Terrific Third Period Lifts Dragons to Win

Heading into the third period of the Dragons' 8-3 win over the Griffins of Monsignor Donovan, the Dragons held just a 3-2 lead while dominating in puck possession and shots 37-9.

Yet they remained one broken play away from a tie game with 15 minutes to play.

Coming out flying to start the third, the Dragons drew a powerplay 1:58 in. Nine seconds later, Tyler Martin made the most of the open space, walking in from the point to the lower left circle before the senior captain put a wrist shot upstairs past Donovan goaltender Alex Mollicone.

The insurance goal sparked a three goal minute for Brick as senior defensemen Austin Blanco would score five-hole on a shot from the center of the blueline 40 seconds later.

Off the following faceoff at center ice, sophomore winger Andrew Reiss rushed the puck up the ice and got a shot off before fellow sophomore Ryan Mooney poked in a rebound for his first of the year.

Mooney's goal gave the Dragons a 6-2 lead with 12 minutes to play.

The Griffins depth was lost for legs in the third as they did a tremendous job throughout the first and second periods keeping the Dragons at bay. Donovan only dressed ten skaters and two goalies.

"That's definitely something we were thinking about," said Dragons head coach Bob Auriemma. "We have to play and position ourselves better than we did tonight. We took a lot of bad risks, at times I thought we looked a little too over confident."

Jake Lampiasi started again for the Dragons facing 12 shots and stopping 10 of them. Lampiasi's best save of the night came with 43 seconds left in the second period. Brick needed a save on a 2-on-1 to preserve a one goal lead which came three minutes earlier, off a Brian Murphy goal.

The Griffin puck carrier came down wide on the left side looking to pass before sending a wrist shot upstairs that Lampiasi snagged with his glove.

Last season, it took the Dragons a few games early to get their feet going together before they ripped off 18 straight wins. Early on, some things have looked similar, including opening the season with the same 2-1 win over Brick Memorial.

"So far, it has looked a bit like the start of last year," said Auriemma. "We need to start working on our plays and conditioning to get better as a team."

Brick showed quick strike potential in opening the game as Ryan Price scored with a one timer on a 2-on-1 with Tyler Martin. Tom Reinstadtler picked up an assist as well. The goal came 13 seconds in and was followed by heavy sustained pressure.

After finishing the first period tied at one, Brick would trail after Donovan scored a powerplay goal 3:05 into the second period. Price was there to answer with a shorthanded breakaway goal to tie the score. Seven minutes later Murphy gave the Dragons the lead.

Price would collect his third goal in the third period to earn the hat trick. Senior Brendan Dowd scored his first of the year also.

Brick outshot the Griffins 57-13.

The Dragons will have no time to rest as they take on the CBA Colts for the first time since their .

"We need to play a lot tighter defensively," noted Auriemma, in defending against the Colts. Puck drop is at 5:00 at Jersey Shore Arena in Wall.