Brown was a bit too hospitable as it welcomed Cornell and Colgate to Meehan Auditorium last weekend. Although the Bears matched both upstate New York rivals goal for goal each evening, they were unable to gain an advantage in the late moments of either contest and the visitors escaped with narrow victories. The upside is that we won't see any more crimson/red/maroon jerseys for a while. On Friday night, the Cornell Big Red trumped an early first period power-play goal by Brown's sophomore center, Jade Kersey, with two of their own before the Bears' senior forward, Mike Flynn, tied the game near the mid-point of the period. Cornell and Brown traded second period power-play goals before the Big Red's Vinnie Auger (pp) and Chad Wilson staked Cornell to a 5-3 lead at the end of two. The Bears' junior winger, Brent Hoiness, tallied a power-play goal at 3:16 of the final period to bring the Bears within one, but Brown was unable to dent Cornell's goaler, Jason Elliott, for the equalizer before time expired. There were 31 penalties whistled in the game, with 14 of that total coming in the second period, accounting for three of the four goals in that period being scored on the power play. The Bears played well in this game, a major step up from the 5-3 loss to Harvard a week earlier, but not well enough to overcome a 26-11 Cornell shot differential in the second period when the Big Red took full advantage of its power-play opportunities. Overall, the Bears were outshot 44-26 in the game as Brown junior goaltender, Jeff Holowaty, made several spectacular saves to keep the Bears in contention throughout the contest. Saturday evening, the Bears cranked up their game still another notch to stay with the fast skating and very talented Red Raiders from the Chenango Valley (this is the type of explosive team I had expected to see from Colgate last season but did not). Once again, Brown was able to stay within striking distance of their opponent but could not get the key third period goal they needed to win the game. With the game tied 5-5 following Bears' co-captain Mike Noble's goal at 12:32 of the third period, Brown senior winger, Marty Clapton, deked two Colgate defenders and unloaded a wrist shot from the bottom of the left face-off circle which hit the post to the right of Colgate goaltender Dan Brenzavich and caromed away. Less than one minute later, the Red Raiders' Jack McIntosh fired a cannon shot from the right point that teammate Dave Debusschere deflected past Brown goalie Jeff Holowaty, who had absolutely no chance to make the save. The Bears continued to battle in order to regain the tie and send the game into OT, but after Brown coach Bob Gaudet lifted Holowaty for an extra skater at the 18:50 mark, Colgate's Andy McDonald scored on the empty net at 19:25 to ice the victory. A well-played, fast-paced game for both teams, Brown gave the Red Raiders all they could handle. Colgate had a slight edge in shots, 41-39, but the gritty Bears rallied from deficits of 1-4 and 3-5 to give themselves an opportunity to win the game. So, at 0-3 to start the season, some observers would claim that Brown will have a difficult time contending for a seeded playoff position in the post-season. However, in Harvard, Cornell, and particularly, Colgate, the Bears have faced three teams that have been picked to be in the top echelon of the ECAC this season. The fact is that Brown played exceptionally well against a solid Colgate squad and narrowly missed upsetting the Red Raiders. The Bears have turned in increasingly impressive performances with each succeeding game, and if they can carry that level of play into next weekend's road series against Princeton and Yale, they will be in good shape for their rematch with the Harvard Crimson at Bright Center on Nov. 19. As for as the season record thus far, there are some reasons to believe that far better things lie ahead: 1) Coach Bob Gaudet has played a significant number of freshmen in his line-up from the opening game face-off because he has confidence in their talent and their ability to learn under fire, albeit not without some rookie mistakes. But learn they will, and in not too many more games, this Brown squad will be a team to be reckoned with. and, in a parallel non-hockey situation which provides some encouragement, but has no direct relationship whatsover, 2) The Brown football team (4-1 Ivy) dropped *their* first three games of the season but then rattled off five consecutive conference wins to set up a League championship showdown with Dartmouth (5-0 Ivy) next Saturday at Brown Stadium (NESN TV game). One surprise to date has been that, going into the season, I expected that the Bear defense and goaltenders would have to carry the burden while the offense took time to jell. After three games, it now appears that goal-scoring may not be nearly the problem that it was for the '95-'96 team -- of the 12 goals scored so far, 11 different players have lit the lamp, with only one forward, Brent Hoiness, netting 2 of the season's total. On the other hand, it has been in the defensive zone that Brown has faltered, many times due to youthful mistakes (three freshmen have been taking regular shifts), and, on other occasions, the result of ill-timed or unnecessary penalties which resulted in power-play goals. Goaltending, with the exception of the first third of the Bears' opening game with Harvard, has been more than adequate with Jeff Holowaty already approaching mid-season form and providing big stops in key situations, but the number of high-percentage opponent shots allowed on goal continues to be a source of concern. So, as we cruise down Interstate 95 to Tigertown (and then back north to Boolaville) this weekend, there would seem to be real justification for some optimism about this Brown team, in spite of the early setbacks. After the road games against Princeton, Yale, and then Harvard the following Tuesday, we should know a lot more about the quality, character and long-term seasonal prospects for this year's Bear icers. Bill Corrigan LET'S GO BRUNO! HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.