>Posted on 12 Feb 1995 at 17:32:48 by Geoff Howell
 
>Friday's Providence Journal had an interesting story (which, of course,
>I dumped before sending this message -nice job, eh?) on Brown headed
>into this weekend's pasting by Colgate and narrow win over Cornell.
>Bob Gaudet mentioned that his team was playing very tired and he was
>looking to get some fresh legs into the lineup. Ryan Mulhern was not
>scheduled to play against Colgate (took a slapshot off the knee against
>Princeton), the same for Mike Flynn (injured against Princeton).
>
>Any comments from those who saw Brown play this weekend? Does it look
>like they are out of gas or on the way there? Did Mulhern/Flynn play
>against Colgate?
 
Mike Flynn scored Brown's only goal against Colgate. Both Mulhern and
Flynn scored Saturday night, with Flynn getting the winning goal against
Cornell.
 
I've just talked with Coach Bob Gaudet and Assistant Coach Brian Durocher.
They were pleased with Brown's performance against Cornell, but,
understandbly, not against Colgate. Gaudet predicts a "battle" against
Dartmouth next Saturday, with the Ivy League title at stake for Brown.
Gaudet commented that Brown always seems to get opponents on their
upswing. No, Brown is not looking beyond Vermont. Over the past three
seasons Brown-Vermont games have been very exciting and hotly contested.
There's no reason to believe that Friday night's game will be an
exception.
 
>Personally, I'd like to see Brown get going again. I love watching
>Gaudet's team work its butt off and drive other coaches crazy with
>its intensity. Never mind the fact that at some point Gaudet has to
>win ECAC coach of the year - the guy's been doing it with mirrors for
>a couple of years now.
>        -Geoff Howell
>         The Trenton Times
>         Drop the Puck
 
Thanks for the nice words about Brown and especially about Bob Gaudet,
a man for whom I have a great deal of admiration.
 
Bob Gaudet is an excellent coach. I thought he was robbed of the ECAC
Coach of the Year Award in 1993. (Roger Demment won the award, but
Dartmouth's success appears to have been a one-shot deal.) Gaudet is
particularly good at developing players. Because of stringent admission
requirements and the lack of scholarships, Ivy League schools tend to get
"unfinished" players. (Players like Ryan Mulhern and Steve Martins --
impact players as freshmen -- are the exception.) Gaudet and his staff
have been excellent at "finishing" players.
 
As to "doing it with mirrors," I don't know what to say. Brown teams
under Gaudet haven't been flashy, which may create the impression that
they aren't as talented as, let's say, Vermont, but the last few Brown
teams have been very skilled. Last year Brown had the best goalie (Geoff
Finch) and the best defensive defenseman in the ECAC (Mike Traggio),
the leading scorer in the Ivy League (Kelly Jones, NOT Harvard's
Steve Martins), and an All-ECAC forward (Chris Kaban). This year's team
has a talented goaltender (Mike Parsons), probably the best power
forward in the league (Ryan Mulhern), and a very underrated playmaker
(Brian Jardine). The freshmen are very good, and, under Gaudet's tutelage,
they should develop into fine ECAC performers. On the other hand,
it's true that the talent level at Brown hasn't been any higher than at
other schools that have finished lower in the standings. For instance,
I think that last year's Dartmouth team had as much raw talent as
Brown. So, in that respect, Brown players may be overachievers, and
Gaudet & Company may have been "doing it with mirrors." There is no
question that the Brown coaching staff has done a remarkable job
turning players with average talent into solid Division I performers.
(An excellent example was Mark Shaughnessy, a lightly-recruited student
athlete, who came to Brown as a forward, but was converted into a
defenseman as a junior. Gaudet thought that Shaughnessy didn't have
enough speed to be an effective winger, but had better than average
quickness for a defenseman. By his senior year Mark had become one of
the steadiest defensemen in the league, one who played an intelligent
and consistent game within his limitations.)
 
Luiz F. Valente