Green Brook Hockey Club: Spring 2008 Playoffs

Our Spring 2008 playoffs in the U8 Atom Division provided us with some spectacular plays, great goals, and super goaltending, to end a season of U8 Division hockey that was very close and very balanced between all four teams in the division. In First Round action, the Boretz Orthopedic Checkers took on the Garwood Metal Lightning. What a great defensive struggle this one was, as the first half saw no goals scored! Both goalies, Eric Isaacs of the Lightning and Chris Leibau of the Checkers, met every single challenge there was and kept the goal scorers off the board for the entire half. But in the second half, Michael Brady of the Checkers broke through and scored 2 goals within one minute of each other and the Checkers had themselves a 2-0 lead. The Lightning fought back furiously though, as Jimmy Girgus scored to cut the Lightning lead to 2-1. The goalies took over the rest of the way, though, and allowed no more goals, to preserve the win for the Lightning, who advanced to the Championship game by a 2-1 score. The other First Round Game saw the regular season first place team, D & M Trophies Bruins, play the fourth place Sign-A-Rama Vipers in a game that was yet another nail biter in the U8 division playoffs! The Vipers got on the board first on a goal by Jared Venutolo. But in the last 5 minutes of the first half, the Bruins struck for 2 goals, one by Andrew Martins and one by Seth Rubin, to take a 2-1 halftime lead. The second half would see the Vipers tie the score on a goal by James Dassinger, but that was quickly answered by the Bruins’ Justin Todtenkopf to give the Bruins the lead back at 3-2. The Bruins extended their lead to 4-2 when Charlie Kuzmenko notched one for them. But the Vipers were not done, as James Dassinger scored again to cut the lead to 4-3. With the clock showing just 2:30 left, Charlie Kuzmenko got another one for the Bruins for a 5-3 lead. The Vipers still kept fighting back, though, as Jared Venutolo scored to make it a one goal game again at 5-4. The goalies for both teams, Reese Robinson of the Vipers and Like Wypler of the Bruins, were tough the rest of the way and did not allow a goal, as the Bruins came away with a tough fought 5-4 victory to advance to the Championship Game. Assists in the game went to Jared Venutolo (2) and James Dassinger of the Vipers and Andrew Martins of the Bruins.

The 3rd Place Game featured the Lightning squaring off against the Vipers. The first half saw the Lightning in complete control, as Jimmy Girgus scored 4 goals and had 2 assists, while Nathan Crystal had 2 goals and 2 assists for a commanding 6-0 halftime lead for the Lightning. The Vipers still kept battling, though, as Jared Venutolo, Mike DeMarco, and James Dassinger scored to cut the lead to 6-3. But in the last few minutes, Jimmy Girgus scored again with the assist going to Nathan Crystal, and the Lightning came away with a 7-3 win for the 3rd Place trophy. The Championship game, between the Checkers and the Bruins, was yet another great playoff game in this exciting division! The Bruins struck first, as Andrew Martins scored for a 1-0 lead. Charlie Kuzmenko scored 2 more goals for the Bruins, who appearded to have a safe lead going into the second half, as they led 3-0. But the Checkers battled back, as Michael Brady put them on the board less than a minute into the second half to make it a 3-1 game. Chris Liebau of the Checkers then suddenly cut the lead down to one goal as he scored just a couple of minutes later and just like that we had a 3-2 game. But Charlie Kuzmenko then completed his hat trick for the Bruins for a 4-2 lead just a couple of moments later. That's how it stayed the rest of the way, as the goalies, Alex Kushnir of the Bruins and Jacob Seif of the Checkers, shut the door the rest of the way, allowing no further scoring. The Bruins captured the U8 division crown by a 4-2 final score. Assists in the game went to Justin Todtenkopf of the Bruins and Chris Liebau and Michael Stalenyj of the Checkers. Thanks to all the Spring 2008 U8 Atom Division players for a great season!!

Our U10 Mite Division also provided our league with a lot of excitement during our Spring 2008 Playoffs, as 6 teams battled each other for top honors in the division. In First Round action, the Landau Consulting Senators faced the Falcon Safety Products Avalanche. Alec Friedman of the Avalanche got his team on the board first, with a goal 5 minutes into the contest, while his teammate, scored another one for the Avalanche just 2 minutes later for a quick 2-0 Avalanche lead. But the Senators would answer back, as Sean Conway scored 2 unassisted goals before the half ended, and we were all tied up at 2-2 at the half. Then it was the Senators striking right away in the second half, as Adrian Pinzon and David Roushdy scored less than 2 minutes after the start of the half for a 4-2 Senators lead. The goalies for both teams, Dov Landau of the Senators and Kyle Mas of the Avalanche, then took over for the rest of the game and shut the goal scoring down completely. Final score: Senators 4, Avalanche 2. In the other First Round game, it was the Event Capital Blackhawks vs the Walls and Doors, Inc. Predators. Sam Shapiro got the Blackhawks on the board first in the one, but the Predators’ Kaylyn Daly had the answer just one minute later to tie the game at 1-1. Then the Blackhawks really got on a roll, as 4 different Blackhawks (Jack Benham, Danny Russomanno, Justin Scalera, and Dustin Demarsico) scored before the first half ended to give them a commanding 5-1 lead at the half. Max Hartman scored the first goal of the second half for the Predators to cut the lead to 5-2, but that was all she wrote, as the Blackhawks would add 2 more goals by Sam Shapiro and 2 more by Danny Russomanno to give both players hat tricks in the game. The Blackhawks came away with a convincing 10-2 win to advance to the Second Round. Second Round action saw the Atlantic Fence Hurricanes face off against the Landau Consulting Senators. The Hurricanes were the regular season first place team and had only lost one game during the entire season. But what a great defensive struggle this one was! For the entire first half, the goalies (Danny Farrell of the Hurricanes and Dov Landau of the Senators) were just amazing, as both teams found it nearly impossible to score any goals. The Hurricanes did break through for a goal by Alek Minishak though, for a 1-0 Hurricanes lead at the half. In the second half, Alek added his second of the day, with an assist from Kevin Fitzhenry, for the Hurricanes for a 2-0 edge. But with time winding down to about 7 minutes, Sean Conway scored on a pass from James Hansell for the Senators to cut the lead down to 2-1. The Hurricanes would not be denied, though, as Alek Minishak completed his hat trick for the final tally of the game, as the Hurricanes advanced to the Championship Game with a 3-1 win. The other Second Round game featured the Shogun 22 Wolfpack vs the Event Capital Blackhawks in a game that would prove to be yet another close, exciting contest. Brian Coelho of the Wolfpack was the only one to break through in the first half, as the goalies, Sam Robinson of the Blackhawks and Corey Fewer of the Wolfpack, proved to be very tough in goal. Brian scored 2 goals for a 2-0 halftime lead for the Wolfpack. With time winding down to about 6 minutes in the second half, Sam Shapiro got one for the Blackhawks to cut the lead to 2-1. Mathew Piro then notched one a minute later for the Wolfpack to give them a 2 goal lead back at 3-1. But Sam Shapiro would once again cut the lead back down to 1 goal, as he scored with just under 2 minutes left to make it a 3-2 game. With time winding down to 45 seconds though, Jake Tunison put the game away for the Wolfpack with a goal to make it a 4-2 game and that was all she wrote. Assists in the game went to Derek Siegal and Zach Giamundo of the Wolfpack, while Danny Russomanno got one for the Blackhawks. Final score: Wolfpack 4, Blackhawks 2.

 The 3rd Place Game pitted the Blackhawks against the Senators, and what a great game this one was! The Blackhawks got on the board first in this one on a goal by Dustin Demarsico 5 minutes into the game and his teammate, Jack Benham increased that lead to 2-0 with a goal just 3 minutes later. But the Senators got one back in the last few minutes of the first half, as Ryan Nieves scored his first of the game to make it a 2-1 game by halftime. In the second half, Ryan got the game tied for the Senators with his second of the game to make it a 2-2 score. That's how it remained for much of the second half, as both goalies, Sam Robinson of the Blackhawks and Dov Landau of the Senators, put on brilliant performances for their teams. But with just 5 minutes left, Sean Conway scored for the Senators to give them their first lead at 3-2. With time winding down to just 1:21 left in regulation, Sam Shapiro of the Blackhawks got the game tying goal to send things into overtime. The defenses and goalies were tough again in overtime, and so the game came down to a shootout. The shooters were turned away by the goalies, one after the other, until finally the last shooter, Sam Shapiro buried one to give the Blackhawks the win and the 3rd place trophy. Assists in the game went to Jordan Green, Dov Landau, and David Roushdy of the Senators and Sam Shapiro of the Blackhawks. What a great game!

The Championship Game saw the Hurricanes and Wolfpack square off against each other. The first half was a tough defensive battle as the goalies, Danny Farrell of the Hurricanes and Corey Fewer of the Wolfpack, had tremendous halves. The Hurricanes managed to get the game's first goal, off the stick of Anthony Kuzmenko. But before the half would end, Brian Coelho took a pass from Mathew Piro and Derek Siegal and the Wolfpack tied the game 1-1, which was our score at halftime. In the second half, things started in similar fashion, as the Hurricanes took a 2-1 lead on a goal by Alek Minishak, only to see the lead disappear a minute later on another goal by Brian Coelho of the Wolfpack, who tied the game again at 2-2. Then the Hurricane winds swirled, as they scored 4 unanswered goals -one by Alek Minishak, 2 by Anthony Kuzmenko (who completed his hat trick), and one by Akshay Rao for a 6-2 lead. Ryans Martins had 2 assists for them. The Wolfpack tried mightily, but could not mount a comeback and the Hurricanes captured the crown with a 6-2 win. Thanks to all our Spring 2008 U10 players for a fun season of hockey!

Our U13 Division gave us alot of great and exciting games in the playoffs! We had a little bit of just about everything - close games, upsets, overtime games, shootouts, and most importantly - a heck of alot of fun! In Round One actions, the Investors Savings Bank Ducks squared off against the Metro Wire Rope River Rats. Anthony Sorrentino and Kyle Celeste got goals for the Rats to give them an early 2-0 lead, but Aaron Standish of the Ducks got one to cut the lead in half at 2-1. From then on, though, the River Rats were nearly unstoppable, as Anthony and Kyle scored goals again, while Cody Sorrentino added one of his own for a solid 5-1 Rats lead at the half. Their dominance continued into the second half, as Kyle Celeste completed his hat trick and added another for a 7-1 Rats lead. In the final minutes of the game, Dillon Robinson got one for the Ducks, but Corey Paltjon of the River Rats answered that and the River Rats had themselves a convincing 8-2 first round win. Assists in the game went to Cody Sorrentino (2), Corey Paltjon, and Chris Lubrano of the River Rats and Julian DeOliveira of the Ducks. In the other First Round Game, the Abbey Total Home Phantoms faced the Earth Thebault Panthers. What a great defensive struggle this one was! The Pathers did get and early jump in this one, as Ryan Chang scored just 10 seconds into the game for a 1-0 Panthers lead. Just 3 minutes later, Ryan increased his team's lead to 2-0 with his second of the game. But then, with about 8 minutes left in the first half, the Phantoms got on the board as Jaysen Correa closed the gap to 2-1. Then, with just one minute left in the half, Jimmy DiGiorgio got the game tied for the Phantoms. Halftime score: 2-2. Incredibly, no goals were scored in the second half, as the defenses clamped down and the goalies, Tyler Reedman of the Phantoms and Evan Regan of the Panthers were brilliant in goal. So the game went to overtime! The 2 teams struggled mightily, but with just 2:11 left in OT, Ryan Chang passed to Chris Villa, who scored the game winner for the Panthers. The Panthers advanced by a final score of 3-2 in OT. 

In second Round action, the River Rats battled the Green Brook F.O.P. Lodge #23 Titans. The Titans got on the board first in this one, as Justin Capella scored the first goal of the game less than 2 minutes into the contest. but a little over a minute later the River Rats had the answer on a goal by Corey Paltjon. Just a short while later it was nearly deja vu all over again, as the Titans retook the lead,2-1, on a goal by Zach Iverson, only to see it answered again by Corey Paltjon of the River Rats a minute later. The Titans would retake the lead before the half ended, as Kendy Garcia scored for a 3-2 halftime lead for the Titans. The second half would see the defenses bear down and both goalies, Jarad Jirari of the Titans and Nick Coco of the River Rats, put in great performances in net. The Rats did, hoever, break through for the tying goal off the stick of Chris Lubrano. Regulation ended in a tie and so did overtime for that matter! That meant we were on our way to a shootout! Both selected their 3 shooters and all were turned away by the opposing goalie, except the last shooter, Chris Lubrano, who scored the shootout winner for the Titans to advance his team to the Championship game. Assists in the game went to Justin Capella and Zach Iverson of the Titans and Anthony Sorrentino and Corey Platjon of the River Rats. Final score: 4-3, Rats. The other second round game featured the Panthers going against the undefeated Qualcare Sharks. The Sharks got the early jump in this one on goals by Bobby Berehieko and Nick Martin for a quick 2-0 Sharks lead. Assists on the goals came from Vinny Martin and Nick Martin. Ryan Chang got one back for the Panthers to cut the lead by halftime to a 2-1 score. In the second half, the Sharks attacked again by scoring 3 unanswered goals in the first 10 minutes, scored by Joey McNulty, Nick Martin, and Ryan Sloop, who also got an assist as well. Then lightning appeared in the area, and just like that the game was over, as the refs called the game at that point. It was an official game, so the Sharks advanced to the Championship Game by a 5-1 score.

In final round action, it was the Titans and the Panthers vying for the 3rd Place trophy. After Justin Capella started the game by giving the Titans a quick 1-0 lead, the Panthers answered with 3 unanswered goals of their own, by Ryan Chang, Chris Villa, and Alan Curtis for a 3-1 Panthers lead. But before the half ended, the Titans returned the favor and scored 3 unanswered goals of their own, off the staicks of Zach Iverson, Steven Sarnowski, and Kendy Garcia for a 4-3 Titans halftime lead. In the second half, the Titans increased their lead to 6-3 on goals by Daniel Buccino and Justin Capella for a seemingly safe 6-3 lead. But the Panthers wouldn't quit, as Ryan Chang scored 2 goals within the last 5 minutes to suddenly make it a 6-5 game. Both teams battled furiously in the last few minutes of the game, but that was it - no scoring was done by either team, which meant a hard fought 6-5 win for the Titans for the 3rd Place prize. In the Championship game, between the Sharks and the River Rats, the undefeated Sharks got the upper hand in the first half, by scoring 3 unanswered goals, 2 of which were scored by Vinny Martin and one by Nick Martin for a 3-0 lead. But the Rats slowly crept back into this one, as David Johnson scored to cut the lead to 3-1 at halftime. What a wild second half of hockey there was about to come! The Sharks increased their lead to 4-1 on a goal by Ben Neri, but then the River Rats really got going. They scored 3 in a row to tie the game at 4-4, on goals by Anthony Sorrentino, Corey Paltjon and David Johnson. But in this see saw battle, the lead went back to the Sharks with about 10 minutes left on a goal by Ryan Sloop for a 5-4 Sharks advantage. Not to be outdone, Corey Paltjon of the River Rats would score shortly thereafter, and we were once again tied at 5-5. With just under 7 minutes to play, the lead went back to the Sharks at 6-5 on a goal by Vinny Martin. But the Rats just wouldn't die, as Chris Lubrano scored with just 2:15 left, and this incredible battle was tied at 6-6. Sure enough, things would go into OT. Finally, the game ended in OT when the Sharks' Vinny Martin took a pass from his brother Nick and scored the game winner for a 7-6 OT win for the Championship. What a great way for the U13 Squirt Division playoffs and the season to end!!

 Our U17 Bantam Division, which perhaps was the most balanced during the regular season, certainly showed it in the playoffs as well, as we had plenty of close games and excitement to finish the Spring 2008 U17 Division season. In First Round action, the Karate America Rangers faced the Sal's Studio Red Wings. This one was a tough, defensive struggle that saw both goalies, Mike DiPaolo of the Rangers and Andrew Todtenkopf of the Red Wings put in great performances in net. Chris Hagen scored the game's first goal just one minute into the contest, on a pass from Colin Bradley and Matt Todtenkopf for a 1-0 Red Wings lead. As the clock wound down to the last couple of minutes in the first half, this see sawe battle really begun to heat up. Frankie Buonvicino scored to tie the game for the Rangers at 1-1, but then the Red Wings' Nick Panella took a pass from C.J. Girgus and scored to have the Red Wings retake the lead at 2-1. Then, with just 35 ticks left on the clock in the first half, Frankie Buonvicino scored again for the Rangers and we had a 2-2 game at the half. As this epic battle continued into the second half, the Rangers took their first lead of the game, on a goal by Brandon Lipke for a 3-2 Ranger lead. But time the clock wound down to 2:16 left in the game, Matt Todtenkopf scored to tie it at 3-3 for a gme that looked for sure to be destined to go to overtime. But that would not be the cvase, as Brandon Lipke struck again for his second of the game with just 18 seconds left, and the Rangers advanced to the next round by a 4-3 count. Assists in the game for the Rangers went to Mike LeFanto (2), Brandfon Lipke, and Anthony Lubrano. In the other First Round Game, we saw the Pizza Brothers Spartans vs the Just Hockey Penguins. Jimmy Sammon scored the game's first goal for the Spartans on a pass from Geogie Margelis and Patrick Sammon to take a 1-0 lead. The Penguins answered back, though, as Josh Katzen scored and the game was tied at 1-1. The game was an absolute see saw struggle, the two teams traded goals twice before the half ended. Georgie Margelis gave the Spartans a 2-1 lead, only to see it answered by George Aller of the Penguins, who yied it at 2-2. After Patrick Sammon gave the Spartans a 3-2 lead with his goal on a pass fron Georgie Margelis, Brendan Farrell tied it for the Penguins at 3-3 just 52 seconds before the half ended. Just a couple of minutes into the second half, Josh Katzen scored for the Penguins, who took their forst lead at 4-3. The Spartans tried desparately to get the game tied, but that's how it ended, with the Penguins advancing to the Second Round by a final of 4-3. Penguins assists in the game went to John Fiorilla (2), George Aller (2), and Brendan Farrell.

 In Second Round action, the Rangers faced off against the Oksenhorn Jewelers Devils. the Devils got a First Round bye, but really had their hands full with the Rangers. The first 9 minutes of the game saw a scoreless battle, but the the Rangers suddenly poured it on, as they scored an amazing 6 unanswered goals. Goal scorers were Brandon Lipke, who had 3, Frankie Buonvicino, Anthony Parascondola, and Mike LeFanto, who gave the Rangers a stunning 6-0 advantage, before Alex Pommer got the lone tally for the Devils just before the first half ended. In the second half, Dan Weiniger scored 2 goals to nake it a 6-3 game, as the Devils tried to make a comeback. But the Rangers got going again,as Mike LeFanto, Anthony Lubrano, and Brandon Lipke got them back up by 6 goals making it a 9-3 game. After Dan Weiniger completed his hat trick for the Devils, the Rangers added the last 2 scores of the game off the sticks of Frankie Buonvicino and Brandon Lipke, and the Rangers advanced to the Championship game by an 11-4 score. Assists in the game went to Anthony Lubrano, Frankie Buonvicino(2), Logan Green, and Mike LeFanto of the Rangers and Brian Weiniger of the Devils. In the other Second Round Game, The Balaney Contracting Wild faced the Just Hockey Penguins. The Wild had finished first in the regular season and were looking to extend that success into the playoffs. They managed to get on the board first, as Kyle Van Decker took a pass from Matt Hicks and Billy Lester and scored for a 1-0 Wild lead. It was a 1-0 game for much of the period, until about 5 minutes left in the half. That's when Billy Lester scored 2 unassisted goals for the Wild, who took a 3-0 lead into halftime. But the Penguins would fight back in the second half. just after the period started, Dylan Damato took a pass from George Aller and scored to cut the Wild lead to 3-1. With about 9 minutes left in the game, lightning struck twice, as Dylan hooked up with George for another goal, and suddenly it was a 3-2 score. But tough defense and goaltending ruled the day, as both goalies, Steven Isaacs of the Penguins and Jimmy Rizzolo of the Wild, stopped alot of shots and scoring chances. With just 22 seconds left, though, the Wild put the game away, as Josh Zeloof got a pass from Matt Hicks and buried it for the final tally of the game. Final score: Wild 4, Penguins 2.

The 3rd Place game featured the Devils vs the Penguins, in a game that would prove to be one of the best in the playoffs. Josh Katzen and Stephen DeTorres got the Penguins on the board quickly to start the game with a 2-0 lead. After Dan Weiniger of the Devils scored to cut the lead to 2-1, Stephen DeTorres added 2 more goals to complete his hat trick for the Penguins to build a solid 4-1 lead. After Dan Weiniger scored again for the Devils, Josh Katzen got one for the Penguins, who got their 3 goal lead back at 5-2. The Devils would close the gap just before the end of the first half, as James Kirchofer scored to make it a 5-3 halftime score. Dan Weiniger got things going in the second half with 2 goals early on to complete the Devils' comeback and tie the game at 5-5. John Fiorilla then breathed life into the Penguins offense with a goal to put them ahead at 6-5, but just one minute later Dan Weiniger had the answer again  to tie the game at 6-6. The defenses then clamped down and no further goals were allowed until with about 3 minutes left, the Penguins retook the lead 7-6, on a goal by George Aller. It looked like that might do it, as both teams hung on for dear life toward the end. But once again, Dan Weiniger would not be denied, as he scored with just 13 seconds left to tie the game at 7-7. We went to overtime, where this furious battle continued! finally, with 2:39 left in OT Dan Weiniger completed his dominating performance, which included a double hat trick, and won the game with his 7th goal of the contest. The Devils took their only lead of the entire game at that point and took the 3rd Place trophy by an 8-7 final score. Assists in the game went to Brian Weiniger of the Devils and Josh Katzen (2), Stephen DeTorres (2), Brendan Farrell. The Championship game was a dandy, as it featured the Wild vs the Rangers for the top prize. The first half was a real sign of just how defensive this game was going to be. Matt Hicks scored on a pass from Kyle Van Decker for a 1-0 Wild lead 6 minutes into the contest. But a few moments later, Mike LeFanto of the Rangers had the answer, as he took a pass from Anthony Parascondola and scored to tie the game at 1-1. That's how things stood at halftime as the teams had 20 minutes left to decide who would walk away as champs. Just 2 minutes into the second half, Billy Lester scored and less than 2 minutes after that, Kyle Van Decker scored on a pass from Michael Lester and suddenly the Wild had a 3-1 lead. The Rangers fought back, though, as Frankie Buonvicino scored on a pass from Mike LeFanto and Brandon Lipke to make it a 3-2 game. The Wild would regain the 2 goal advantage a couple of minutes after that, as Joshua Zeloof scored an unassisted goal for a 4-2 advantage for the Wild. The 2 teams battled furiously down the stretch and sure enough, the Rangers would make it a one goal game with 3:26 left on a goal scored by Anthony Parascondola, assisted by Marc Keyasko and Frankie Buonvicino. But that was it, as the defenses clamped down and no goals were scored after that, which meant the championship trophy for the Wild. Final score for the championship: Wild 4, Rangers 3. Thanks to all the U17 Bantam division players for a terrific season!!