Armando Bengochea writes
 
 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. ... 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.
 
1) Brush: One of two freshman forwards who has played varsity for
Princeton this year (the other is Casson Masters, who played defense
in Game 1 &2), part of Don Cahoon's continuing strategy to bring in
quicker, more skilled players to compliment a bigger, more fundamentally
sound defense ... sound familiar? It's the same strategy that Bog
(that's Bob, sorry) Gaudet used to lift Brown out of the cellar. Brush
skated a regular shift in the first OT, so it was not any plan of
Cahoon's to throw fresh legs out there. Like Masters, Ethan Early,
etc., Brush is in great shape - another Cahoon plan. He brought
Mike Boyle's strength and conditioning program from BU to Princeton.
Anyone in college hockey will tell you that Boyle is the best strength
and fitness coach in the game. Brush played on the same line as
Masters and J.P. O'Connor and made the pass to send O'Connnor in
for Princeton's second goal.
 
2) Clutching and grabbing Trach and Mulhern
 
I noticed that Brown paid closer attention to Jonathan Kelley after he
scored a pair of goals in game 1. I've seen Steve Martins play against
Brown, and he gets held and bumped every time he touches the puck.
What happens to Perrin and St. Louis? Does Brown let them run around
the rink all day? Being clutched and grabbed is part of the game - you
learn to draw penalties, you learn to move to open space, you draw
your defender out of the play to create room for a teammate, you
initiate the contact to offset the defender's intent. I seem to
remember Brown employing similar strategies to slow down Andre Faust
a few years back. If you like hockey where there isn't any holding
or interference, I suggest you attend a few intramural games.
 
3) It seems logically inconsistent to note in one sentance that
Brush 'bolted like lightning,' yet, in another, claim that Brown
has a 'considerable skating advantage.'
 
For the 45693479th time, Princeton and Brown were evenly matched.
The Tigers prevailed in part because Konte was unbelievable in goal,
in part because they may have been better conditioned and thus
able to prevail in the 82nd minute of their fourth game in a week,
and in part because, for the first time in team history, they
believed that they deserved to win. Princeton and Brown played
five games this year, Princeton won three (out of four at
Meehan). I realize I'm starting to sound like a broken record,
but the utter denial of some of the Brown posters is making
me regret that I've ever said anything nice about a deserving
hockey team.
 
Geoff Howell
The Trenton Times
Drop the Puck