Red Bank Catholic: Ice Hockey Champions

It wasn’t going to be the same, not this time.

Red Bank Catholic was trailing by a goal in the third period of the Handchen Cup ice hockey finals. Their opponent was Brick Township, a team with just one loss, a team that had beaten them twice already in the regular season.

But this time, the second-seeded Caseys, down a goal in their seemingly predestined championship matchup with the Shore Conference top seed, just knew things were going to be different.

Red Bank Catholic scored three unanswered goals, including an empty netter in the final moments of the game, to upset Brick 4-2 at the Armory in Red Bank and claim the Handchen Cup, winning its first conference title since 2008.

The Caseys were led by the strong offensive efforts of its first line, including Trevor Grossman, who had a hand in all four of his team’s goals. The forward scored the eventual game-winning goal and had three assists in the game.

The team has been working well together, even more so recently, he said. As for why the Caseys were able to topple a Brick team that edged them twice previously this season, well, the answer is simple.

“This game we just wanted it more,” Grossman said.

Wanting it more is one thing, proving it is another. Entering the third, not only trailing Brick on the score board but in shots on goal, the Caseys spent the first couple of minutes of the third on their heels as the Green Dragons continued to apply the pressure that had gotten them the lead late in the second period.

All that changed just over two minutes into the third. With a man-advantage following a tripping penalty, Red Bank Catholic utilized the kind of passing and puck rotation that had lead to several scores in recent games. Off of a pass from Grosssman, forward Sean Branagan knocked in the game-tying goal at 12:14.

“After the second period we were feeling kind of down,” Grossman said. “The seniors gave a good speech in the locker room. They told us that goals weren’t going to be hard to come by.”

Bryan Gaburo, who plays on the Caseys front line along with Grossman and Branagan, scored two goals, including the first and last of the game. The tie, he said following the game, as a raucous celebration began in the locker room, changed everything.

“It was a whole new game at that point. We basically started over,” he said. “We had something to prove.”

With the score tied, and Caseys goalie Gavin Gatta turning away Brick scoring opportunities with several great saves in the third, Red Bank Catholic, following a game plan it had never abandoned, started applying the pressure.

Just under four minutes left in the game, Grossman skated towards the net almost uncontested and lifted a wrister over the Brick goalie’s shoulder. Red Bank Catholic would not relinquish the lead.

The win was Red Bank Catholic’s seventh in a row. After a regular season plagued with injuries and inconsistent play, the Caseys have started playing to the potential Coach Ken Carlson always knew they had.

“This is the kind of hockey we’ve been preaching all year,” he said. “They showed great intensity and really executed the game plan.”

The Caseys aren’t done yet. The non-public state playoffs start for Red Bank Catholic on Monday. There, the Caseys, seeded 11^th out of the 21 teams that qualified for state play, will face the state’s toughest competition.

If they continue to play like they have, there’s no telling what the Caseys can do.