By now everyone has heard the stories about the brutal weekend series
between Brown and Princeton in which three games were decided by one goal.
Though, like other Brown fans, I love to hate Princeton in all sports (and
I feel I can say this with a greater modicum of legitimacy than most since
I am a Princeton alum), I have to tip my hat to the Tigers who held on
during a long weekend series at an unfriendly arena to win game N#3. I
disagree with those who have written in to deny than Princeton's clear
strategy in game 3 was to clutch and grab and take Brown's considerable
skating advantage away as well as to brutalize Trach and Mulhern each time
they touched the puck.I haven't missed a home game at Meehan Auditorium in
four years and this strategy is well known to Brown fans as well as to
Gaudet. Why Brown only chooses to respond by clutching and grabbing in
turn is another question. But anyone who follows Brown hockey has come to
dread teams who chose to play the way Princeton did on Sunday. No wonder
Gaudet has been trying of late to bring in bigger and bigger players.
I was stunned in the 5th period on Sunday (as was the loyal contingent of
Brown faculty and administrators I was with) when Matt Brush (N#12) of
Princeton scored  the winning goal. Although he needed only five or so
strides to reach Audette after picking the puck away from Brown defenders,
he bolted like lightning toward the goal. Did this guy have fresh legs at
this point? Can any Princeton people tell me more about what line he plays
on and how much time he played in that third game? I'm interested from a
coach's perspective whether this kid was deliberately put in in that
period because he was otherwise rested.
Good luck to the Tigers in Lake Placid.
 
--
Armando Bengochea
 
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