reese as the number one star. 
 
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VINEYATD HAVEN, Mass – In a showcase of the Federal Hockey League, the Cape Cod Bluefins took their show on the road but played the role of the home team at the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena on Saturday afternoon. Playing against arch rival Danbury Whalers, the Fins wanted to give the island crowd a taste of professional hockey that they hadn’t seen. They even inserted a couple of local Vineyarders into their lineup to provide the home town crowd with some familiarity and extra entertainment. 45 year old former NHLer Mick Vukota, who makes his home in Edgartown, suited up for the Fins as did  local big man Max Sherman. After the game the fans were pleased, to say the least.
 
The Bluefins didn’t waste any time getting on the board when just 49 seconds into the game, team captain Kevin Mcready scored from Vincent Amigone and Stephen Kelley. For McCready it was his team leading 23^rd goal and 46^th point of the season. The period included several big hits and 2 failed power plays (one for each team). Total shots on goal were 16-6 in favor of the Bluefins and at the end of period one it was Cape Cod 1, Danbury 0.
 
The Whalers evened the score at one just 2 minutes into the second period when Andrew Willock jumped on a Sean O’Malley breakaway rebound that Fins goalie, Wes Vesprini initially gloved but could not hold on to. The goal was also assisted by Matt Moffat. At 12:46 David Lun put the Bluefins up 2-1 when he took a Todd Chinova pass and wristed a low shot that beat Whaler goalie, Peter Vetri for his 14^th goal of the season. With :36 to go in the period, Vetri took a dirty run (head shot) in the corner at unsuspecting Bluefins forward, Brad Surdam. This sparked a near bench clearing brawl as Surdam lay motionless on the ice. For his actions, Vetri was given a 5:00 major and ejected from the game. Fortunately, Surdam was ok and sakted off the ice under his own power. Shots at the end of 2 were 29-14, Bluefins.
 
After the second period festivities, Cape Cod came out in the third period fired up and ready to take control physically and on the score board. They did just that as after a big hit, Surdam got revenge for being clobbered in the 2^nd period by taking a Dan Gordon pass and after a pretty move to his backhand, beat Whalers’ goalie Matt Trusz who had replaced the ejected Vetri. It was now 3-1 Bluefins and they were in control. However, things were getting testy and at 12:22 Vukota did what he did so many times in the NHL en route to a staggering 2071 career penalty minutes. He dropped the gloves against Danbury’s most imposing player, 6’4″ 240 lb Jason “The Motor City Hitter” McCrimmon. It was a true heavy weight matchup as Vukota is 6’3″ and 215. The fight only lasted a few seconds but the Vineyard crowd gave their hero a big round of applause after he went at it and held his own with McCrimmon who is almost 20 years his junior. It was time to play hockey again and after the penalties were served and the dust had settled, O’Malley tipped a slap shot off the stick James Sanford that Vesprini couldn’t stop. It was now 3-2 and we had a game. In fact, at 16:18 the Whalers tied it up with a Matt Caranci goal and then one minute later they took the lead on a Carlo Ricci 2 on 1 conversion. Suddenly, the Bluefins had lost control and with just 2:42 remaining found themselves in a hole. It turned out to be a hole that they couldn’t dig themselves out of and the Fins fell 4-3 in a game they should have won.
 
The Bluefins play next on Friday March 2nd (vs New Jersey) and Saturday March3^rd (vs Danville) at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center. The 2 games will close out the Fins regular season.
 
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HYANNIS, Mass – Friday night was a lively night at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center to say the least and any hockey fan who was not in attendance missed perhaps the game of the year in the Federal Hockey League. The Bluefins honored the Mashpee High School Super Bowl Champions and even had local UFC Fighter, Christian Morecraft on hand to watch a great game between the Cape Cod Bluefins and the visiting New Jersey Outlaws.
 
It took only 3 minutes and 38 seconds for the Outlaws, the league’s first place team to strike gold when Trevor Karasiewicz blasted a high slap shot over the shoulder of Bluefins goalie Chris Testa. It was Testa’s first game back after a knee injury kept him out for a month and perhaps he was naturally feeling the rust. However, exactly 2 minutes later, Anthony Battaglia converted a pretty Travis Kauffeldt to Karasiewicz tic tack passing play and made it 2 – 0 in favor of the Outlaws. It seemed like that line got off the bus with scoring in mind. At 7:21, the home team got their first goal off the stick of newly acquired forward, Vincent Amigone Jr. The power play goal was Amigone’s first as a Bluefin and was assisted by David Lun and Derek Scanlon. At 8:55 the visitors again hit pay dirt when Battaglia beat Testa for his second of the night to make it 3-1 New Jersey. The home team, however would not be discouraged and at 18:59 of the first Matt Harrington banged home an Amigone blast and made it 3-2. By the end of the first period it seemed as though momentum was on the Bluefins side as they went to the locker room down just 1 goal.
 
At the outset of the second period, the home team was on fire scoring 2 goals within the first 5 minutes. The first off the stick of Brad Surdam. The goal was Surdams 20^th of the season and was assisted by Brewster’s Andrew Hutton and player/coach, Dan Gordon. Just over a minute later the Bluefins struck again when Hutton knocked in a rebound past New Jersey goalie Adam Dekker and it seemed that the Bluefins Hutton/Gordon/Surdam line had their own plans in mind for filling the net. From that point on it was a an up and down battle. Some would say some very good hockey was being played. The Fins killed off a power play and during one of their own, Testa stopped Battaglia on a breakaway which would have given the Outlaw forward a hat trick. However, at 10:31 Kevin Cooper was given a breakaway of his own which Testa could not stop and the visitors had tied it up at 4. But the Bluefins’ big guns struck again when Surdam scored his second of the night again assisted by Gordon and Hutton. The Fins were up 5-4 and the crowd was witnessing an excellent hockey game but the Outlaws would not go away and at 18:22 of the second, Lawne Snyder flipped a wrist shot through a screen of bodies that found it’s way past Testa to tie the score at 5. Just when it seemed that the period would end, Cape Cod again lit the lamp when AJ Tesorieo scored his 10^th of the season on a nifty wrist shot into the top corner that Dekker had no chance to save.
 
This was shaping up to be the game of the year as both teams came out in the third period determined to gain momentum. Both teams resorted to “rough stuff” to try and intimidate the other. Even to the point where fight broke out between the Bluefins’ Paul Weisser and the Outlaw’s Jason Reese. The Bluefins even had a power play which they couldn’t capitalize on. At the 5:34 mark, New Jersey’s high scoring defenseman Jeff Winchester wristed a high shot that beat Testa over his left shoulder to knot the core at 6. For Winchester it was his 5^th goal as an Outlaw since being acquired last month. At that point it was “Dekker Time” as the New Jersey goaltender saved several would be Bluefin goals from point blank range thus keeping his team from what could have been a multiple goal deficit.
 
The third period ended with the score all tied up at 6.
 
The overtime format in the FHL is a 3 on 3 setup which makes for fast, wide open hockey. Unfortunately, just :28 into the overtime frame, referee Derek Wasiak called a very shaky holding penalty on the Bluefins, Harrington. Again, per FHL rules this now made it a 4 on 3 situation in favor of the visitors. Fortunately though, the home team killed off the 1 minute shorthanded situation. The Bluefins vision of an overtime victory was almost realized at  the 3 minute mark when Harrington broke in alone on a breakaway but Dekker was again there to make a huge stop. Testa also made some spectacular saves to keep the Bluefins alive. After 65 minutes of hockey the score was knotted at 6 and we were going to a shootout.
 
After 3 shooters each and no goals, the shootout went into sudden death. The 5^th shooter for Cape Cod was sandwich native Brian Kolb who scored with a nice top shelf wrist shot to seal the victory.
 
The Bluefins play next tomorrow night (Saturday) on Martha’s Vineyard vs. the Danbury Whalers and next weekend March 2^nd and 3^rd, complete the regular season at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center.
 
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HYANNIS, Mass – On a night when the Bluefins were again faced with a short bench due to injuries, owner/head coach Mike Nugnes did something that no one expected. He asked team president and Cape native, Brian Kolb to come out of retirement and lace up the skates vs. the Akwesasne Warriors. Kolb is no stranger to the Federal Hockey League as he was a player on the Broome County Barons (from Binghamton New York) who, in February 2011 moved to Cape Cod and subsequently became the Bluefins with Kolb as the President and co-owner.
 
At the drop of the puck it seemed as though the move may have paid off as the home team came out flying and just :40 into the game, AJ Tesoriero took a Dan Gordon pass and beat Warrior goalie Adam Thompson with a high wrist shot over his right shoulder.
 
Although Kolb didn’t register a point, he was on the ice for the goal and looked fresh in his first game since last season. However, at 10:43 Nicolas Corbeil tied it up putting one past newly signed Bluefin goaltender Adam Roy who played collegiately at Holy Cross. At 15:17, Mark Frey made it 2-1 in favor of the Bluefins with his first goal of the season and just 3 minutes later, David Lun put the Fins up by 2.
 
At that point of the game it was 3-1, Cape Cod was in control and the small crowd on hand was feeling like they were going to see something special as their team put immense pressure on the Warrior net hitting 3 posts along the way. However, it was not to be as the visiting Warriors made it 3-2 on a Martin Beaulne goal at 18:50 of the first.
 
In the second period, things changed drastically as Akwesasne scored the next five goals including two by Miguel Delisle and two incredible rockets by the FHL’s leading scorer Pierre Dagenais. Before anyone knew, it was 7-3.
 
The visitors were in control, Roy was replaced by Wes Vesprini and the crowd was slapped back into reality. At 13:37 of the second, The Bluefins made it 7-4 on Frey’s second of the night. For a moment it seemed as though momentum had swayed back to the Bluefins until the Warriors made it 8-4 when Pierre Dagenais netted his 3^rd goal of the game on another shot that makes any hockey fan wonder what he is doing playing at this level and perhaps asking why he doesn’t go play with the big boys because he truly makes it look easy.
 
At that point he had 112 points in just 36 games and there was still another period to go. Really?
 
The third period began with the Bluefins on the Power Play and just :39 seconds in, Stephen Kelley blasted a slap shot that beat Thompson and narrowed the Warrior lead to 3 at 8-5. The goal was Kelley’s 3^rd of the season and was assisted by Gordon and Lun. But again, the Fins couldn’t gain any ground as just a few moments later, Beaulne scored his second of the game and then Dagenais scored his 4^th of the game to make it 10-5.
 
Another Corbeil goal made it 11-5 and the air in the Bluefins tires was almost completely gone. Kevin Mcready scored a late goal for the Bluefins to make it 11-6 but it was of no consequence as the Warriors came away with the victory on Cape Cod.
 
Final shots on goal were 41-37 with the Bluefins again outshooting their opponents.
 
The Bluefins play again at home on Friday February 24^th at the Hyannis Youth & Community Center vs. the New Jersey Outlaws before heading over to Martha’s Vineyard to face the Danbury Whalers on the 25^th.
 
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