Brick Oven wins 2012 town league hockey title

Ices perfect 13-0 season

It just goes to show what a solid draft, some off-season play in the Gunnison fall league and team practices will get you—a Crested Butte town league hockey title.

 The Brick Oven, co-sponsored by Avery Brewing Company, came into the 2012 season on a mission after winning the title in 2010, only to give it up in 2011.
They closed the 2012 regular season with a perfect record of 8-0 that carried through into the post-season firing off four more wins to reach the title game Tuesday night.
They were an unstoppable force all season long. Even when teams thought they were in it, the third period would eventually come and the Brick would then switch into overdrive to take control of the game.
They had the second most goals in the league while giving up the fewest. I would say they were reminiscent of the Russian hockey team’s domination leading into the 1980 Olympics, except they’re really nice. (Who knows? Maybe the Russians were nice people too and I was just brainwashed by the media to hate them.)
Their opponent, Mikey’s Pizza, had quite a different path to the finals. Mikey’s Pizza closed the regular season with a record of 2-5-1, including dropping their last two games of the season.
But they rallied in the post-season, winning their bracket in the playoffs and reaching the pinnacle of their ability when it mattered most.
The stage was set for Mikey’s Pizza to pull off one of the biggest upsets in the history of town league and it appeared the entire town, except the John Oates fans at the Center for the Arts, was in attendance. It was literally standing room only. Even the cheap seats and the mezzanine at the west end of the rink were full.
Signs for both teams were fashioned out of pizza boxes, cowbells were ringing, drums were beaten and the beer was flowing.
It was exactly the way it should be for the town league hockey finals.
Furthermore, with temperatures downright balmy the past two days, had it not been for the roof and the ice crew, there never would have been a 2012 championship game.
Mikey’s Pizza came out swinging in the opening minutes of the game, getting an early chance on net but Brick goalie Brad Bodell stacked the pads for the save.
Mikey’s continued the pressure, shrinking the rink with pure hustle and shutting down the Brick’s breakout.
The Brick Oven found a seam in the Mikey’s scrappy play seven minutes into the game when Guy Ciulla managed to break loose up ice. Mike Preston sprinted back to deny Ciulla an open look on net, but Matt Gutter followed on the play to flick the rebound past Jared Tisdale for a 1-0 Brick Oven lead.
A minute later the Brick capitalized on a goalie miscue, taking some of the wind out of the Mikey’s Pizza sails.
Penalty woes then plagued Mikey’s Pizza in the second period, as the Brick had three power plays in a row, including 40 seconds of five-on-three hockey.
Tisdale recovered from the initial mishap to pull off several big saves, leading Mikey’s Pizza in their penalty kill efforts but something had to give eventually. You can only give the Brick so many power play opportunities before they will capitalize.
Five minutes into the second period they did finally capitalize on a power play when Katie Kemmerer circled into the high slot to pick up a loose puck and slip it past Tisdale for a 3-0 Brick Oven lead.
Despite the three-goal deficit, the Mikey’s Pizza fan base remained loyal to their team, at one point threatening the press for apparently smiling during one of the Brick goals.
Mikey’s Pizza killed off two more penalties, including another stretch of 5 vs. 3 and gained some momentum off the effort to take temporary control of the game.
They broke out for an odd man rush against the Brick with Tom Schaefer leading the charge. Schaefer carried the puck up the wing and found David Jelinek in the slot with a pass that Jelinek stuffed home, closing the Brick lead back to two heading into the third period.
Once again the door was open for a Mikey’s comeback but was almost immediately shut in the first three minutes of the third period.
The Brick pinned Mikey’s Pizza in their zone for almost a minute straight, swatting at a loose puck in front of Mikey’s net before Mark Cram put the wood to the puck for the Brick’s fourth goal. A minute later Kris Bruun beat Tisdale with the high heat from the top of the face off circle and the Brick was sitting on a 5-1 lead with eight minutes left in the game and pizza being tossed in the crowd and on the ice.
Mikey’s refused to let the game get away from them as Sean Norton picked off a pass in the neutral zone and scored a short-handed goal two minutes later.
But the Brick is the Brick, talented and just as tenacious as any team out there, slamming the door shut on Mikey’s Pizza for good in the ninth minute. The Brick Oven won a face-off in Mikey’s zone and Ben Preston dropped the puck to Ciulla for an open look on net and a 6-2 Brick lead.
Mikey’s Pizza team and business owner Mikey Larsen got the final words of the evening though, as Norton carried the puck full ice and around the Brick net to feed Larsen in the slot for the goal, but it was far too little, too late as the Brick finished with the 6-3 win and a perfect 2012 season.