Summit 3, Brick 2 (2000)

Summit 3, Brick 2
03/11/2000 - Public Semifinal

It will forever be remembered as 'The Miracle at Mennen!'

And to the 1,000 in attendance at Mennen this day to witness it - congratulations!

The odds of Summit pulling off the unthinkable against Brick, which hadn't lost to a public school since March 11, 1995, was as long a reach as, well, the US defeating the Soviets in Lake Placid in 1980.Summit, which was ranked 11th in The Ledger poll at the time, hadn't celebrated a victory over the Ocean County school since Feb. 2, 1994.

Jeff Garibaldi, a 6-foot-0, 185-pound senior center, scored a pair of second-period goals (both off assists from David Haire), to give Summit a seemingly commanding 3-0 cushion. The eventual game-winner came at 5:13 after Haire threaded a pass to Garibaldi, who was cruising alone through the slot before wristing a shot past Brick goalie Joe Pearce. It was Garibaldi's 17th of the season and, most definitely, the biggest of his ice hockey career!

Brick, which entered the game ranked No. 3 in The Ledger Top 20, cut the deficit to 3-2 when Bobby Acropolis scored on a short-handed breakaway at the 4:26 mark of the third. But, despite tremendous pressure, senior Summit goalie Dana Henderson, doing his best impersonation of Jim Craig, finished with 32 saves. Brick, which was predicted by all to capture a fifth straight public schools title, entered the game having outscored the opposition, 30-3, in three previous state tournament contests.

Perhaps even more intriguing than the game itself was the preparation put in by the entire Summit coaching staff leading up to the big contest. It's definitely worth another viewing.

How Summit ice hockey coach Keith Nixon prepared his troops: Wednesday: Nixon halts a practice session at Secaucus Rink to reinforce the importance of execution and teamwork. The seniors agree they must be more focused and explain the disappointment of an 8-0 loss to Brick in 1998. The underclassmen take the message to heart and the rest of practice has more intensity. Backup goalie Richard James' huge save preserves a one-goal victory in an intra squad scrimmage. Thursday: Nixon has lightning-quick assistant coach Tom Simmons play All-State Brick center Bobby Acropolis in practice at Warinanco Rink, Roselle. Practice begins with everyone doing their own thing, which irks senior goalie Dana Henderson. "A sure sign he's focused," Nixon said. The coach explains Brick's tendencies. Simmons takes his role to heart and skates circles around the Summit players. After a briefing in which Nixon stresses the importance of communication, the players settle down and work together. Friday: Players and coaches attend parochial school semifinal match at Mennen Arena, Morris Township. The 2-1 victory by No. 2 Seton Hall over No. 1 Delbarton inspires because the smaller team finished checks and played the body. The Brick game plan is read to the players. They hear a short essay that includes the reasons the U.S. Olympic Team upset the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympics. Saturday: A half-hour before the game at Mennen, former Delbarton defenseman Derek Maguire, a Star-Ledger All-Century selection and the brother-in-law of Summit JV player Tim Martin, offers inspiring advice. "You are here because you deserve to be here," Maguire said. "Nobody reaches this point in the playoffs unless you play as a team. And if you continue to do so, good things will happen." The Summit players give Maguire an ovation as he leaves the locker room. The players follow him through the door minutes later for the opening face off. Now, if there were an itinerary on how to pull off an upset, don't you get the feeling Nixon and his coaching staff should have their plan in boldface! Great stuff. Anyway, there was one other personal memory I have of this game. Paul Bruno, who has done as commendable a job as any other sports writer out there in promoting high school athletes in New Jersey, dubbed the 'Miracle at Mennen' line and, to this day, I feel it remains the most memorable of any ever written. But, don't get me wrong, teamwork really played a part here. At the conclusion of the game, Paul and I had just 10 minutes to file a story for the 3-star edition, which just so happens to be the readership down the shore. Let me add by saying that Paul and I decide who will cover what games prior to the opening faceoff of Game 1 (I had already determined that I was covering the parochial semifinal that day). Because I felt the Brick-Summit match would probably wind up being a five-goal blowout (in Brick's favor), I told Paul he'd have an easy write up. As it turned out, it was one of the more memorable state tournament games in history. When the game ended, Paul began furiously typing away while I headed down to retrieve comments from both teams in the short time we had. It was then I learned of Summit's '1980 USA hockey approach' taken during the week leading up to the game. I sprinted back to Paul, gave him the information and the rest was history. I suppose it was a miracle in itself that we were able to get the full story out to readers in every edition the next day. But that's a credit to the true professionalism of Paul and dedication to his work. QUOTABLES: ``I knew Brick would get over 30 shots. But I was just worried about the odd-man rushes. It's pretty amazing we pulled this out. I saw the puck bounce off the post once in the last minute, but I kept my eyes off the clock and on the puck. I'm on cloud nine right now,'' Summit goalie Dana Henderson. ``During the bus ride here before the game, coach Nixon handed out a news article about the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team beating the Soviet Union and it couldn't have been more appropriate for us. The last time we played Brick was my sophomore year and they killed us, 8-1. To come back and do this is a dream come true. For us, it's a miracle,'' Summit centerman Jeff Garibaldi. ``Their goalie played well. I'll give him a lot of credit. he made some saves, even early in the game, that were critical. Now I just wish Summit the best of luck. They deserve it,'' Brick All-State forward Bobby Acropolis.