Just thought I would send this message before everyone on Hockey-L
unsubscribed for one reason or another.
 
With the ECAC playoffs set to begin on Friday evening, the Brown Bears
will board their bus on Thursday for a second trip to the North Country
in the last two weeks.  Awaiting their arrival in Potsdam, with bells on
(at least one that I know of), are the Clarkson Golden Knights, now
holder of an automatic NCAA bid and recently-crowned as ECAC regular
season champion.
 
The good news is that the Bears have fashioned a stretch run of sorts in
the last three games by upsetting St. Lawrence at Appleton, 3-2 in
overtime, and then coming home to Meehan last weekend to
earn three must-points with a 2-2 overtime tie against Dartmouth on
Friday and a 5-0 shutout of UVM to celebrate Saturday's Senior Night.
Those precious three points enabled Brown to vault over the Big Green
and grab the last playoff berth -- the second year in a row that Brown
has played a direct role in scuttling Dartmouth's post-season plans on
the final weekend of ECAC play.
 
Now for the bad news.  Two weeks ago, on the same North Country trip
that produced the season-saving overtime win against the Saints in
Canton, Bruno was punished at Cheel by a Clarkson onslaught that
resulted in a 9-3 disaster.
 
It's fair to say that it will not be easy for the Bears to return to
Potsdam this soon with that bell still ringing in their heads, but this
is playoff hockey and that typically means tighter defense and lower
scoring.  Brown's junior goaler, Scott Stirling,
is playing his best hockey of the season right now, and if the Bears are
to turn in a competitive performance in this series, it is essential
that Stirling build on his shutout of the Catamounts in the regular
season finale.  I'm confident that this first round match-up will focus
on Stirling and Clarkson's
freshman goalie, Shawn Grant, and ultimately will be decided by whether
Brown can limit the Golden Knight's high-powered offense to little more
than 2-3 goals per game.  This will be Grant's first exposure to the
playoffs and Stirling's second, so perhaps a slight edge to Bruno in
that regard.
 
All in all, a difficult assignment whenever you play the league
champion, but we've been to Cheel before (1992 & 1996) under similar
playoff circumstances and gave no quarter -- it should be no different
this time around.  There is no question that the Bears have played their
best hockey this season on the road and when they absolutely had to.
With only three seniors on this Brown squad, the playoff experience
alone should pay major dividends in the seasons to come; but this is
now, and the the Bears are anxious to put an exclamation mark on their
season and return to Lake Placid.
 
So, as we make ready to brave that long, long road, the snow-filled
days, and the northern Knights, best of luck to all the teams bound for
similar showdowns.  May you relish the times you have been striving for
all season and rejoice in the fact that the unparalled excitement of
post-season play is about to begin.
 
Bill Corrigan
 
LET'S GO BRUNO!
 
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