YOUNG GUNS - NJSIAA Ice Hockey: Brick Mem. 6, Steinert 2

By Bob Badders - Senior Staff Writer

    MORRIS TOWNSHIP -- Brick Memorial's success this season can be attributed to its smart and consistent play, which was put to the test against upset-minded Steinert on Monday.
    The Spartans had defeated top-seeded Fair Lawn, 9-7, in the NJSIAA Public A Tournament Round of 16 to set up a quarterfinal meeting with the Mustangs. Their offensive explosion came against a team that had allowed more than three goals just four times and had two of the best goaltenders in the state. It was a result that caught the eye of Brick Memorial's players.
    "We had to watch their first line because they have a lot of speed and can score, as they showed against Fair Lawn," said Mustangs junior Erik Talty. "We wanted to get it deep into their zone and work against their defense, which we felt was the weak part of their team."
    The Mustangs' game plan worked to perfection as they held the Spartans' top line, led by senior Justin Dewoski, well under its nine-goal mark in their previous game while jumping out to a four-goal lead in the second period and skating to a 6-2 victory in the quarterfinals of the NJSIAA Public A Tournament at Mennen Arena.
    "Scoring first is always big and getting a few more just kept the momentum up," said junior forward Jon Bartolomei, who had four assists on the night. "By the time they scored we still had enough momentum."
    The Mustangs will play fourth-seeded Watchung Hills, which defeated Morris Knolls, 2-1 in overtime, in the first game of Monday's double-header at Mennen, in the Public A Semifinals at 5 p.m. on Saturday back at Mennan Arena.
    A young team - forward Chris Lamagra is the only senior who plays regularly - the Mustangs had to regroup for the playoffs after entering on an 0-3-1 skid. The last game of the winless stretch was a 5-1 loss to rival Brick in the first round of the Handchen Cup playoffs where they looked overmatched, an uncharacteristic sight for this steady team. They even fell behind, 3-0, to Monroe in the first round of the state playoffs, but have since outscored their opponents 19-5 and find themselves in a public semifinal for the third time in seven seasons.
    "If we had to take a loss that was the perfect loss to take," said Mustangs head coach Chip Bruce of the 5-1 loss to Brick. "It was a wake up call. We can't come unprepared to play. That changed our mindset, it was like a slap in the face."
    A lineup change has also helped boost the Mustangs in the playoffs. When sophomore forward Nick Alvarez suffered a broken wrist against Monroe, Talty, a standout defenseman, was moved to the top line with junior Brandon Person and sophomore Anthony LoBianco. The result for the team has been 10 goals in two games and an increase in scoring chances. Depth is not one of the Mustangs' strengths, but the strong play of junior Mike Spinelli, sophomore Thomas Lindquist and freshman Jason Franceschini along the back line allowed Bruce some flexibility.
    "One of the things we stressed early in the year during practice was versatility," Bruce said. "They all have to know what one another is doing and be able to play each other's positions. That's something we worked on all year."
    "I play in whatever spot the team needs me," Talty said. "Wherever coach Bruce says to go I go and try to do my best."
    The Talty-Person-LoBianco unit scored four of the Mustangs' six goals on the night and combined for six points, but it was the second unit of Lamagra, Bartolomei and Sean Chafe that got Brick Memorial rolling. At 11:03 of the first period, Lamagra scored off a great feed from Bartolomei to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead. After pouncing on a turnover by Steinert in the Mustangs' defensive zone, Bartolomei skated into the Spartans zone, around a defenseman and down along the left boards to the face-off circle. He then threaded a cross-ice pass to Lamagra, who buried it past Dariusz Barbarzak.
    Some great tic-tac-toe passing by the trio led to the Mustangs' second goal at 2:33 of the second period. A clearing attempt by Steinert (17-7) was kept in by Lindquist at the left point and when he shoveled the puck forward it hit a skate of a Spartans defenseman and caromed to Bartolomei at the top of the left face-off circle. He quickly passed cross ice to Lamagra, who then looked up and sent a perfect pass on the tape of Chafe driving to the far post. Chafe out-reached the defender to re-direct the puck past Barbarzak for a two-goal advantage.
    Talty made it 3-0 at 5:27. Bartolomei drove hard down the right wing and his shot was stopped by a sprawling Barbarzak. Trailing the play, however, was Talty and he was able to lift the rebound over the outstretched glove of the Spartans goaltender. LoBianco added even more insurance at 9:07 when he took a feed from Talty and scored. LoBianco started the play by intercepting a pass in the neutral zone and feeding Talty just inside the zone. Talty then moved around a defenseman and passed left to LoBianco, who cut across the crease and lifted a backhand past Barbarzak.
    Steinert responded just 42 seconds later, however, when Tyler Rogers beat Mustangs goaltender Mike Vincent (20 saves) with a shot from between the circles. Tug Giovinazzo gained the zone and dropped a pass to Rogers, whose one-timer jetted just off the ice and inside the right post. From this point on, Steinert really started to possess the puck for long stretches and cut the lead to 4-2 on a shorthanded goal by Decowski. This time it was Rogers dropping the pass and Decowski ripping a one-timer past the glove hand of Vincent and into the top right corner.
    Steinert had trailed by two goals to Fair Lawn twice and still won, so the Mustangs knew they had to regroup in the third period.
    "We didn't panic," Talty said. "We're a good forechecking team and we just had to come out in the third strong and keep up the forecheck."
    The Mustangs were able to get back to playing their style and added two more goals in the final period to seal a trip to the semifinals. Person scored on a wrist shot from the slot after LoBianco got him the puck from along the right boards, and Talty added his second of the game off assists from Spinelli and Bartolomei.
    Vincent was solid again in net with his positioning and rebound control and made the crucial saves when needed, like when he stopped Decowski on a breakaway in the third period. He finished with 20 saves to backstop the Mustangs to within two wins of a state title. Brick Memorial is the only Shore Conference team left in the playoffs.
    "A couple years ago when these junior were freshman we figured we had a couple of years to put it together and build a program," Bruce said. "The Spinellis and Taltys and Persons are all leaders now."
    "At the beginning of the season," Talty said, "I knew if everybody played up to their potential, like we are now, we could go as far as we thought we could."
   

Box Score

NJSIAA Tournamant
Public A Quarterfinals

(8) Brick Memorial 6, (17) Steinert 2

Steinert (17-7)         0 2 0 - 2
Brick Mem. (13-6-3) 1 3 2 - 6

Scoring - First period: (BM) Chris Lamagra (Sean Chafe) 11:04; Second period: (BM) Sean Chafe (Jon Bartolomei, Chris Lamagra) 2:33; (BM) Erik Talty (Jon Bartolomei) 5:27; (BM) Anthony LoBianco (Erik Talty) 9:07; (S) Tyler Rogers (Tug Giovinazzo) 9:49; (S) Justin Decowski (Tyler Rogers) 13:03 (SH); Third period: (BM) Brandon Person (Anthony LoBianco, Thomas Lindquist) 6:59; (BM) Erik Talty (Mike Spinelli, Jon Bartolomei) 10:35.
Saves: (S) Dariusz Barbarzak 23; (BM) Mike Vincent 20.
Shots: Brick Memorial 29-22.

E-mail: badders@digitalsports.com