Scoring certainly hasn’t been a problem for the Brunswick School ice hockey team during its first five games of the new season.

Through five games, the Bruins have generated 29 goals, while allowing only 13 on their way to earning a impressive record of 4-0-1. Following a 3-3 tie against St. George’s School on the road in its season-opener, the Bruins have posted four consecutive victories.

The first win came against visiting Loomis Chaffee School at Hartong Rink on Dec. 4. For the first time since 2021 – when the Bruins scored on their first three shifts of the game – Brunswick defeated Loomis, 4-0, in the traditional early December matchup between the two NEPSAC competitors.

‘Wick scored two opening period goals to grab the lead after the first period. One goal came on the power play by senior Oliver Czaja and the other was the result of a five-on-five shift from the line of juniors Owen Gibbons, Joe Salandra, and Mason St. Louis, who ultimately finished off the play to the slot into an empty net. 

Late in the third period, Gibbons picked up a high-arching chip to the neutral zone by junior defenseman Hampus Vandenberg, outraced a Pelican, and slid a breakaway through the five hole for the insurance goal.

Senior Alex Melillo added an empty netter to cap the Bruins’ scoring. 

Junior goalie Dylan Lee-Stack denied Loomis Chaffee opportunities to cut into Brunswick’s lead. He registered 21 saves, including numerous key stops in the first and second periods. 

Brunswick’s second triumph of its 2024-2025 season came on Dec. 7 against host Phillips Exeter Academy, a 9-6 win. After Exeter scored first, the Bruins went on a tear and tallied the next six goals of the matchup. They led, 5-1, after the first period and 6-1 with 12:58 remaining in the second period.

The Big Red roared back with four tallies in the next five minutes and forced the Bruins into a timeout. Brunswick left the second period with a 6-5 edge. Brunswick sealed the win in the third period with three more goals.

Brunswick continued to score goals at an impressive pace on Sunday (Dec. 8) at the Exeter Invitational, this time scoring six goals to secure a relatively comfortable 6-2 win against New Hampton.

The Bruins scored three times in the first, twice in the second, and once in the third period. Brunswick head coach Mike Kennedy noted that senior goaltender LJ Bylow saw his first action of the season in relief – entering the game in the third period and making a few stops to the delight of the Brunswick bench. 

On Wednesday, Dec. 11, Brunswick stormed the highly-touted visitors from Kent School with five first-period goals and ultimately earned a 7-2 win at Hartong Rink. 

The Bruins scored on the very first shift on a snipe by freshman defenseman Cam Minella. After junior Joe Salandra (who had six points on the day) scored on a breakaway with just under six minutes to play in the opening period, ‘Wick’s power play went to work and netted three consecutive goals. Salandra scored on a 5-on-3. Junior defenseman Hampus Vandenberg tallied on a 5-on-4 and senior alternate captain Tucker Spiess added a goal for the victors. The Bruins went to the locker room having outshot Kent 22-3. 

The Lions put up another tally at the 3:52 mark of the third period, but that was as close as they got, as juniors Owen Gibbons and Mason St. Louis (another PPG) finished things off with two more tallies down the stretch to ice the contest. 

Junior Dylan Lee-Stack made 26 saves and controlled his rebounds with ease throughout the 54 minutes to earn the win. Up next for the Bruins is another home game on Saturday, as Westminster School visits Hartong Rink.