South Brunswick Ice Hockey Working on GMC Seed

The South Brunswick High School ice hockey team continued to work on its record and seeding for future tournaments with an 8-1 win over Edison on Feb. 4.

Edison was able to keep the game close through one period, having the score tied 1-1. South Brunswick took the lead with two goals in the second period. South Brunswick then pulled away with a dominating third period.

"We were dominating the action, we just weren't scoring," South Brunswick Coach Michael Slansky noted of the first period.

Part of the reason was the team was a bit out of synch.

"Unfortunately, we hadn't been on the ice in over a week," Slansky said. "All of the snow and ice has really hurt us. It's not just having games called off. At one stretch, we didn't practice in a week and a half."

Despite the final score, there was definitely some points in the Edison game where South Brunswick had to kind of grind out the win. It even had to kill off a 5-on-3 penalty situation for six minutes.

Ryan Christofalo, assisted by Connor VanDemark, scored the goal in the first period for South Brunswick. Christofalo, assisted by Sean Kacerosky and Ryan Fisher, also scored the goal that gave South Brunswick the lead it would never surrender.

"The last three weeks, Ryan Christofalo has really stepped up his game," Slansky noted. "He's been really solid for us."

By the time the game ended, Will Connell put together a hat trick and also added an assist.

"Will's been playing really well for us," Slansky noted. "Will and Russ Lorring are both averaging over two points a game."

Connor VanDemark had a goal and two assists. Joe Marchesani and Joe Muha both scored goals. Will Kogan, Kacerosky and Fisher all had two assists each.

South Brunswick was scheduled to play JP Stevens on Feb. 2. in a game rescheduled from earlier in the season. Because of icy conditions, the two teams will now need to reschedule the rescheduled game. That game is now scheduled for Feb. 7. South Brunswick will play St. Joe's on Feb. 9.

The really big games for South Brunswick  will start with the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, which is scheduled to begin on Feb. 14. The semifinals will be Feb. 16 and the final Feb. 18. All of the games will be at the Woodbridge arena.

Only six teams qualify for the GMC. According to Slansky, St. Joe's. Old Bridge, South Brunswick and Monroe have separated themselves from the pack. The last two spots have yet to be decided. Also at stake are byes in the first round for the top two seeds.

"I think right now we're in second," Slansky said. "It's hard to say because it's done on winning percentage and so many teams have games that need to be made up. If all the games are played and go as expected, we'd probably be a third seed. It's just hard to know right now. It all depends on what games are played. Obviously, if the game is played and you win, your winning percentage will be higher."

At 11-2, South Brunswick's winning percentage is pretty high. Now if it can only get some consistent ice time, it can be at its best when it matters the most.