It may not have been the way head coach Mike Stanaway and the New York Aviators wanted to finish out the 2015 portion of their schedule, but optimism abounds for Aviators players and coaches heading into the final 18 games of the regular season beginning when the calendar turns over to 2016.
Back-to-back home losses are not just a rarity for Stanaway-coached teams, it just doesn’t happen. In fact, it’s the first time in two and a half seasons a Stanaway-led team has lost a pair of games at home in a single weekend.
On Friday, Dec. 11, a short-benched Aviators team struggled for the first time this season to keep up with the league-leading Jersey Shore Wildcats. Only able to dress three lines due to injuries, the Aviators were outshot 62-22 and despite a valiant effort by goaltender Stephen Mundinger, who likely had flashbacks to his 2014-15 season with the number of shots, the Aviators fell to the Wildcats 8-4.
Daniel Backstrom, Jimmy Warrick, Alex Rojas and Phillip Garcia each scored for the Aviators, while Backstrom finished the game with three points.
On Sunday, Dec. 13, the Aviators, again shorthanded, ran up against a pair of hot Roc City Royals goaltenders who stopped 42-of-44 Aviators shots, while Aviators goaltender Matthew Memolo managed just 39 saves on 43 Royals shots as the Aviators fell 4-2. Warrick picked up his second goal of the weekend, while Chris Hozza scored his first goal of the season for the Aviators.
Despite the tough weekend, the optimism does remain. With no more games for the Aviators until Jan. 9-10 on the road in Lockport against the Express, the Aviators will have over two and a half weeks to get their banged-up roster back healthy and ready to go for the second half of the season.
The Aviators are excited the break will give players like leading scorer Warrick, Backstrom and Michael House, to name a few, time to heal completely from first half of the season injuries. Warrick, who despite surgery over the Thanksgiving break, has yet to miss a game, but is looking to get back to 100 percent along with House who went back home to Marquette, MI early to heal a lower body injury.
Backstrom has returned to form despite missing six games due to an upper body injury, but is one of many who will benefit greatly from the holiday break.
The Aviators head into the break second in the NA3EHL’s Western Division and fourth overall in the league. With a strong push in their final 18 games the Aviators are looking to set them up with the best possible playoff position.
