NHL

In hockey-mad Ithaca, pride in Dustin Brown outweighs Rangers fandom

New York City has been dubbed Rangerstown, the area catching a case of Blueshirts fever during this stunning run to their first Stanley Cup final in 20 years.

A few hundred miles north of the five boroughs, however, there is a different hockey obsession.

It’s called Dustin Brown Mania.

Ithaca’s favorite son and its first NHL player, Brown, the Kings’ captain, is chasing his second Stanley Cup. The Central New York town, passionate about its hockey, has been following Los Angeles’ run closely.

“There wasn’t a person that wasn’t watching the game [Sunday] night not rooting for Los Angeles, to see him go through that experience one more time,” said Russ Johnson, Brown’s youth league coach who now runs The Rink in nearby Lansing. “Everybody’s rooting for Dustin, and there are a lot of Rangers fans here.”

A five-time 20-goal scorer known for his agitating and physical style, Brown has never forgotten his roots, returning with the Stanley Cup two years ago. He has a a home on Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, and spends large portions of his summers there.

Brown, 29, left the area following his freshman year at Ithaca High after leading the Little Red to a state championship, scoring 33 goals in 24 games. He was advanced from a young age, but what was unique was his passion for the sport.

“No matter what the situation was, if we were up by six goals or down by 10 goals, he could not wait to get back out there on the ice,” Johnson said. “He had such a nose for the net, and all the other pieces of the game. Most kids don’t like to back-check, most kids don’t like to do the job in the corner, most kids don’t like to get beat up in front of the net. He didn’t care.

“He couldn’t wait to be standing by the door to go out again.”

His brother Brandon said Dustin’s decision to leave home wasn’t difficult, it was the path that was complicated. It was clear by then he needed to challenge himself against better competition. He played juniors hockey with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League, rather than attending a prep school that would lead to a college scholarship, and became a first-round pick (13th overall) by the Kings in 2003.

Brown embraces Kings goalie Jonathan QuickAP

He would become Los Angeles’ captain in 2008, guide the Kings to their first title in 2012 and play on two U.S. Olympic teams.

“When most people think back to their dreams when they were 5, they would laugh at them in their 20s,” Brandon wrote in an email to The Post. “However, for Dustin that dream was to hold that trophy over his head, so what made it special was that it was years in the making and then all of a sudden it was just sitting there in his living room.”

He shared it with Ithaca.

On July 28, 2012, Brown came back with the Cup. The action-packed whirlwind day included a trip to a local yogurt shop, a burger joint, Ithaca High School for a ceremony, the Ithaca Falls, the gravesite of a cousin who died serving a tour in Afghanistan and later a pool party. They drove around the town in a limousine, fans chasing the automobile from one stop to the next.

“When we’re all old and looking back, it will be one of those days we won’t forget,” said childhood friend Matt Hedge, who now lives in Manhattan — home of Brown’s opponent.

Initially, Brown didn’t like the spotlight. Low-key by nature, close friend Brandon French said he likes his privacy. But he gradually embraced the attention he gets in Ithaca as the hometown hero.

“You now see him have a big smile when he walks in and a lot of people [are asking] for his autograph,” said French, who still lives in Ithaca.

It’s why some fans in Ithaca won’t be pulling for the Rangers. Kings gear is everywhere, kids wearing No. 23 Dustin Brown jerseys.

He has limited time in the sport, while the Rangers aren’t going anywhere.

“Everybody will be rooting for Dustin,” Johnson said. “You get the best of both worlds. You get to root for the Rangers and root for Dustin at the same time. Most people want good hockey, a long series. I can’t wait to see him back battling for the Stanley Cup one more time.

“For the local people from the area, it’s going to be great. There’s not gonna be a lot of sadness either way.”

A die-hard Rangers fan his entire life, Hedge said everyone is asking him where his loyalty lies for the upcoming series. He’s flying to Los Angeles to catch the first two games of the series with friends, and admits there is a conflict.

“It’s one of my best friends versus the team I’ve been rooting for since I was 4 or 5 years old,” Hedge said. “In that way, it presents a little bit of a dilemma.”

He paused, and then changed his mind.

“I’m going with the Kings.”