Bob Auriemma Jr. turning over reins of Brick Hockey Club

Watching two Brick Township high school hockey teams competing in the NJSIAA quarterfinalswas an enjoyable experience for Brick Hockey Club President Bob Auriemma Jr.

He saw his son, Michael, and two nephews play on Brick Township High School along with teammates he either coaches or knows through the hockey club, Auriemma also ran into some former club players on Brick Memorial High School's team.

"They came up to me and said, 'Hey, coach,' and talked to me a little.

"That's the greatest feeling, to see former players come back and recognize you like that," Auriemma said.

But Auriemma, a senior director for Maersk Shipping Co., is stepping away from some of his involvement with the Brick Hockey Club after relinquishing his role as president for the past four years to brother-inlaw Patrick Kearns, who has been serving as the club's vice president.

Kearns also helps his uncle, Bob Auriemma Sr., keep the statistics for Brick Township. Auriemma, whose term expires next month, said he will stay involved as a coach.

"I loved seeing both games," Auriemma said of the state tournament quarterfinals. "In the first one [Brick Township lost to Randolph, 1-0], the better team didn't win. In the first eight minutes Randolph dominated, and after that, Brick [Township] kept getting better but didn't score. They just couldn't get it going on offense. I told my father and the [school] principal before the game that it would be 1-0, no matter who would win."

As for Brick Memorial, Auriemma said there were "too many penalties."

He also was proud to see his son Michael play steadily throughout the game and do a good job of helping set up his teammates for many threats.

"He kept getting better as the game went on," Auriemma said. "It was very physical, but no one knocked him down. Next year, he has to score [more]."

Although it was frustrating, Auriemma said it was the best day for him since eight years ago, when both Brick teams went head to head for the public school state championship, a game that Brick Township won, 1-0, in overtime.

But Auriemma said he's ready to step aside after 24 years. Ken Tierney steps up to vice president, Wendy Franceschini is secretary and Pete Klotz is treasurer. Klotz, a Point Pleasant resident, is the only non-Brick resident on the board.

"It's time to give somebody else a chance, and we have some good young guys who can do it," Auriemma said.

But some things never change. There's always an Auriemma on the team rosters.

"People tell us that and that it never ends," he said with a laugh. "It's fun."

In recent years, there have been at least three members of the Auriemma family or relatives on the Brick Township High School team. A year ago there were four.

Three of them often were on the ice at the same time. Mike Auriemma played on defense with young Pat Kearns, his cousin, while another cousin, Matt Dornacker, was playing at forward. Dornacker graduates but another Auriemma— Nicholas — will be a freshman this fall.

Auriemma is quick to point out that his dad's 40-year legacy as coach of the high school team, including his 1,000th game this season, and a hockey club program that has sent five teams to the nationals is the work of many people.

And many of them sacrifice not just free time, but hours of sleep as they go into district play with games late at night and then early the following morning.

George Colwell, who coached the Midget Majors to a fifth-place national finish two seasons ago, was ready to coach his team into a loser's bracket semifinal game two Saturday nights ago in Aston, Pa., then return to Brick that night and, if the team won, return the next morning for a 9 a.m. game. It never got to that point, however, as Brick was eliminated on that Saturday night.

"He's used to it. He's on the road an hour and a half each way for his job," Auriemma said with a laugh. "You can't possibly name the volunteers over the years who make it work. There are a lot of people who volunteer their time."

One of them is Alex DePalma, who also recently stepped down from 24 years of coaching to devote his time to the growing Mite program that focuses on young children just starting to play.

Auriemma said families are encouraged to register because they can rent the equipment, rather than bearing the financial burden of buying it and their child not wanting to stay with the sport. And if the child continues, that rental money can go toward buying the equipment. If not, the rental expense can be redeemed toward a different purchase, such as a T-shirt

Jay Franceschini, whose son Jason is a standout for Brick Memorial's defense, is heading the Brick Hockey Club's girls program that started this year with 15 players.

The club is looking to schedule games for its girls against other girl teams around the state.

"It's great," Auriemma said. "People love it. It's not as intense as the boys and there's no checking. But the Golden Blades [girls team] out of Wall already are asking if we can contribute some girls."

Having female players is nothing new. Cindy Acropolis came up through the club and went on to a college career at Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. And, yes, the Acropolis family is related to the Auriemmas, too. They include some fine standouts who came up through the club and high school teams and Bobby Acropolis as one of the hockey club's coaches.

Auriemma said another Acropolis girl, Kiley, 6, shows great promise on the ice already.

"It is big shoes to full," incoming president Kearns said. "It's Bob's relationship with the owners of the rink [Ocean Ice Palace] and what he's done for the program. It's hard to replace, especially with the youth program. And he's done it for 20 years. Not many people have done that."

Kearns, who has been involved in the Brick Hockey Club for 14 years, said he wants to focus on the younger programs to bring the numbers back.

"That's the future of the whole club," he said. Auriemma was born in Somerville,Mass., before his family relocated to Brick when he was very young. But he remains a diehard New England sports fan. He was just a youngster when his dad and others around town started the club in 1969, a few years after football coaching legend Warren Wolf launched a club ice hockey team at the high school in 1962. He remembers his mother dyeing Tshirts green. Joe McKeon was the first president.

"I grew up playing it and had a passion for it," Auriemma said. "It's just fun doing it. People have to have something to give back to the town."

The elder Bob Auriemma played hockey at Colby College in Maine, which recruited him to play football but also needed a goalie for the hockey team. Young Bob Auriemma also headed to Maine after a high school career in which Brick won the state championship during his four years there in the mid-1970s, although he did not play on the varsity as a freshman. Auriemma remembers his sophomore year at Brick Township High when the Gordon Cup winner was named state champion and a Brick team with Steve Acropolis and Willie Blackburn pulled out a 1-0 overtime victory over Montclair on a goal by Don Davis. The following year, Warren Wolf Jr. scored 10 seconds into overtime against Chatham.

"I was very grateful he scored," Auriemma said. His career at Maine lasted one season before he was injured. But he stayed on as a student.

"I loved the school," he said. "I didn't want to leave it."

Auriemma helped his dad coach the high school team from 1981 to 1987. In 1987, he began coaching in the Brick Hockey Club, something he said he was interested in doing for a while as a former player in the club.

"Teams, records, when players played, I don't remember any of that," said Auriemma. "I just remember some of the coaches I had when I played and going to practices and then going to games as a coach. It's 250 kids and 500 parents every year working together to go in the right direction. I remember people we made friends with while playing teams from Canada and kids coming back from Canada [to visit] and some of our people visiting friends up there."

He remembers coaches like Joe Blackburn, Fred Shaw, Jay Andrews and Harry Cutler.

He also remembers the legendary Jim Dowd, who went on to a 14-year career in the NHL before retiring before this season and the years

James Van Riemsdyk played for the club team and went on to be a second-round draft pick by the Philadelphia Flyers a few years ago. "He could've played anywhere but he wanted to play with the Brick Hockey Club," Auriemma said of Van Riemsdyk. "Now he's playing at the University of New Hampshire and a lot of kids in the club are wearing UNH shirts."

But to single any of it out is impossible, said Auriemma.

As much as he loves hockey, Auriemma wants kids in the club to play other sports as well if they are interested.

"As president, I wanted them to relax in the spring and do other things," Auriemma said. "It was almost becoming a year-round sport. There are so many things you get from playing other sports that you can incorporate."