Saturday afternoon at Meehan Auditorium found the Bears of Brown crushing
the Friars of Providence College 6-1 in a nonleague match.  While the
game was a good win for Brown, neither team played with great intensity.
Perhaps they were giving each other too much respect?
 
The match started slow with both sides eventually creating chances.
However after a short time, the Bears started to press.  Andrea Boudreau
(Danielle Solari) was given a nice setup right in front, and she roofed
her chance high glove side.  During a 5 on 3 power play Kathy Hopkins
(Becky Kellar) also went high glove side.  Her right point slap shot gave
Brown a 2-0 lead.  Nan Gorton (Katie King) followed up with another power
play goal on a near identical play.  Providence scored their lone goal
when Emilie Turcotte (Melissa Mills) tried her luck from the right point
and found the high stick side of the net.
 
In the second period, Gorton (Kellar) pulled off a lovely oh-la-la play
when she beat a PC defender, went in all alone, deked the goalie and then
drilled her shot into the back of the net.  Kellar (Gorton, King)
finished off a wonderful swarm play which featured three quick passes and
a goal.  The Bears finished the scoring in the period and the game when
Kellar (Gorton) shot home after a quick 1-2 break in play.
 
It was sad to see Providence playing as they did.  Under John Marchetti
the Friars had one of the most exciting attacks in hockey.  Now, while
the skating still looks good, the direction of the team seems to have
been lost.  They may have just had a bad day, but somehow I fear we have
yet another team that confuses team defense, and chippy play to cover for
poor concepts, for well organized team play.  The two players that stood
out for the Friars were Alison Wheeler and Stephanie O'Sullivan.  They
play together on the first line and can setup each other expertly.
Wheeler has very good speed and can shoot, but her number one asset has
to be her touch.  She can lay off some lovely passes.  O'Sullivan has
good speed and a canon of a shot.  She made a couple of solo power rushes
that were excellent.  Those two will provided many teams with tremendous
problems.  On defense, PC has the speedy Alana Blahoski having a go.  It
is odd seeing the fiery center using her elegant moves back on the blue
line.  I'll have to say that she needs a lot of work on defensive skills
if she is going to becoming a good defender.  The blue liner that caught
my eye for Providence was first-year player Catherine Hanson.  She made
some errors, but she also pulled off a number of good plays.  Overall,
the Friars do not appear to be the powerhouse they were.  Undoubtedly
they will play better later this season, but they need some direction if
they are going to really click.
 
The Bears did not play a very sharp game.  Still, they destroyed a team I
thought would give them a very close match.  The passing seemed very
crisp today.  My woman of the match had to be Gorton.  Her speed and
desire let her blow right through PC several times today.  Gorton's
passing is marvelous stuff.  She is a truly gifted player.  Kellar also
had a stellar match.  She got her chance at centering the first line
today and did very well.  Her back-checking even looked good!  Kellar
also continues to be the best at taking any half chances and putting them
away.  Boudreau had a great skating game.  Solari had a quiet game and
got injured in the second period and failed to return for the third.  On
defense Joy Woog again led the way with strong plays at her blue line.
The converted forward is no small reason for the team's success.
Hopkins, another converted forward, also stepped up and made some tough
plays at her own line.  Overall, Brown looks to be the best team in the
league.  I worry about the fact that they didn't play their third line at
all today.  A long season with only two lines leads to fatigue and
injuries.  Some of the defensive problems seem to be on the mend, others
still need attention.  Still, the Bears are easily the most explosive
team I have seen so far, and I expect that will take them far.
 
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 good shooting
 rhun
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