The Mounties have had some great teams over the years but the 1987-88 edition stood out. Montclair, coached by Bruce Parker, posted a 26-2 record. Montclair topped Seton Hall Prep, 7-2, in the Gordon Cup, and beat St. Joseph of Montvale, 2-1, in the state championship game. The leaders for Montclair were forward Phil Mandry and defenseman Darrin List.

Players

Darren List
John Frank
Brad Mandry
Philip Mandry
Colin Samuelson
Erik Bayersdorfer
Rob DiGeronimo
Ryan Hallam
Brian Felber
Julian Clark
Eddie Krupp
Danny Corcoran
Chris Kenrick
Ben Johnson
Rob Haberbusch
James Burger
John Morris
Hunter Ross
Greg Rones
Jason Taylor
James Thompson

Managers

Ethan Brown
Sue Van Morrelgem
Montase Coughman
Heidi Dommasch
Kim Rogers

Coaches

Coach Bruce Parker
Coach Tom Clifford

The team won a record third straight state championship in going 25-4, which also included the Gordon Cup. It downed Brick, 5-0, in the state final at Mennen Arena.

Senior defenseman Dustin DePalma was the leader of coach Mike Reynolds’ team. CBA’s string of three-straight championships began in 1994.

Goalies

Brock Giordano
Matt Vittoria

Defensemen

Dustin DePalma
Brennan Guli
Andy Gojdycz
Dan Novellano
Vinnie Bruce
Mike Wagenbach
Freddie Brown

Forwards

Mike Shaheen
Joe Cangelosi
George Conway
Dan Granato
Jim Henkel
Todd Wagenbach
Chris Pisani
Connor Green
Todd Portadin
Dan Ciorciari
Jonas Forssell
Matt Panzarino
Keith Mazza

Manager

Steve Nardiello

Coaches

Head Coach
Mike Reynolds

Assistant Coach
Adrian Thomas

The team went 22-1-1 and beat previously unbeaten Chatham Township , 3-2, in overtime in the first state championship at Mennen Arena in 1976. Warren Wolf Jr. scored the winning goal in overtime to give Brick the title. During the regular season, Brick’s only loss came against West Essex. The tie came in mid-season against Seton Hall Prep. Among the top players on the squad was defenseman Bob Smith, who would go on to coach Christian Brothers Academy to the 1983 state championship over Seton Hall Prep. Rich Handchen, the current Brick athletic director, was the third line center. Brick, which compiled a 24-2-1 mark the previous season en route to the Gordon Cup championship, topped Livingston, 4-1, in the 1976 Gordon Cup final. Chris Tutzauer and Phil Lucca netted two goals apiece, and Wolf contributed two assists. Wolf had over 30 goals during the 1975-76 campaign. 

Goalies Mitch Barnfield, Ralph Eldridge, Bill Reich

Defensemen John Henry, Bobby Smith, Glen Worman, Frank Lach, Mike Barnfield

Forwards Rick Handchen, Chris Blackburn, Mark Anderson, Pete Farenwald, Scott Barnfield, Bob Auriemma, Jr Warren Wolf, Jr,Chris Tutzauer, Phil Lucca

Coaches Head Coach Bob Auriemma, Asst Coach Pat Foley, Asst Coach Jay Andrews

Paul McInnis, a native of Canada, has been the state tournament director for the past two decades. He was instrumental in moving the tournament championship from Mennen Arena to the Meadowlands in 1998. Last year the state finals moved to the Prudential Center in Newark.

Paul has been Secretary –Treasurer of the New Jersey Interscholastic Hockey League for 35 years. He has been a member of the National Federation Ice Hockey Rules Committee for 12 years and is the NJSIAA hockey rules interpreter.

 A former national president of the National Ice Hockey Officials Association (NIHOA) and Secretary – Treasurer of the NIHOA Metro NY/NJ Chapter for 35 years. An off-ice official in the NHL for the past 27 years, McInnis was the long time manager of rinks in N.Y. and N.J. He started his involvement in New Jersey hockey circles in 1957 when he landed a job at Branch Brook Arena in Newark. McInnis, who played youth hockey in Canada, is one of the most respected high school officials in N.J. state history. He even officiated an NHL playoff game.

A huge sports fan, Msgr. Kelly has enjoyed watching the Seton Hall Prep hockey team win three state championships and nine Gordon Cups. Seton Hall became a force in New Jersey hockey when it won the Gordon Cup in 1978, sparked by freshman forward Peter Herms.

Msgr. Kelly was instrumental in getting the Seton Hall Prep program going. Msgr. Kelly, the headmaster at Seton Hall Prep since 1980, is well known and respected in a wide variety of circles in New Jersey. He is a longtime member of the Executive Committee of the NJSIAA and served as President of the organization in the early 1990s. With a life built on service, Msgr. Kelly has been active in various community affairs, including his involvement as chaplain to the Essex County Police and West Orange Rotary Club.

Tony Del Tufo started his involvement in hockey in 1960 by keeping the time clock during hockey games held at Branch Brook Arena while he was a senior at Barringer High School. During his long career with Essex County where Del Tufo was a manager at both Branch Brook Arena and Codey Arena at South Mountain, he also maintained his involvement with high school hockey. He was a referee from 1969 through 1983 and then became the official statistician of the New Jersey Interscholastic Hockey League.

After his retirement from Codey Arena at South Mountain, Del Tufo continued his involvement with the NJIHL and remains the league statistician today. Along with his love of hockey he is also a member of the Metro Newark Softball Hall of Fame after being inducted in 1991. Del Tufo is proud to be able to say that he has seen every Gordon Cup Championship game that has ever been played.

John Warchol is one of the most respected and emulated hockey coaches in the state. During his coaching career, Warchol led Seton Hall Prep to a record nine Gordon Cups and three state titles, and posted a 506-254-53 record.

He was named The Star Ledger Coach of the Year in 1982 and was recognized by the NJ Professional Hockey Writer’s Association for his many contributions to youth hockey in the Garden State. In 1992, Warchol was inducted into the Seton Hall Prep Hall of Fame and in 1995-96 he was the recipient of the NJ Devils John McMullen Service Award for Hockey in NJ.

An outstanding player in his own right, Warchol was a member of the 1963 US National Hockey team that competed throughout Europe. Warchol has officiated games for the Eastern College Athletic Conference as both a referee and linesman and is a long time member of the Metro NY/NJ NIHOA Chapter and a USA Hockey youth official.

As the head coach at Chatham Township and Chatham, Cohen has enjoyed tremendous success in the game. Chatham Township won Mennen Cups in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1981. Chatham Township lost to Brick in the first state championship game in 1976. His Chatham High club reached the Public Schools finals in 1995 and 1996.

The veteran coach, who picked up his 500th career victory in early December of 2009 with a 6-1 decision over Princeton Day, coached Dave Williams, a player who made it to the NHL.

Auriemma began the 2009-2010 campaign with 618 career wins, a state record. He’s directed Brick to six state titles, five Public School crowns and eight Gordon Cups. Last winter Auriemma coached his 1,000^th game at the Ocean County school. The team chalked up a 12-8-2 record.

Auriemma, who coached the best player in state history, Jim Dowd, led Brick to the initial state title in 1976, a 3-2 overtime win over Chatham Township. Brick also racked up state championships in 1977, 1979, 1986, 1990 and 1997. The team reached eight other finals.

The veteran Brick mentor first became involved in hockey as a goalie for Colby College in the mid-1960s.

Westlund posted a 2.70 goals against average in his high school career and went on to have a solid collegiate career at Yale. As a high school freshman he made his mark at Chatham as the team went 14-8-3. In 1991-92 he led Lawrenceville to an 18-6 mark, a year in which the Mercer County school had no Post-Graduates on its roster.