Sports

Caseys Cap Regular Season with Win

On Senior Night, Red Bank Catholic easily handles Howell and enters the playoffs on a high note.

It’s consistency that Coach Ken Carlson has preached to his Casey team all season, and now, with the regular season over and playoffs starting soon, he thinks they may have found it.

On Senior Night at the Armory in Red Bank Tuesday, the Caseys ice hockey team beat Howell decisively 5-1 behind aggressive play, smooth puck handling, and a great performance from senior goalie Gavin Gatta.

“We’re on a bit of a roll,” Carlson said of his team and its 13-6-4 record. “The kids are gelling. They’re moving the puck the way they’re supposed to; I thought we played a very good game.”

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Praise has come and gone for this Red Bank Catholic team. At times during the season they’ve managed to play with the best of them on occasion, but inconsistency has hurt them in spots.

It’s tough to criticize a team with such a stellar record, but Carlson has maintained that this team and its 10 seniors has a chance to make this season a memorable one, they just have to play of to their potential.

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They’ll have their chance, too. The Caseys are a second seed in the Handchen Cup playoffs – Brick Township and its one loss are the top seed – and will face number seven Wall on Thursday at home at 2:30pm.

“We’re going to have to play a good team game and move the puck around against Wall,” Carlson said.

Moving the puck Tuesday wasn’t much of a problem. The Caseys kept the puck out of their own zone for much of the night, even while in the penalty – Red Bank Catholic had five penalties, Howell none – and used pressure to keep their opponents off balance.

Red Bank Catholic got on the board first with an easy goal. Just over three minutes into the first period Joe Keane wound up a slap shot off of a break and found the back of the net.

Howell scored its goal a few minutes later while the Caseys were in the penalty. Brandon Yaegal was able to knock in a dribbler after Gatta made a succession of saves. It was the team’s only score.

With 2:54 remaining in the first period Dave Stickle scored the eventual game winner for the Caseys off of a rebound. Bryan Gaburo, Patrick Dwywer, and Trevor Grossman added goals for the Caseys. Grossman also had two assists in the game.

More than the five goals, Carlson was pleased with his team’s penalty killing ability. Despite giving up the goal during a penalty in the first, Red Bank Catholic successfully killed the other penalties, including a two-man advantage for Howell that last nearly 1:30.

“Even on (the score) I thought we played it very well,” Carlson said. “The kids are just getting it.”


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