Brick 2, Brick Mem. 1 (1997)

Brick 2, Brick Memorial 1 (Overtime)
03/19/1997 - Public Final

It was the day the clock struck midnight for the cardiac kids from Brick Memorial. But not before exhibiting one of the more memorable efforts in the tournament's history.

And for all those public schools out there that feel there's no shot at reaching Continental Arena, read on!

Brick Memorial, ranked 15th in The Ledger Top 20 at the time, defeated No. 8 Chatham and No. 7 Bayonne in order to set up a showdown with its sister school, No. 4-ranked Brick. The contest took place at Mennen Arena before 800 fans.

Brick Memorial goalie Ryan Kiernan made 43 saves in the game and it took an incredible amount of pressure in OT to finally solve the senior netminder. Scott Mlaka's goal with three minutes left in the extra session gave the Green Dragons a 2-1 triumph. The previous five minutes were virtually all spent in the Brick Memorial end.

I'm sure the Brick Memorial fans, perhaps sensing the inevitable, wanted to rush out onto the ice to assist their tired heroes. But, as the saying goes, if you want to be the best, you must beat the best and that's precisely what was going through the minds of each Brick Memorial player. On this night, however, the best was just too darn good.

Jason Brooks had given BM a 1-0 lead with 8:03 left in the second when he took a pass from John Rueschlin and smacked a low-liner past Brick goalie Jake Kahl. The lead stood until just 5:42 remained in the third when Bobby Acropolis took a feed from Kyle Weise in the left circle before powering home a shot into the right corner. The Acropolis goal came on the power-play. I still remember the moment of elation for each Brick player after that Acropolis goal. You almost got the feeling that if that puck didn't go in there, it would have never found the twine.

One memorable moment following Mlaka's overtime goal was the sight of Brick coach Bob Auriemma immediately running across the ice to congratulate BM goalie Kiernan, who was simply splendid.

Brick, by the way, would score a stunning 4-0 blowout over Seton Hall Prep in the overall championship game just a few nights later. It would be the last time a public school would defeat a non-public school to capture the overall state championship.

QUOTABLES:
``I took the pass in the slot, broke around one defender and slipped a shot through his legs. We certainly took a lot of shots tonight but their goalie was outstanding,'' Brick forward Scott Mlaka.

``He was the best goalie we've faced this season. When I finally scored and the red light went on, it was great. We needed to just pepper him with shots. Eventually, something had to go in,'' Brick forward Bobby Acropolis.