Well, if there were any lingering doubts as to the overall
competitive parity in this season's ECAC, this last weekend served up still
more evidence that there may be a very thin elite layer to the conference
and virtually no discernible bottom.  With the exception of Cornell's
undefeated Big Red, all the other teams have at least one loss (counting
R.P.I.'s exhibition loss to Union on Saturday which will not affect its
conference record), and some of those losses must be classified as stunning
upsets when measured against pre-season prognostications.  Consider these
results prior to last weekend:
                        R.P.I.  4 - Vermont  2     at Burlington
                        Princeton  4 - St. Lawrence  3     at Canton
                        Yale  5 - Clarkson  2     at Potsdam
 
        And then, this weekend:
 
                        Dartmouth  3 - Colgate  2    at Hamilton
                        Yale  2 - Harvard 2    at New Haven
                        Princeton 6 - Harvard 2    at Princeton
                        Union  2 - R.P.I.  0    at Knickerbocker Arena, Albany
 
        On the trail in New Jersey and Connecticut, the Brown Bears played
Princeton to a 3-3 overtime standoff on Friday night and then exploded for
four goals in the second period at Ingalls Rink on Saturday evening to edge
the Yalies, 5-4.  So, with three road points in hand, the Bears make ready
for their return match against Harvard at Bright Arena in Cambridge
tomorrow night.  The Crimson would appear to be reeling somewhat following
their fourth consecutive non-victory (three losses, one tie) and it will be
interesting to see whether Brown can take advantage of this uncommon
Crimson lapse to even the season series and log two more important points
in the ECAC standings before they fly to Ann Arbor for their series next
weekend with the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines.
 
        At Princeton on Friday, the Bears and Tigers renewed their fierce
rivalry which has seen the two teams engage in an extended string of
one-goal and overtime games.  Senior forward Mike Flynn and junior winger
Damien Prescott staked Brown to a 2-0 lead during the first half of the
game, but Princeton scored the next three goals to grab the lead 6:46 into
the third period.  Bear co-captain Mike Noble tied the game for good at the
9:55 mark on a power-play blast over Tiger netminder Erasmo Saltarelli's
shoulder from the top of the left faceoff circle.  The two teams battled
through the ensuing overtime period with Brown goalie, Jeff Holowaty making
4 of his impressive game total of 37 saves to ice the tie.  Princeton
outshot the Bears, 40-24, with Brown 2 for 6 on the power play vs.
Princeton at 1 for 7.  Each team logged 14 penalties during the physical
contest
 
        Saturday night at Ingalls Rink, the Bears held off a late-game
surge by the Yale Bulldogs to claim a hard-earned victory.  Brown junior
forward Adrian Smith (2 goals) & freshman defenseman Ryan Longfield tallied
full-strength goals, while Damien Prescott and junior defenseman D. J.
Harding capitalized on the power play to account for the scoring.  Bear
goaler Jeff Holowaty turned in another solid effort with 25 saves and Brown
outshot the Eli, 36-29.  The Bears were whistled for 12 penalties while
Yale had 8 violations.
 
 
Bill Corrigan
 
LET'S GO BRUNO!
 
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