It is possible today’s 5 p.m. schoolboy hockey game between 11-2-1 Brewer and 12-1 John Bapst of Bangor at the Penobscot Ice Arena in Brewer could involve two eventual state championship teams.
Brewer is second in the Heal points in Eastern Maine Class A in its second season after being elevated from Class B. Brewer won the 2007 state title in B.
John Bapst is atop the Heal points in B as it has been for most of the year.
Both lost in their regional semifinals a year ago by 4-3 scores: Brewer to Waterville and John Bapst to Gardiner.
The matchup is intriguing and should be entertaining.
Their head coaches are well-respected in Eastern Maine schoolboy hockey circles. Both are teachers in their 60s.
Brewer coach Bill Schwarz is an education tech at the Fairmount elementary school in Bangor while JB’s Gene Fadrigon is an instructor and the automotive/heavy equipment department head at Bangor’s Eastern Maine Community College.
Schwarz, an ex-Marine, Vietnam vet and Washington D.C., policeman, is in his second tour as the head coach at Brewer. He had coached the Witches for eight years and had also been the head coach at Foxcroft Academy (2 years), Hampden Academy (2) and Bangor (6). This is his third season back at Brewer.
Fadrigon put the Old Town High School program on the map, guiding the Indians (now Coyotes) to four Eastern Maine Class B championships and two state titles in 15 seasons before leaving after the 1997-98 season. He returned as an assistant coach at John Bapst three years ago and became the head coach this season when Aaron King moved to North Carolina.
They are knowledgeable but their styles are contrasting.
Schwarz’s high-pitched voice can be heard throughout a game as he shouts instructions to his Witches.
Fadrigon is quiet and reserved and prefers to talk to his players when they get to the bench or between periods.
The programs have taken different paths to their current level of prominence.
Brewer, thanks to its well-organized youth program, has been a contender for several years in B and A.
The Witches have not only produced all-state players, they have also benefited from having depth and valuable role players.
John Bapst, on the other hand, is relatively new to the elite status it now enjoys.
It wasn’t too long ago, 2001-2002 to be exact, when it had serious numbers problems.
Bapst had eight skaters and two goalies for a healthy portion of that season and leading scorer Zach Means would get so much ice time, he was forced to conserve his energy at times.
The current John Bapst roster contains 34 players between varsity and JV while Brewer has 35.
The Crusaders’ rise has been orchestrated by the talented 11-member senior class.
One of those seniors is defenseman Tyler Fadrigon, Gene’s grandson.
The teams are similar.
Both have speed and both are aggressive on the forecheck. They can also be physical.
They are dangerous on the rush and can quickly transform a turnover into a goal.
They each have an experienced defense corps and a junior goalie who is capable of stealing wins.
Derek Duff is the John Bapst goalie and Eric White is Brewer’s netminder.
Each also has game-changing forwards in Brewer’s Dylan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Nadeau and Nick Risser and John Bapst’s Casey Hull, Nikki Mitchell and Andrew Casey.