Dominant Dragons Advance in State Tournament

For a team with plenty of offesnive dynamo often stealing the headlines, the Brick Dragons defensive corps are quietly garnering respect of many ice hockey observers around the state.

For the second time in three days, the Green Dragons allowed their opponents very few shots – this time in a 3-1 victory over Mendham.

Mendham shot the puck five more times than opening round opponent Wayne Hills did earlier this week, but the Dragons still have averaged just 12.5 shots against per game in their two playoff contests.

"It really comes down to the guys working hard, getting in lanes, taking shots away," said Brick head coach Bob Auriemma.

Backstopping the tight defense has been sophomore goaltender Jake Lampiasi, who was a mere 68 seconds away from a shutout Thursday night and stopped 14 out of 15 attempts.

The top defensive pairing of senior Brian Murphy and junior Tyler Iannarone is as solid as any in the Shore. Both players have offensive minds, which helps keep the puck in the opponents' end.

After Lampiasi came up huge with a breakaway save in the final minute of the first, the Dragons wasted no time getting on board in the second period.

About a minute into the second, Murphy showed his offensive ability to get a shot on net with two teammates looking to bury a rebound. Sophomore Ryan Price did just that, after an effort by fellow sophomore David Kearns in front.

Two minutes after taking a 1-0 lead, senior Tyler Martin would double it, scoring off a backhander in the slot.

"We knew it was going to take a lot of sharp passes," said Auriemma, talking about breaking through the Minute Men trap. "We were a little slow and allowed them to pick some soft passes off in the first but managed better in the second period."

The second period was the Dragons most dominant as they outshot Mendham 9-2. 

In the third, Brick sat back and played excellent defense, while still outshooting the Minute Men 10-8.

Other than Lampiasi's glove save off a shot in the slot with 6:06 to play, most of the Mendham shots were from low threat areas.

Stabilizing the back pairing on defense are seniors Tom Reinstadtler and Austin Blanco. Reinstadtler has proven capable of handling top four defensive minutes and Blanco, who was a forward all of last season, transistioned to play defense this year.

At this stage the move has been seamless, as the Dragons now sit one win away from returning to the semi-finals. 

Sealing the win was a one timer from Price to Andrew Reiss with 1:55 to play.

Price drove the net drawing both defenders on a two-on-two, before heading into the corner and dishing a precise pass to Reiss. For Reiss, that was his fourth goal in two playoff games. Price and Kearns are tied for second with three each and Martin follows with two.

Up next for the Dragons will be the Glen Rock Panthers, who upset the number two seeded Chatam Cougars. The game is expected to to be played at Ocean Ice Palace on Saturday.