SBHS eager for states

By: Ken Weingartner
   The streak is over, but the South Brunswick High ice hockey team is ready to begin another.
   South Brunswick saw its 10-game unbeaten streak end with a 5-1 loss Tuesday to Toms River North, the No. 16 team in the state, in the semifinals of the Southern Conference White Division’s Jim Dowd Cup.
   But with the state public school tourney looming on the horizon, the setback did little to spoil the upbeat feeling the Vikings have created over the last seven weeks of the season.
   "I think we can give a lot of good teams a good game," said junior Zach Belfer, whose overtime goal last Saturday against Rumson-Fair Haven propelled SB into the Dowd Cup semis. "We’ve got a lot of confidence from the streak.
   "It felt good because we struggled at the beginning of the year. It feels good to get back to where we knew we could be, in the state playoffs. We all supported each other and came back. We’ve got to keep playing."
   Mike Bowser scored the lone goal for the Vikings in their loss to Toms River North, a team that could have been expected to go deep into the state tourney but will be absent from the event because of a new NJSIAA rule. The rule forbids any team that had three ejections during the season from playing in the tournament.
   "They had a sense of urgency because this is their only tournament, this is the only title they can play for," South Brunswick coach Mark Kmiec said. "They had 12 days off from their previous game and we thought they might be a little rusty, but they throw a lot of pressure at you with their size and speed. Their game plan was effective."
   South Brunswick began the season 1-7-1, but turned its year around after a Jan. 14 loss to Notre Dame. The Vikings stormed into the Dowd Cup tournament by going unbeaten in nine in a row, then posted a 4-3 overtime triumph in its tourney opener against Rumson-Fair Haven.
   Belfer’s tally about nine minutes into the extra period ended an exciting stretch of hockey in which the teams traded chances, but no goals, over nearly 30 minutes of play.
   "Sean Sirois brought the puck over the blue line and took a shot from the top of the face-off circle," Belfer said. "I just was following for support. I saw the goalie slide over, and I was able to put the rebound over his pad. It felt good to help the team out and get to the next round."
   Bowser had two goals and assisted on sophomore George Silvestro’s first tally of his career in helping lift the Vikings to the victory.
   "We put a good game together," Kmiec said. "We definitely felt we had some momentum because we knew we had beaten them (3-1) the last time we played. They had a few lucky bounces on goals, and it was great to come back in the overtime period to win.
   "Defensively, we played pretty well as a team. Everyone did their job and made some good plays. I think everyone made at least one good play during the game. But we’re still looking to be more consistent."
   South Brunswick should find out shortly who its opponent will be in the first round of the state tournament. Kmiec, who figures the game will be early next week, is hopeful the Vikings can get a good seed. Last year, SB advanced to the quarterfinals of the event.
   "We had a good second half of the season, so I hope they take that into account," Kmiec said. "One tournament is over and you have to look forward to the next one. We just have to do our best and see if we can keep moving on.
   "I think we didn’t play our best from top to bottom (Tuesday). When you’re at tournament time, you have to play well every shift. Toms River North is a very good team; they would probably have been in the top 10 seeds if they were in the state tournament. I thought we matched up pretty decent with them; it would have been nice if it worked out differently for us.
   "But I’m still proud of where we came from at the beginning of the season. It’s definitely an achievement and something to be proud of."
   And if the Vikings can get on another roll, there might be additional reasons to take pride in the campaign.