Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jeckyll showed up at Meehan Auditorium this weekend as
Harvard tagged Brown with a 3-0 loss in the ECAC season opener before
the Bears rebounded to upset the Providence College Friars, 5-1, in the
15th annual Mayor's Cup Game.

The evil one took control Friday evening as the phalanx of talented
Crimson skaters consistently prevented Brown from generating
high-percentage scoring opportunities.  Harvard used its size to
effectively counter many of the Bear attempts to set up in the offensive
zone and kept the Brown forwards from gaining position to fire quality
shots on goaltender Oliver Jonas.  After the Crimson scored near the
mid-point of the first period, the score remained at 1-0 until Brown was
forced to take some defensive chances in order to tie the game with less
than four minutes left in regulation.  It was at that point that Harvard
was able to seal their victory with two late markers.  Bear goaltender
Brian Eklund turned in a standout performance and gave early indication
that he will give the Brown a solid presence in net this season as he
kept the Bears close for fifty-six minutes.

As frustrating as Friday night was for Brown, the Bear performance
against Providence College was exhilarating.  The good Dr. Jeckyll was
in the house on Saturday evening and, right from the opening faceoff,
Brown's hard work and aggressive play in all three zones took the Friars
out of the free-wheeling style that has proven so successful for them
over their early season schedule.  The Bears were relentless in their
checking and, after trading goals during the middle portion of the first
period, Brown's continued pressure was rewarded by a three-goal
explosion in the second stanza to open up a cushion which the Bears
never relinquished.  Ten Brown players tallied their first point of the
season (including Captain Jon Zielinski's one goal and one assist) in
the contest and Brian Eklund was, once again, strong in goal as he
turned away 32 Friar shots and reinforced his position as the Bears' #1
goaler.

So, with the Mayor's Cup safely back in the Meehan Auditorium trophy
case for the fifth time in the last seven years, and the Bears (1-1-0)
will hope to use their impressive performance against the Friars as a
springboard in preparation for their first two-game conference weekend
next Friday & Saturday when Dartmouth and Vermont visit Meehan.

Bill Corrigan

LET'S GO BRUNO!