Hello again from the man who wears the Big Red Texaco Star.  Yes, the Brown
Bears are still testing  mattresses up and down the NorthEast corridor.
This weekend's ticket to ride finds the bus marooned in a snow bank
somewhere near the twin villages of Potsdam and Canton which are separated
by about 12 miles on a stretch of Route 11 in beautiful but desolate
upstate New York.  It's called the North Country.
 
The Bears, still trying to find the wheels to make their wagon go, will
play at Clarkson's Cheel Arena tonight (a building that has never been kind
to visitors and certainly not to Brown) and then drive south thru two
traffic lights for a match with the St. Lawrence (careful now) Saints (a
label which is intended to be somewhere between Larries and Skating Saints)
in comfy Appleton Arena.
 
Clarkson, currently in the midst of an extended win streak and undefeated
in the conference, must be favored this evening, but if the Golden Knights
are looking over Brown to their game with Harvard tomorrow, the Bears could
hang in there, keep the score close with solid goaltending and hope to
score the  decisive goal late in the contest.  So, with or without Gregori
Baumgartner in the Clarkson line-up, Brown needs to manufacture a big win
to get their confidence level restored and there is no better time or place
than tonight at Cheel.
 
So often, throughout Division I, the play on a Saturday night can be
influenced to a greater or lesser extent by what takes place on Friday
evening.  Both Brown having to deal with business in Potsdam and SLU having
a prior engagement with the Cambridge Crimson, makes the Bears' rumble with
St. Lawrence too close to call.  The home team should have the edge,
particularly on the second night of competition after a long trip begins to
have an effect on the road team.  But who wins and who loses on Friday
night also has an impact, and my guess is that, either way, the Saints will
see a hungry Brown team trying to establish a positive direction in their
young season and the game will be decided on the quality of goaltending
each team receives.  One thing's for sure, the Bears should not be taking
St. Lawrence lightly with the Saints having posted a gaudy 4-1-0 conference
mark so far.
 
Pre-Games Notes:  Rumor has it (not yet verfied in print or otherwise) that
Ryan Mulhern, Bear co-captain and chief offensive threat separated his
shoulder recently (don't know if it was at the tail-end of the Harvard game
last Saturday or during practice this week) and will not be dressing for
the North Country games.  If so, that changes the offensive potential and
the team chemistry a good deal for this trip.  We'll see.
 
Keeping my pedal to the metal as the rubber meets the road,
 
 
Bill Corrigan
 
LET'S GO BRUNO!
 
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