No Lions here, but the Brown Bears did defeat the Princeton Tigers by
the score of 3-2 tonight at Meehan Auditorium.  The score is a good
representative of the game, because it was nerve-wracking,
gut-wrenching, and mind-boggling all at once.  The play was quite rough,
as there were A LOT of hits after the whistle, and A LOT of coincidental
penalties.  I think there were only 5 or 6 power plays in tonight's
game.  As frustrating as it was, the officials called a consistent game,
blindly missing things that would have hindered/benefitted both teams.
I can't wait to see what the play will be like tomorrow night!  (Anyone
who was there on Friday:  Could you please let me know if it was so
chippy?)
Anyways, the scoring was led off by Princeton near the end of the fist
period, but then Brown came back with a great pass by Defenseman Mike
Traggio to Charlie Humber, who took advantage of a Princeton line change
and scored a breakaway goal.  In the second period, Brown took the lead
with a goal by Marty Clapton.  Princeton tied it up again, making the
third period a do-or-die situation for Brown.  Luckily, Clapton was
having a great night, and took the puck in by himself, making some
excellent moves, andput the puck over the left shoulder of the goalie.
This was Clapton's 2nd goal of the game...4th of the season...in other
words, a great time to get some more points.  Brown held on with some
stellar play by both Audette in the net and team defense.  A lot was
asked of the sophomore goalie, but the defense was there for him as
well, something that has been lacking for the last couple of weeks.
By starting Audette, I wonder what must be going through Mike Parson's
mind.  Frankly, with the two great performances that Audette has put
together these past two saturdays, I am wondering if he will get the nod
to carry the team to Lake Placid and through it.  This situation brings
up the debate once again as to Parson's play in Big Games.  While I
believe he is the goalie that Brown has to use next year, his confidence
must have been weakened by Audette's start tonight...and Brown needs all
of the confidence it can get.  But these are the decisions that Gaudet
is paid for...and the ones he is sometimes blamed for...not something a
22-yr-old History Concentrator from Mpls can credibly critique.
If Brown gets by Princeton tomorrow, I seriously believe the Bears can
take the ECAC title...Princeton is one of the hotter teams still around
(Colgate as well)and a victory over them would give Brown the confidence
it needs for Lake Placid.  But, the problem lies not only in defeating
either Vermont or Colgate in the semis (which Brown has done this year),
but facing either RPI or Clarkson (hopefully Clarkson) in the final, as
Brown has yet to defeat either of those teams this season.
As far as fan support, there were people in the arena tonight (and
not enough babysitters in Providence, as there were A LOT of kids
running around...funny sideshow sometimes).  But, this should never be
an issue, as Meehan was packed when Clarkson came to town and the home
team failed to show up for a hockey game, losing by 8 goals.  The
situation is different tomorrow night as there are fewer activities
going on around campus, but there are also a lot of study feaks here who
need to get things done for Monday...so who knows how many people will
show up?
Please let the Nightmare be over...and let Brown ride Cloud Nine again!
 
Adios...
 
Luis Eduardo Romo III
Brown '95
Go Bruno!
Go Gophers!
Go Friars!  Give 'em Hell!
     (somehow this statement does not seem right)