Stayin' Alive

I apologize for not posting at all over the past couple of weeks, but to be honest, I've been too nervous about each game to think about compiling my thoughts into a single post. 

But after a fine performance at home in a sweep of Clarkson and a fantastic upset of RPI, a team that has had our number in the regular season for a number of years, I think it's necessary to do a pre-Atlantic City post. The fact that there's still something to write about on ECAC championship weekend is remarkable in itself. 

Having beaten Clarkson and RPI, Brown will
face #2 Quinnipiac in the ECAC semi-finals.

Photo courtesy of ecachockey.com

Brown has surprised everyone outside of College Hill in advancing to the 2013 ECAC Hockey Championship weekend. At this point, it doesn't matter how we fare (though a berth in the championship game would be amazing). This team has overcome all obstacles and defeated the odds in finishing a respectable seventh in the standings, before making an incredible run to the semi-finals. 

Let's look back at how we got here: 

Hosting Clarkson in the first playoff series at Meehan Auditorium in eight years, the Bears dispatched of the Golden Knights relatively easily. In Game One, Brown took a 1-0 lead in the first period and held that lead until the third, when Matt Lorito made it 2-0 and Joey DeConcylis iced the game with a terrific empty-netter from his own blue line. 

March Madness at Meehan

Well, here we go. 

We got what we've all been wishing for eight years. Meehan Auditorium will see men's collegiate playoff hockey for the first time since Saturday, March 5, 2005. Brown will play host to Clarkson this weekend in a best-of-three matchup. 

And the Bears have a great shot at winning the series, as well. Sporting a 1-0-1 record against Clarkson this season (though both games were incredibly close), and with Clarkson coming off a mauling in the Capital District this past weekend, it would be silly not to see the Bears as a favorite in this game. 

But it's not that simple. It never is in the ECAC, especially in a season in which six points separated third place (Yale) from tenth (Clarkson). 

If Clarkson goalie Greg Lewis makes saves like this
 one, Brown might have some trouble finding the net.
Photo courtesy of ecachockey.com

Tech freshman goalie Greg Lewis has been inconsistent, but when he has been on, he's been spectacular. He's shut out Dartmouth and Yale, who both finished in the top five of the standings. He also had strong performances against Quinnipiac (saved 32 of 34 shots), Union (saved 27 of 28), and St. Lawrence (saved 34 of 35). 

Clarkson is also relatively good at comebacks, which could be a problem for a young Brown team. The Golden Knights sport a 6-8-3 record when opponents score first, as opposed to their terrible 3-10-4 record when they get on the board first. So we could see a lot of lead changes in this series. 

Cornell 4, Brown 1

Cornell is like the New York Yankees. 

If you're not a fan, you hate them. They've been a dominant force in the ECAC forever, and they have an arguably unfair recruiting advantage over other Ivy League schools in that they can offer athletes admission to the agricultural school. They have a historic arena which is always packed to capacity with the best fans in the league, and they always bring a big contingent of traveling fans that annoy the piss out of the hometown fans. 

Their uniforms are distinctive and haven't been changed in forever, and they operate like a cold, heartless machine, designed to win at all costs. 

I'm sick of them. I really am. 

But, just like the Yankees, it's impossible not the respect the hell out of them and envy them for every single one of the aforementioned traits (well, maybe not the aggie school). 

Tonight was a typical Cornell performance from a team that hasn't played Cornell hockey until recently. But boy, have they turned it on at the right time.