There was no panic or signs of frustration among the members of the Brunswick School varsity hockey team when they trailed Lawrenceville by two goals in the second period of their game on Feb. 4th at Hartong Rink.

Despite trailing Lawrenceville by one goal after the first period of play, then falling behind by a pair of goals early in the second period, the Bruins generated a lot more shots on goal than the visitors and knew the goals would come if they continued their relentless effort in the offensive zone.

Then, quickly, the Bruins began lighting the lamp, much to the dismay of the visiting team from New Jersey.

Behind an impressive four-goal second period, Brunswick doubled-up Lawrenceville, 6-3, for its 15th win of the season. Senior forward/captain Mason St. Louis recorded two goals and one assist, while senior defenseman/alternate captain Jack McCullough had one goal and two assist for the Bruins, who controlled the puck in Lawrenceville’s zone the majority of the matchup.

Brunswick outshot Lawrenceville, 15-6, in the first period and an astounding 56-12 for the game.

“We were happy with our game,” Brunswick coach Mike Kennedy said. “It’s tough to go down two goals in a game like that. You’re facing a hot goalie and you’re wondering if you’re going to break through. The boys stuck with it and you’re wondering if you’re going to break through. I really liked what we did in the offensive zone.”

Junior forward Keegan Kazan, McCullough, senior defenseman Aidan Dougherty and sophomore Hampus Vandenberg, also a defenseman, each registered shots on goal in the opening period, snapping shots at Lawrenceville’s netminder. Yet it was the visitors that struck first in this fast-paced contest.

Lawrenceville took a 1-0 lead with 53.6 seconds remaining in the first period, then made it 2-0 with a goal at the 4:44 mark of the second period. It was all Bruins for a longtime after that, however.

St. Louis and McCullough netted consecutive tallies on the same shift to tie the score at 2-2 early in the second period. Gathering the puck between the circles, St. Louis slapped his shot home 7:12 into the second period, bringing ‘Wick to within 2-1.

Kazan and Dougherty assisted on St. Louis’ goal. McCullough tallied on a tap-in with 9:56 to go in the second stanza, tying the score at 2-2. Linemates Ben Lombardi, a senior and St. Louis, were each credited with assists on the tally.

“We were getting a lot of shots,” Kennedy said. “Then once one went in, the floodgates started opening. Back-to-back on the same shift was big to get us back in the game. It gave a little life to the bench too.”

Indeed, the Bruins were confident heading into the second period and even after the Big Red went ahead, 2-0.

“We weren’t scoring, but we were in the ‘O’ zone the whole time,” said McCullough, who helped spark the Bruins throughout. “Once we got the first one, I think we just piled on that.”

By the time the second period concluded the Bruins had almost 40 shots on goal.

“We weren’t panicking,” Kennedy noted. “Obviously, we were disappointed to give up a goal, but we thought if we stuck with it and stuck to our game plan one would go and we would be back in it. I really liked what we were doing in the offensive zone.”

“We were working on it in practice, trying to get motion, balance, a lot of switching, a lot of movement, which makes it difficult for the opponent to handle defensively,” Kennedy continued. “It was especially noticeable today, so hopefully, we can use that going forward.”

Sophomore forward Hunter Hanford gave the Bruins the lead for good at 3-2 when he tallied off a one-timer in front 12:32 into the second period, with the assist going to sophomore defenseman Alessandro Dolder. Dougherty generated a goal with assists from McCullough and senior forward Owen Gibbons with 1:25 left in the second frame, making it 4-2 in favor of the home team.

“It was Dougherty’s first career goal – very well deserved for one of the team’s mainstays on the blue line,” Kennedy noted.

Lawrenceville cut its deficit to 4-3 by tallying with 14:47 remaining in the third period. The visitors were being outshot, 41-9, at that point of the matchup. St. Louis gave ‘Wick the breathing room it needed though, with St. Louis, who was positioned at the left faceoff dot, snapping the puck past Lawrenceville’s netminder, putting the hosts on top, 5-3, at the 9:37 mark.

Junior forward Owen Giles sealed the win with a goal off an assist from sophomore linemate Colton Cleaves 14:31 into the final period. Junior goalie Evan Akerman made nine saves for the win in goal for the Bruins.

“They were down a few guys, so it was an undermanned team, but we controlled the game for the most part,” Kennedy said.

Offensively, Brunswick appears to be rounding into top form at the right time of the season.

“We have this balanced set-up, where we put the ‘D’ on top and 5-on-5 in the zone and it was working,” McCullough noted. “I’m happy, going into the season we had trouble scoring, I think we’re picking that up.”

Next week, the Bruins play Cushing Academy at UConn on Feb. 11, host Frederick Gunn on Feb. 13, then travel to Berkshire School on Feb. 14. 

“Over the last 10 games, we have to start bringing it up so that we can get a good spot in the playoffs,” McCullough said.

Said Kennedy: “We have a huge stretch coming up. We have eight big games that will determine where we fall at the end of the season. A lot of those games are home. The opponents are really good. I think we’re in a good spot, we’re well prepared and sort of battle-tested at this point of the year.”

Chemistry is definitely one of the assets the Bruins have, one that should help them through their tough stretch of upcoming games.

“It’s a great group of guys, we’re all a big family,” McCullough said. “It’s pretty easy to play together.”