Dragons' Regular Season Ends on the Ice

Two goal lead for Middletown South proves to be too much to overcome

Things started off with ease, for the Brick Township Green Dragons (11-5-3) on Sunday night. On senior night against Middletown South, the Dragons cleanly skated the puck into the Eagles (14-5-2) zone as well as winning battles in the corners with their dump-and-chase.  Unfortunately for the Dragons, as good as things were going early, they had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard as the first period ended in a goalless tie. At one point in the dominating opening frame, Brick held a 7-0 lead in shots, as it took Middletown South nine minutes to register their first shot on net. The Dragons started the second period in similar fashion, this time cumulating with a Tyler Martin go-ahead goal. 2:30 into the second the senior Martin closed …

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Dragons Ice 'Stangs in Blowout Win

Brick Township proves to be too explosive for Mustangs, outshoot Memorial 50-5 in the win.

Late in the first period of the Brick Dragons (9-1-1) 7-1 win over cross-town rival Brick Memorial (3-7) Sunday night, it appeared senior Matt Gumina was to be penciled in as the star. Gumina scored twice within seven seconds to close the first period, giving the Dragons, who won their seventh consecutive game, the commanding 4-1 lead heading into the first intermission. Still, the senior was one-upped by his teammate. Tyler Martin, who scored the Dragons' first goal at the 7:51 mark to tie the game, added two second period goals to earn the hat trick as Brick Township cruised to a the six-goal win over Brick Memorial. "I never thought we would have won like this," Brick head coach Bob Auriemma said. "We played tough defense with a tight …

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Talty Stands Tall, But 'Stangs Lack of Offense Proves Costly

Toms River South Indians defeat Brick Memorial Mustangs 3-1 Friday

Despite senior goaltender Kevin Talty's best efforts, Brick Memorial fell 3-1 to a tough Toms River South squad Friday. Talty stopped 28 of the 31 Indians shots but the Mustangs could only muster one goal on the night. "Discipline," said Memorial coach Chip Bruce, was the key issue. "We kept a lot of their shots from the perimeter, but it was even harder to do down a man for a lot of the night." Before Indians captain Jay Malone took over in the third scoring twice, both teams were playing an extremely conservative game. The 'Stangs' parade to the penalty box started early as they took back to back penalties at 11 and 9 minutes into the game. Fortunately they managed to survive, killing them off. A late period turnover cost Memorial dearly…

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Balanced Attack Powers Brick Past TR North

Dragons defeat the Toms River North Mariners 6-0

Stuck in between two of the biggest games of the year, it would've been easy for the Dragons to overlook the lowly-ranked Toms River North Mariners. For a period, it even looked like Brick did just that. "You could say that," said coach Bob Auriemma. "For whatever reason, we just came out flat today." Eddie Rafferty was tested early and came up big, stopping all 11 of the Mariners' shots in the battle, with eight of them coming in the first. The Brick defensive core of Pat Kearns, Tyler Iannarone, Brian Murphy, Ryan Price and Tom Reinstadtler clamped down in the final two periods, allowing just three shots to get to Rafferty. A few defensemen sparked the offense for the Dragons as well. Iannarone found freshmen Andrew Reiss behind the …

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Dragons Brilliant in Another Upset, This Time at Toms River South

The Green Dragons defeated the Indians of Toms River South by a score of 3-1 Tuesday night

Stephen Wiater has spent most of his ice time this season playing in a third line checking role. Game in and game out, he's provided size to a line with two smaller players and a fore checking presence in the corners. What has been hidden in Wiater's game was shown Tuesday night, however. As time was winding down in the third period and with Brick holding a one goal lead, coach Bob Auriemma bumped up Wiater to the first line for a shift with Matt Gumina and Brendan Dowd. The move paid off. Gumina would score an insurance goal with one minute to play and the Dragons would hold on to win 3-1 in the most thrilling game yet this year. Wiater got on the score sheet - for the second time of the night - with an assist on the Gumina goal. Wiater …

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Tyler Person Scores Five, Leads Mustangs Past Griffins

Brick Memorial defeats Monsignor Donovan 9-4 Sunday night

By the time freshmen CJ Guarino and Devin Magnusson scored their first career goals late in the third period, Sunday's contest between Monsignor Donovan and Brick Memorial was all but over. The Griffins did manage to score four, third period goals - but they never got close enough to threaten the Mustangs, who won 9-4. Tyler Person scored early and often and finished with five goals on the night. Memorial's top line of Person, Justin Apgar and Nick Spinelli combined for seven goals; Spinelli scored twice as well. The Mustangs' potent power play went two for two on the night, with both goals scored by Person. The junior opened the scoring with 12:07 to play in the first by virtue of a backhanded shot in front of the net while on the power …

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This Week In Brick Sports

Winter Teams Flash Through Mid-Season

Brick sports reaches busy season as teams work toward playoffs.

Who ever said sports were important in this town? With games bringing more and more playoff implications, Brick sports is exciting -- and nerve-wrecking -- as ever. Let's break down how this week fared: Mustangs The Brick Memorial ice hockey team played just one game, on Sunday, Jan. 2. While many fans were upset, angered, and just in disbelief of the fact that the NFL Giants had been knocked from playoff contention 45 minutes earlier, the Mustangs were unphased, blowing out Freehold Township, 6-0. Nick Spinelli scored twice in the Mustangs' first win since Dec. 10 against Monsignor Donovan. That win was also by a 6-0 margin. In basketball, the Mustangs boys basketball team looked impressive, notching three consecutive wins. On Tuesday …

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Tradition May Be Broken, But Rivalries Are Forever

The lack of a Thanksgiving Day game may actually prove more meaningful for season play.

Since 1982, the Brick Memorial Mustangs and Brick Township Dragons have played each other in an annual rivalry game on the morning of Thanksgiving. This season, things were different. The duo faced off on opening day in 2010, a game that Memorial took rather handily, winning 34-0 at home. Nearly two months later, the lack of a Thanksgiving game looks to be to the ultimate advantage for the Mustangs, who will be given an extra week of rest as they prepare for the Central Jersey Group IV title game against Sayreville, which will be played on Dec. 4 at Rutgers Stadium. "I love it," Mustangs head coach Walter Currie said of the extra bye week. "It gives us extra time to prepare [for the sectional title game] and give our players extra time to …

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