Colgate 3    Brown 2
 
        I can't really comment a great deal on this one since I had a
Friday night banquet to attend and it didn't end in time for me to catch
any of the third period action.  From what I hear and read, the Bears came
out flat and never generated the kind of spark you need to stay with a
typically strong-skating and aggressive Colgate squad.  All the scoring
took place in the second period and the Bears could not solve Red Raider
goaler, Shep Harder, in the final stanza for the equalizer.  Badly outshot
for the game, Brown never was able to graduate to Colgate's level of play.
 
        Cornell 3   Brown 1
 
        Brown came out flying in the first period for this Ivy match-up,
but so did the Big Red.  The two teams traded goals (both PP) and the
contest had the look of one of those memorable Cornell games at Meehan.
But in the second period, and for the balance of the game, the officials
began to call even the slightest infraction (as Greg reported in detail).
And even though the Red had by far the worse of the treatment during the
middle period, they scored on two occasions when a Bear was in the penalty
box and took control of the game.  The Bears seemed particularly hesitant
to crash the Cornell net during the match, but particularly in the last two
periods.  As a result, the Big Red goaler, Ian Burt, appeared to get
stronger and more confident as the game wore on, and was on top of his game
by the time the third period was in progress.  The Bears made his job
somewhat easier by firing from long range during the few moments the two
teams were allowed to play at even strength.  All four goals tallied in the
game were on power play opportunities, and for the second night in a row,
Brown did not score in the third period.
 
        O.K., so it's not the way Brown had hoped to open its home season,
but there are enough signs that this team will experience many more
productive weekends going forward.  Coach Grillo is convinced that this
could be a very successful season if the Bears consistently play up to
their potential and adhere to his disciplined gameplan.  Currently the
defense, led by junior goaltender SCOTT STIRLING and sophomore MIKE PRATT,
is ahead of the offense in terms of its influence on game results, but
junior MICHAEL BENT has reclaimed the playmaking role he filled so well
last season and the balance of the upperclass forwards must now step up and
generate some scoring, especially on the power play.  As Greg has pointed
out, Saturday evening's game turned on special teams' performance, and on
that night at least, the Big Red had the edge in play - their last two
goals on power play set-ups were absolutely dazzling.
 
        Nevertheless, the pieces are there, and with the Bears' first big
road weekend coming up at Yale and Princeton, there would be no better time
to get them put together.
 
 
Bill Corrigan
 
LET'S GO BRUNO!
 
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