Hockey still thriving in Brick
Brick teams hoping to return to prominence
BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Justin Ferguson will be back between the pipes for the Brick Memorial Mustangs this year as they look to improve on last season’s campaign, and qualify for the state playoffs after missing out last season.

It was an unusual time for the two high school ice hockey teams of Brick Township last season.

Although both teams had played in the NJSIAA Tournament Public School championship game in recent years, Brick Township won only one game and was an opening-round loser in the state tournament, while Brick Memorial missed qualifying by one game.

Both were back on the ice beginning Monday at Ocean Ice Palace in Brick, in tryouts for a season that begins in two weeks.

“It’s tough when you have only two weeks to get ready with limited ice time,” said Brick Township coach Bob Auriemma, who must cover some key losses — particularly Dan Dornacker and Vin Trotter. “That [last season] was the worst season for injuries and illnesses I can recall. We played many games close, but not close enough to win them.

“We don’t know what we have for sure until things start coming together over the next few days,” he said. “We have a lot out and many players who were with club teams, and they’ve been working out to get in shape.”

Some, like high scoring forward Matt Farr and a number of players who were on the junior varsity hockey team last season, will be getting into full training for the high school season a bit late because they are playing for the high school football team that is preparing for a Thanksgiving showdown with Brick Memorial.

Brick Memorial also has a few hockey players involved with football, as it prepares for a season where it finished three loses under .500, but have many players back led by top scorer Matt Miller, defenseman Frank Ryan and goalie Justin Ferguson.

“We have a solid core coming back, but not the depth of years past, so players know that and have worked harder over the summer,” said Brick Memorial coach George Kiernan. “We’re probably a little stronger offensively, but we lost some players on defense. We’ll have scoring but not a lot of depth there, which is important because we only had two games last season with a full team.”

Both coaches see reason for optimism. Rich Philpott was last year’s starting goalie and Matt Biringer also is a good prospect. Vin LaRosa, a sophomore who was a second line forward, is back. So are defensemen Alex Gorden and Anthony Zipfel, who come off a terrific summer playing for Mid-Atlantic Region teams in Hockey Night in Boston tournaments in the senior and sophomore divisions, respectively. Zipfel was selected for the all-star game.

Although Auriemma did not want to single out players at this early juncture, he did say there is a good number of solid incoming freshmen, while Jeff Law and Tom Dowd also will be back to bolster the defense that traditionally has been an area of strength. Alex DePalma, a sophomore, transferred to Christian Brothers Academy, which is Brick Township’s opening opponent on the road on Dec. 1.

The Green Dragons scrimmage Red Bank Catholic at Ocean Ice Palace Monday at 4:30 p.m. and play their alumni game the Sunday after Thanksgiving at 7:30 p.m.

It’s a rugged start of the season for Brick Township, which plays after its CBA opener, St. Peter’s, Seton Hall Prep and Delbarton, and plays 10 of its 22 games in December. Seton Hall Pep is the home opener on Dec. 5 at 7:30. St. Peter’s and Delbarton are newcomers to the Gordon Division. Delbarton had played in the Morris County League.

Kiernan, meanwhile, says he does “expect big things” at Brick Memorial from his goalie Ferguson as his team prepares for its New Jersey Interscholastic Hockey League Red Division opener Dec. 3 at Bishop Eustace.

Middletown North and Montgomery are newcomers to the division, while St. Joseph’s of Metuchen has left.

Along with Miller, Matt Baker and Bill Giersbach will help carry the scoring, while Tom Brow and Sean Chernosky are two solid defensemen coming up from the junior varsity as Brick Memorial bids to return to the state tournament, where it played in the public school finals two years ago.