As expected, this was a tough weekend for the Brown hockey team. The
Bears survived a scare by Union Friday night, finally managing a 2-2 tie
with the Dutchmen on a late goal by sophomore Rob Merrill, but lost to RPI
6-1 on Saturday. The ECAC race continues to be unpredictable. With
Clarkson losing its third home game in a row Friday night, the Bears
are still only one point behind the Golden Knights. Next Friday's game
between Brown and Clarkson (in Providence) should be a dandy.
 
Union played Brown tough, taking the body at every possible occasion and
getting superb goaltending from Rookie-of-the-Year candidate (mine, at
least) Trevor Koenig. Fortunately for Brown, Mike Parsons also had another
outstanding game. The Dutchmen may not be the most talented team in
the league, but they appear to be extremely well coached and play
with a lot of enthusiasm. They also have the perfect team for their
small, oddly-shaped ice surface. I watched them play Harvard on Saturday
afternoon, and was equally impressed with their hustle. I hated Chris
Albert on Friday, but loved him on Saturday when Union was beating
Harvard... Good hockey player. Union College deserves to make
the playoffs, and could surprise as long as it doesn't draw a school
with a big ice surface.
 
Rensselaer played very well against Brown. They skated hard, forechecked
and backchecked with authority, and got excellent goaltending from Mike
Tamburro. A combination of injuries, ill-timed penalties and an
ineffective power play did the Bears in. Goaltender Mike Parsons performed
as well as he could under difficult circumstances. RPI deserved the
victory. The Bears know that they were outplayed, but they also know
that they have enough talent to win both games next weekend. With the
first line (particularly Ryan Mulhern) getting so much attention from
opponents, Brown must, however, get more scoring from the other three
lines. The defense is generally reliable, and Mike Parsons is one of
the best goaltenders in the league. Clarkson will probably try to play
Brown the same way they always do. They will hit, hold, and totally
annoy Brown. The Bears must be disciplined, stay away from the penalty
box, and keep the shot count low.
 
"NOTES ON AN EVENTFUL WEEKEND," or "REMEMBER, IT'S JUST A GAME"
 
1. No, Brown didn't win either game, but most of us from Brown, including
a large contingent of Brown Hockey Association and players'family members,
as well as several members of the "Eulers" (recently named the best
intramural hockey team in the Ivy League by Fortune magazine), who made
the trip to the Tri-City area had a fun-filled weekend, from memorable
conversations with a group of Union fans during Friday night's hame to
an unscheduled side trip to downtown Scotia, N.Y. (Should I also mention
the post-game reception on Friday? Or was it Saturday?)
 
2. I was amazed by the amount of college hockey coverage in the local
newspapers. Those people ARE serious about their hockey. For example,
this is taken from the February 25 Times Union: "With his team already on
the power play, Harvard's Steve Martins charged RPI's net and dug in his
skates, disrespectfully spraying like a snowblower all over the red stop
sign painted on the chin plate of goalie Michael Tamburro's mask." Now,
I've seen players do this to goalies hundreds of times, but never
described in such eloquent terms.
 
3. According to a newspaper story, this is how Union goaltender Trevor
Koenig described Brown's tying goal (Rob Merrill's deflection of a
Jimmy Andersson shot from the point): "It was a flukey goal. He just shot
and the guy was right there." During the Harvard game some Union people
were still carping about that "flukey" goal. Not wanting to show disrespect
oh, no, that's for Harvard people), I tried to console the Union fans. I
told them how Coach Bob Gaudet was really mad at Rob for standing, of all
places, in front of the net!!! "How many times do I have to tell you,"
yelled the Brown mentor, "that when Brown is behind in a game and trying
to come back, if a defenseman takes a shot from the point, the forwards
are supposed to retreat to the red line, sit down, take their helmets
off, and have some tea and scones?"
 
4. We got to Troy too late to take in the sights. Brian Morris's report
that we forgot to board the bus (in our specific case, really "Mr.B's
amazing van") for the ride on Route 7 to the Houston Fieldhouse is,
however, totally innacurate. We actually left on time, but got
sidetracked by all those unbelievable attractions along Route 7.
Maybe next year Brian can take four or five minutes off from his busy
schedule and give us a complete tour of Troy. Thanks in advance.
 
5. For the initiated only, an apocryphal quote attributed to Brown
Daily Herald sportswriter Martin "Flo" Small: "Literally speaking, the
crowning event in this trip was the stopover at the BK in Lee, Mass."
 
6. Due to RPI's victory over Brown, all calls for the dismissal of Coach
Dan Fridgen are postponed until next Sunday.
 
Luiz F. Valente