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Sports

Dragons Spectacular in Upset Win Over CBA

The Brick Green Dragons defeated the Christian Brothers Academy Colts 5-4, on Thursday

When Brick and CBA met on the ice back in December, CBA appeared to be two passes ahead of the Dragons all game long. The final result was a 5-1 loss for Brick, and some questioned if a Dragons squad that was struggling could contend for a playoff berth.

Two months later, as both teams gear up for postseason play, the Dragons silenced those early-season critics in a thundering display of physicality and heart, along with an offensive explosion in a 5-4 victory as the Dragons, ranked 10th in the state, upset the fifth-ranked Colts.

"Looking back at that [December] game, I think they had a huge advantage in terms of conditioning," said head coach Bob Auriemma. "We were still trying to get our legs going."

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Senior night might have been two weeks ago, but the effort displayed by the Dragons veterans was extraordinary on Thursday.

Leading the way was Patrick Kearns. Every time Kearns stepped on the ice there appeared to be a relaxed feeling, as team members just waited for their captain to step up. Whether it was scoring a goal, blocking shots, poking a puck away or protecting the blueline with intimidating hits, Kearns did it all.

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Kearns' goal came 32 seconds into the second period, as the Dragons were on the power play. CBA made the mistake of giving the game changer space. Kearns took advantage, taking a stride and than unleashing a shot that Colts goalie Kyle Shapiro could not reach. The slap shot increased Brick's lead to 3-0, and came on the heels of Kearns blocking 3 straight shots to end the first period.

"I love it," said Kearns, "It was the most important win I have been apart of since a win against [St. John Vianney] my freshman year."

Kearns' attitude has proven to have a big impact on the entire team.

"We knew we were going to win, we're playing with confidence, you have to believe you are going to win every game," Kearns said.

Offensive dynamo Matt Gumina played strong as well, scoring two goals which led to the pulling of Shapiro. Gumina's first goal came of a point shot from Brian Murphy, on the power play.

"I was talking to Murph earlier, I told him to see if he can shoot any pucks low and hard for a rebound and it just worked out perfect for us," said Gumina.

Gumina's second came with 2:36 to play in the second. Tyler Martin threw a shot on net and Gumina appeared to poke the puck in to give Brick a 5-2 lead heading into the locker room. The goals were especially important being that CBA was closing in on tying the game after scoring two goals in three minutes.

Despite the Dragons' best efforts to block shots, Eddie Rafferty still had to stand on his head in a 30 save victory, easily the most shots the Dragons have yielded.

"We knew we were going to have to work," said Rafferty. "That team [CBA] is great. I think we kept the game at a decent pace and, in the end, just grinded out a win."

Auriemma would describe the play of his goaltender tonight as excellent.

The three seniors were tremendous, but far from the only Dragons to put in a stellar effort. The second and third liners, or 'gnats,' as Pat Kearns refers to them, were every bit as good.

"They're all over the place," said the older Kearns, including his brother David, who scored early to open the game off a deflected Andrew Reiss shot. "They're all young and small, annoying to play in practice and even more annoying to other teams in games."

Following David Kearns' goal to open the scoring with 9:20 to go in the first, Austin Blanco buried a shot in front as a strong fore check created a turnover deep in the CBA zone. Blanco and Jeff Lange checked the same player to the ground twice just before capitalizing.

CBA got within one goal with two minutes remaining, but the Dragons clogged the lanes and the Colts could not muster another goal.

"It was of the utmost importance to be able to block shots like that," said Auriemma. "The guys are throwing their bodies all over the place, they would've done anything to win this game and they did. It's such a good feeling. We're a family. We knew we were going to get our chances on the power play, it was just a matter of cashing in one them this time."

The lowly-ranked Freehold Township Patriots come to town Friday at 4 p.m., however it is important for Brick to take the game seriously. Auriemma vowed his squad still has to work on strategy before the start of the Hanchen Cup.

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