Brown was a bit too hospitable as it welcomed Cornell and Colgate
to Meehan Auditorium last weekend. Although the Bears matched both
upstate New York rivals goal for goal each evening, they were unable to
gain an advantage in the late moments of either contest and the visitors
escaped with narrow victories. The upside is that we won't see any more
crimson/red/maroon jerseys for a while.
On Friday night, the Cornell Big Red trumped an early first period
power-play goal by Brown's sophomore center, Jade Kersey, with two of their
own before the Bears' senior forward, Mike Flynn, tied the game near the
mid-point of the period. Cornell and Brown traded second period power-play
goals before the Big Red's Vinnie Auger (pp) and Chad Wilson staked Cornell
to a 5-3 lead at the end of two. The Bears' junior winger, Brent Hoiness,
tallied a power-play goal at 3:16 of the final period to bring the Bears
within one, but Brown was unable to dent Cornell's goaler, Jason Elliott,
for the equalizer before time expired.
There were 31 penalties whistled in the game, with 14 of that total
coming in the second period, accounting for three of the four goals in that
period being scored on the power play.
The Bears played well in this game, a major step up from the 5-3
loss to Harvard a week earlier, but not well enough to overcome a 26-11
Cornell shot differential in the second period when the Big Red took full
advantage of its power-play opportunities. Overall, the Bears were outshot
44-26 in the game as Brown junior goaltender, Jeff Holowaty, made several
spectacular saves to keep the Bears in contention throughout the contest.
Saturday evening, the Bears cranked up their game still another
notch to stay with the fast
skating and very talented Red Raiders from the Chenango Valley (this is the
type of explosive team I had expected to see from Colgate last season but
did not). Once again, Brown was able to stay within striking distance of
their opponent but could not get the key third period goal they needed to
win the game. With the game tied 5-5 following Bears' co-captain Mike
Noble's goal at 12:32 of the third period, Brown senior winger, Marty
Clapton, deked two Colgate defenders and unloaded a wrist shot from the
bottom of the left face-off circle which hit the post to the right of
Colgate goaltender Dan Brenzavich and caromed away. Less than one minute
later, the Red Raiders' Jack McIntosh fired a cannon shot from the right
point that teammate Dave Debusschere deflected past Brown goalie Jeff
Holowaty, who had absolutely no chance to make the save. The Bears
continued to battle in order to regain the tie and send the game into OT,
but after Brown coach Bob Gaudet lifted Holowaty for an extra skater at the
18:50 mark, Colgate's Andy McDonald scored on the empty net at 19:25 to ice
the victory.
A well-played, fast-paced game for both teams, Brown gave the Red
Raiders all they could handle. Colgate had a slight edge in shots, 41-39,
but the gritty Bears rallied from deficits of 1-4 and 3-5 to give
themselves an opportunity to win the game.
So, at 0-3 to start the season, some observers would claim that
Brown will have a difficult time contending for a seeded playoff position
in the post-season. However, in Harvard, Cornell, and particularly,
Colgate, the Bears have faced three teams that have been picked to be in
the top echelon of the ECAC this season. The fact is that Brown played
exceptionally well against a solid Colgate squad and narrowly missed
upsetting the Red Raiders. The Bears have turned in increasingly
impressive performances with each succeeding game, and if they can carry
that level of play into next weekend's road series against Princeton and
Yale, they will be in good shape for their rematch with the Harvard Crimson
at Bright Center on Nov. 19.
As for as the season record thus far, there are some reasons to
believe that far better things lie ahead:
1) Coach Bob Gaudet has played a significant number of freshmen in
his line-up from the opening game face-off because he has confidence in
their talent and their ability to learn under fire, albeit not without some
rookie mistakes. But learn they will, and in not too many more games, this
Brown squad will be a team to be reckoned with.
and, in a parallel non-hockey situation which provides some
encouragement, but has no direct
relationship whatsover,
2) The Brown football team (4-1 Ivy) dropped *their* first three
games of the season but then rattled off five consecutive conference wins
to set up a League championship showdown with Dartmouth (5-0 Ivy) next
Saturday at Brown Stadium (NESN TV game).
One surprise to date has been that, going into the season, I
expected that the Bear defense and goaltenders would have to carry the
burden while the offense took time to jell. After three games, it now
appears that goal-scoring may not be nearly the problem that it was for the
'95-'96 team -- of the 12 goals scored so far, 11 different players have
lit the lamp, with only one forward, Brent Hoiness, netting 2 of the
season's total.
On the other hand, it has been in the defensive zone that Brown has
faltered, many times due to youthful mistakes (three freshmen have been
taking regular shifts), and, on other occasions, the result of ill-timed or
unnecessary penalties which resulted in power-play goals. Goaltending,
with the exception of the first third of the Bears' opening game with
Harvard, has been more than adequate with Jeff Holowaty already approaching
mid-season form and providing big stops in key situations, but the number
of high-percentage opponent shots allowed on goal continues to be a source
of concern.
So, as we cruise down Interstate 95 to Tigertown (and then back
north to Boolaville) this weekend, there would seem to be real
justification for some optimism about this Brown team, in spite of the
early setbacks. After the road games against Princeton, Yale, and then
Harvard the following Tuesday, we should know a lot more about the quality,
character and long-term seasonal prospects for this year's Bear icers.
Bill Corrigan
LET'S GO BRUNO!
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