Brick Club team ready for nationals

A group of 19 players from the Brick Hockey Club Midget AA 16s reunited this week with the high school hockey season ended to prepare for their trip to the nationals in Fraser, Mich., next week.

The players, families, head coach George Colwell and assistant coach Jack Murphy leave on Tuesday, some via airline flight and some driving separately in their own vehicles. They open in the 12-team tournament on Wednesday at 10:15 a.m. against the California Stars. The round-robin schedule continues on Thursday against the Mid-America district winner and on Friday afternoon against the Fairfield Blues.

The teams with the most points in their respective pools advance to the championship game.

Brick is 31-5-3.

"We're just getting everyone together," said Colwell. "They've been playing with their high school teams and we're practicing on Tuesday and Sunday this week. We thought about a scrimmage on Sunday but decided not to take the risk of having a player injured right before we leave. We may have a workout against some of the older players."

Only one player is still on the ice for his high school team - forward Kevin Crowe, a Galloway resident who has taken the 50-mile ride to Brick throughout his career. Crowe plays for St. Augustine Prep, which over the weekend beat Delbarton, 3-2, in the NJSIAA Non-Public Schools semifinal and puts its 22-0 record on the line against St. Peter's Prep on Friday night in its season finale at Mennen Arena in Morris Township. Seven other players just finished their season for Christian Brothers Academy, which lost to St. Peter's in the other semifinal, 2-0.

Ocean Ice Palace Director Joan Dwulet donated Bauer jackets that Colwell said the hockey club will monogram for the players.

This marks the fifth Brick Hockey Club team to advance to the nationals. That same Midget AAs 16-year-old team competed two years ago in the nationals, finishing in fifth place. A Brick Hockey Club PeeWee team in 1994 also finished fifth in the nationals.

- Wayne Witkowski