Dominant at home.

That’s what the Brunswick School varsity hockey team was when it hosted Albany Academy at Hartong Rink in its first home game of 2026.

The Bruins who played 12 of their 13 games of the season on the road, enjoyed their second game of the season at the friendly confines of Hartong Rink, excelling all over the ice before their supportive home crowd.

Receiving goals from seven different players, Brunswick skated to a resounding 7-1 win over Albany Academy on Jan. 9th, improving its record to 10-4 in the process. Junior forward Keegan Kazan helped power the Bruins throughout, registering one goal and three assists. The Bruins also beat Albany Academy at a Holiday Tournament on the road on Dec. 21, 6-0.

“We played Albany before Christmas and had a pretty good result, so we wanted to make sure we came out and put them away early,” Brunswick coach Mike Kennedy said following his squad’s home win. “We separated from them early in the game. It was nice to get a couple in the first and when they climbed back in it, we pulled away.”

Brunswick led Albany Academy, 2-0, after the first period and 4-1 after two periods of play. Controlling the puck throughout, while applying pressure in Albany’s zone, the Bruins outshot the visitors, 38-14 for the game.

“During practice, we’ve been preaching playing fast, getting shots through and I thought we really stuck to that,” Kazan said. “We were winning battles and overall, that just helped us a lot. Crowding the net and having that shot first mentality really helped us a lot.”

Zai Ferraro, a junior, made 13 saves in goal for the Bruins, who have received excellent goaltending from Ferraro and teammate Evan Akerman, also a junior.

“We’ve gotten great goaltending from both Evan and Zai,” Kennedy noted. “Our defense is playing pretty stingy defense, giving up less than two goals a game on average through 14 games.”

Ben Lombardi, a senior forward/alternate captain, opened the game’s scoring, converting a shot taken from between the circles, giving Brunswick a 1-0 lead only 52 seconds into the first period. At the 7:40 mark, the Bruins seized a 2-0 advantage thanks to a shorthanded goal by senior forward/captain Mason St. Louis.

Louis tallied on a strong rush up the ice after ‘Wick effectively cleared the puck out of the zone with Albany Academy on a power play. Ahead 2-0 following the first period of action, the Bruins lead was cut in half when Blake Rezendes from Albany scored off an assist from teammate Oliver Tellier 10:06 into the second period. The goal certainly seemed to spark the Bruins, who responded in impressive fashion.

The hosts regained their two-goal lead when Kazan broke loose, skated all alone down the left wing, put a move on Albany’s goalie and finished in front, making it a 3-1 game with 6:31 to go in the third period. Lombardi and linemate James Jackson, a junior each assisted on Kazan’s tally.

Kazan discussed the Bruins’ solid start to the game and their response once Albany Academy scored its lone goal.

“It was really significant, that start was really good for us, it boosted our confidence and we were able to play off that start,” Kazan noted. “Once they scored that goal, something clicked on the bench and we all knew we had to respond.”

One of the many Bruins’ highlights came in the second period, when Ferraro made a timely save and the Bruins went down the ice and scored again, adding on to its advantage.

A goal from junior defenseman Trevor DeMaio off assists from Jackson and Kazan made it 4-1 in favor of the Bruins with 59 seconds left in the second period. At the 4:51 mark of the third period, junior forward Julian Ikeda-Thew scored on a one-timer off assists from senior defenseman Luke Hall and sophomore forward Jack Thompson, putting the Bruins on top, 5-1.

“We’ve been focusing on one-timers in practice we had three today,” Kennedy noted.

Senior defenseman Declan Minella scored his first career varsity goal on a one-timer in the third period and Alex Zinman, a junior defensemen, added a third-period goal to seal the scoring.

“I feel like this is a good momentum shift for us, we really needed it,” Kazan said of the victory. “We’re looking to continue the momentum for the rest of the season.”

After defeating Albany Academy, the Bruins hit the road for a game against Northfield Mount Hermon on Jan. 10th. Brunswick pulled away for an 8-2 triumph.

“This is a stretch of games where we’re the favorite going into the next four or five games, so we’re hoping to find some offensive chemistry and some momentum going before the schedule toughens back up,” Kennedy said. “We’re happy with our start, we’ve had a lot of road games. We’re looking to take another step as we go.”

Brunswick exploded for five-second period goals on its way to upending Northfield Mount Hermon. Junior goalie Evan Akerman, who spent his sophomore year with the Hoggers, was the star of the opening 18 minutes for the Bruins, making a handful of big saves to keep the hosts off the board before his teammates joined the party in the second and third, coach Kennedy noted.

St. Louis led the offense with two goals and two assists, while his sophomore linemate Colton Cleaves also added a pair of tallies for the visiting Bruins.

The bottom six got involved in the scoring as well, with sophomores Jack Thompson, Hunter Hanford, and Nate Cook all finding the net.

The Bruins will break for exams this week and return to the ice next Saturday at Hill School before hosting Stanstead College on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.