Mired in an untimely scoring slump, the Brown Bears lost to both St.
Lawrence and Clarkson this weekend and, with the Colgate sweep of RPI and
Union, dropped to second place in the ECAC standings.  The Bears had held
first place in the ECAC since the beginning of conference play last
November.

Brown vs. St. Lawrence at Appleton Arena

    The Bears absorbed their second consecutive 4-0 shutout as the Skating
Saints turned in what Canton media described as their best overall
performance of the season.  At 5:51 of the opening period, unrelenting St.
Lawrence pressure in the Brown zone on a power play resulted in an early
lead when freshman forward Kyle Rank redirected senior defenseman Ryan
Glenn's slap shot from the right point over Brown senior goaltender Yann
Danis.  Then, just 15 seconds into the middle stanza, Danis misplayed a puck
behind the Brown goal as he sought to slow down a Saints' dump-in.  The puck
hit the end boards, bounced over Danis' stick and caromed off the left post
into the slot where senior forward Rich Peverly tapped it into the empty net
to give SLU a two-goal lead.  St. Lawrence added two more tallies at 1:53
(Peverly) and 3:45 ( senior forward Jeremy Cormier) of the third period to
ice the verdict.  Danis made 36 saves during the game while Saints' junior
netminder Mike McKenna earned the shutout with a solid 24-save performance.

Brown vs. Clarkson at Cheel Arena

    Despite Brown sophomore forward Cory Caouette's goal at :57 of the first
period on a beautiful feed from senior forward Pascal Denis, and 17
additional shots during the opening stanza (Clarkson was limited to 5
shots), the Golden Knights scored three goals in the second period
(outshooting the Bears 21-8) to build a lead that proved too much for Brown
to overcome.  The most spectacular of the Clarkson tallies was the backhand
flip by senior winger Jean Desrochers, with his back to the net, which
carried over Bear goalie Yann Danis' right shoulder at the 3:14 mark of the
middle period.  The Golden Knights added a power play goal at 10:54 when
senior center Tristan Lush deflected a shot by freshman defenseman Nathan
Beausoleil past Danis, and another man-advantage score at 12:42 of the
period as junior center Jay Latulippe knocked home the rebound of a point
shot taken by junior forward Mac Faulkner.  A Brown power play goal by
junior defenseman Paul Crosty on a pass from senior forward Nick Ringstad at
12:43 of the final period concluded the scoring.  With 2:50 remaining in
regulation, a Clarkson penalty gave the Bears one last opportunity to send
the contest to overtime, but Brown was unable to manage any quality shots on
Golden Knight sophomore goaler Dustin Traylen who made a game total of 27
saves compared to the 30 stops by Danis.

    Thus, the Bears must regroup and rejuvenate their dormant offense before
hosting Dartmouth (Fri.) and Vermont (Sat.) at Meehan Auditorium on the
final weekend of the ECAC regular season.  The results of these crucial
games will go a long way in deciding both the Ivy League championship race
and the top four ECAC teams that receive a bye in the first round of the
conference playoffs.


Bill Corrigan

LET'S GO BRUNO!