Local hockey teams very active so far in postseason
BY DOUG McKENZIE Correspondent
The formation of the Shore Conference Hockey League proved to be the best thing for the area's high school teams, as local rivalries were strengthened and players spent more time on the ice and less time on busses.

"I think it was a good idea, mainly because there are so many natural rivalries in other sports that we didn't have in hockey before," Red Bank Catholic head coach Ken Carlson said. "In the long run, I think it will be great for the Shore Conference, especially if we can still have our share of nonconference games during the course of the year so we can see some of the other best teams in the state."

The emerging league's popularity only heightened when the decision was made to hold a Shore Conference Hockey Tournament with two separate divisions.

That decision proved to be just what two local teams in particular ordered, as both Carlson's RBC team as well as the Rumson-Fair Haven hockey teams advanced to their respective tournament finals in impressive fashion.

While RBC, one of the hottest teams in the state, much less the Shore, was able to seal the deal with an ADivision title on Monday, RFH was not quite as fortunate, falling in the B Division final.

However, both teams now head into the state tournament, brimmingwith confidence following their strong showings in the firstever Shore ConferenceHockey Tournament.

RBC (20-2-2) entered Monday's Handchen Cup final against Brick Township on the heels of an 11-game winning streak, having not lost a game since a 4-1 defeat to Christian Brothers Academy.

"Someone had to remind me [Monday] night that it had been that many games, but without question, we're playing very well and executing the game plan," Carlson said. "They're a pretty tenacious group of players."

During their streak, the Caseys have been on the receiving end of some of the best goaltending anyone has seen all year, as senior net-minder Brandon Langer has emerged as a force between the pipes.

After playing brilliantly in RBC's two earlier tournament wins, Langer was at his best again on Monday, stopping 26 of 27 shots to lead the Caseys to a 4-1 win, and their first cup championship since 2005, when they won the Jim Dowd Cup, which came with the Southern Conference White Division title.

"Brandon has been tremendous, no question," Carlson said. "His goals-against average is around 1.4, and when you have great goaltending like that, it makes the rest of the team that much better. The entire team plays with confidence knowing they can rely on him back there."

Brick Township (13-7-2) entered the game as a red-hot teamas well, particularly on offense, as the Green Dragons scored a combined 11 goals in their two previouswins over rivalBrickMemorial and top-seeded St. John Vianney.And early on, Brick appeared to be ready to resume its recent scoring spree whenMarkMasefield scored off assists from Ryan Graf and Jesse Hallock just 1:10 into the game.

Offensively, RBC spread it around, with six players getting points on the game, and goals coming from four different players. This too is nothing new, as the Caseys have been one of the more balanced offensive teams in the Shore all season.

"We've been getting scoring from every line," Carlson said. "Our first line has 53 goals; our second line has 35 and our third line has 23, including two in the game [Monday] night. We're getting production from all three lines, and that balance why we're playing such good hockey."

Junior Jessie Krause tied the game at 1-1 on Monday when he beat Brick goalie Dylan Beaver (20 saves) at 8:12 of the first period. Jared Thompson then put the Caseys in front for good at 4:22 of the second period when he put the puck in an empty need off a pretty feed from Matt Szajdecki. Just over three minutes later, junior Connor Kelly made it 3-1 with a power play goal, before senior forward Kevin Pecca closed the scoring with a goal at the 8:34 mark of the third period.

With their 12th consecutive win now in the bag, the Caseys took to the ice again last night in a state tournament warm-up game against a solid Morris Knolls team. Carlson is hoping to keep his team fresh as they await an anticipated opener in the NJSIAA Non-Public tournament, where they'll face a very good Don Bosco Prep team on March 5 up in Wayne.

"I haven't seen them play, but I know they beat CBAearlier this year before losing to them in the Gordon Cup playoffs," Carlson said. "From looking at their scores this season, I think we'll match up pretty evenly.

It's not like we're a 16 seed playing a one seed - it's a 7-10 game, so I think it should be pretty close."

Indeed, with Langer standing on his head in net, and the remainder of the team growing more confident with every win, the Caseys have the look of a very dangerous team this postseason.

While RBC was winning the Handchen Cup final, Rumson-Fair Haven was trying to secure the Dowd Cup for the Shore Conference B Division with a win over Manasquan.

Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be, as the Warriors senior forward Timmy Higgins put forth a legendary performance, scoring four goals to lead his team to a 4-1 win.

Higgins'performance in his final scholastic game (Manasquan did not qualify for the state tournament) helped lead his team to its seventh straightwin and a .500 record for the season (12-11-2).While Higgins was the star of the show, Manasquan's sophomore goalie, Joey Naimo, was also spectacular, recording 42 saves, and robbing Bulldog players on several occasions.

Rumson-FH outshot Manasquan, 43- 16, for the game, but managed just one goal when Mike Buonopan beat Naimo off a pass from Jake Kornblatt for a powerplay goal at 13:10 of the second period.

However, that was all the scoring RFH could muster against Naimo and Co., which proved to be too little on this night.

Higgins opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at 2:06 of the first period, and then just over four minutes later, he scored again on the power play to extend the Warriors' lead to two. The senior padded the lead to 3-0 in the second period. After being tripped up on a breakaway, Higgins was awarded a penalty shot, where he beat RFH goalie Will Hewitt with a backhand to secure the natural hat trick.