By David Fierro
After playing a road game against Frederick Gunn School in Washington, Conn., on Friday night, the Brunswick School hockey team was right back in action Saturday afternoon when The Taft School visited Hartong Rink for a key late-season NEPSAC game, so indeed, the Bruins had little time to rest.
Yet as the Bruins have done all season, they found a way to get past the opposition on their way to adding another win to their ledger.
Scoring one goal in each period, Brunswick earned win No. 25 on the season, registering a workmanlike 3-0 victory over Taft. With their fifth straight triumph, the Bruins remained perfect at home this season. The Bruins, who are 25-5-2 overall, sport a 11-0 mark at Hartong Rink this winter.
Senior goalie Will Baker was on point once again, recording 25 saves between the pipes for another shutout.
“We got great goaltending,” Brunswick coach Mike Kennedy said. “I think Taft played pretty solidly and Will (Baker) was really solid, especially the third period. You don’t always have your best game and you have to find a way to win. This team has been doing that all year, finding different ways to win.”
The five-game winning streak, including recent victories against Frederick Gunn and Taft, have moved Brunswick up to the No. 3 spot in the NEPSAC Elite 8 rankings.
If the season ended today, the third-seeded Bruins would host sixth-seeded Holderness in the first round of the NEPSAC Elite 8 Tournament. Brunswick has one more regular season game remaining – a home, Senior Night matchup against Trinity Pawling School.
The Bruins have a record of 6-1 against teams in the Top 16 and 8-1 against teams that would qualify today for the NEPSAC playoffs (Elite 8, Large School, Small School Tournaments).
A shorthanded goal gave ‘Wick a 1-0 lead against Taft, with senior forward/captain Sean Gibbons scoring off an assist from senior linemate Brendan Giles 12:25 into the first period.
“It was a pretty even period, they had two power plays, so we didn’t really gather any momentum, but we did score a shorthanded goal to get the lead,” Kennedy noted.
The opening period saw the Bruins outshoot Taft, 9-6, with Gibbons, Giles and senior forward/captain Luke Drury leading the charge offensively.
The score remained 1-0 for much of the second period, with both squads having their moments. Forward Ryan Wachtel gave Brunswick a 2-0 edge when he scored a rebound goal off a shot from defenseman Cooper Cleaves. Charlie Vincent was also credited with an assist on the key play for ‘Wick.
“Obviously, a big point of the game was at the end of the second, scoring a goal in the last minute of the period to get a two-goal lead,” Kennedy said. “It gave us some more breathing room going into the third.”
Meanwhile, Baker kept turning away shots. The Bruins’ netminder made nine saves during the second period.
“Taft is a really good team, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy tonight, we kind of started out slow, but throughout the season we’ve been finding different ways to win games,” said Cleaves, a senior alternate captain, who helped pace the Bruins’ defensive effort. “Toward the end of the game, it was a really good team effort. A great game by Will Baker to get the shutout and it was just a good team win heading into the playoffs.”
Cleaves put the finishing touch on ‘Wick’s win versus Taft, scoring an empty-netter with just 21 seconds left to play in the third period. For the game, the Bruins outshot Taft, 28-25. Baker registered 10 third-period saves.
“We played a good team at Gunnery and it was a quick turnaround today,” Cleaves said of Saturday’s matchup. “It was really impressive for us. It feels really good, we can’t do it without Will Baker, he’s been a stud all season, the backbone of the team, so we can’t do it without him.”
Said Kennedy: “Obviously, a big point of the game was at the end of the second, scoring a goal in the last minute of the period to get a two-goal lead. It gave us some more breathing room going into the third. We battled hard, they came out hard in the third and I thought we locked down defensively as best we could and we blocked some shots. Tonight was a little bit of a different game for us. We were opportunistic and we got a shut out and another win.”
On Senior Night this Friday, the Bruins hope to cap an undefeated season at home.
“We like to play well in front of our school, it means a lot to us,” Cleaves noted. “To play in front of these guys gives us a lot of energy. We are clicking at the right time, guys have been getting better all year. I think we’re going to be a tough team to beat at the Elite 8.”
Cleaves reflected on the several seasons he has spent on the Bruins’ highly successful squad.
“It’s been awesome, I’m a senior now and all three years I’ve had such a fun year,” Cleaves noted. “The first year I played with my brother and we went all the way to the championship – Large School. We’ve been together – the 14 seniors the past three years. It has meant so much to be playing on the team with my friends the past three years.”
In Brunswick’s 6-3 win against Frederick Gunn this past week, Giles kept his torrid scoring pace going, registering five goals.
Pairings for the Elite 8 Tournament will be announced on Sunday.
Saturday’s game against Taft marked a special afternoon at Hartong Rink, as Brunswick and Taft played in honor of Hayden Thorsen and Shoulder Check – Reach Out, Check In, Make Contact. A ceremony was held prior to the game.
