What Effect Will All These Injuries Have on Brown?

Brown had a promising start to the season, beating a Princeton team that has since ascended to fourth in the ECAC in this young season; losing tight contests at Harvard and Dartmouth, historically two places where Brown plays poorly; and earning two hard-faught draws against nationally-ranked St. Lawrence and its travel partner that always gives us fits, Clarkson. 

However, with a young roster, the Bears were expected by many (if not most) to struggle at times this season. That was before the roster was decimated by injuries. 

Already, we've lost promising freshman Nate Widman for the year, and sophomore Kyle Quick, who had looked greatly improved, for a long time, if not the whole season. Nick Lappin was out for a game or two, and was not at 100% this past weekend.

The Achilles' heel for Whittet's team these past three years has been a team-wide lack of depth. It is a great irony that in the year in which the stars have seemingly faded into the background and the strength of the team has become its depth, injuries are already decimating the roster. We could be down to just six natural defensemen for the whole season. 

Thoughts After Week 3

Results:
Brown 3, St. Lawrence 3
Brown 3, Clarkson 3

It was a weekend of parity for the Bears, as they played to a pair of draws with the North Country teams. One can hardly complain about Friday night's come-from-behind tie against the 16th-ranked Saints, but Saturday's result left a slightly sour taste in the mouth, as Brown coughed up a 3-2 lead to the Golden Knights. 

Brown looked to be no match for St. Lawrence 15 minutes into the second period, as the Saints had stormed out to a 3-0 lead, and looked to be running away with the game. However, Taki Pantziris scored his first in a Brown uniform with under a minute to go in the period, and in the third the Bears continued to claw back into the game. 

A pair of goals from Matt Lorito and Nick Lappin within three minutes of each other brought the score level and gave Brown hope for an upset. While Bruno was aggressive in pushing forward for a winner, outshooting the Saints 34-20 in an upset attempt, the effort fell just short, and the two teams settled for a hard-fought tie. 

On Saturday, Brown again had to overcome an early deficit, as Clarkson tallied just 2:41 into the contest. Michael Juola knotted the game at 1-1 about halfway through the period, but the Knights would strike again before the period's end, taking a 2-1 lead into the second period. 

Mike Juola '14 had a career day against Clarkson, netting
two goals in a 3-3 tie with the Golden Knights.

Sophomore Ryan Jacobsen struck under two minutes into the second period , tying the game for Brown on his first of the year. Juola would add his second of the game about six minutes later, giving the Bears a 3-2 lead. But Clarkson would equalize just a minute later, and the two teams would not find the net again, as the game ended 3-3. 

After a great effort on Friday night, it was slightly disheartening to see Bruno get outshot by 'Tech, 48-30, and surrender a lead so quickly after taking it. But two points is not the worst outcome in the world, especially against a ranked opponent (SLU) and a team that always gives us fits, regardless of where they are in the standings (Clarkson). 

Thoughts After Week 2

Results:
Harvard 3, Brown 2
Dartmouth 2, Brown 1


It was a tough weekend for the Bears, as they dropped two closely-contested games with Ivy rivals Harvard and Dartmouth. However, the greatest loss was seeing freshman Nate Widman go down with what appears to be a season-ending knee injury. Classmate Nick Lappin also left the Harvard game early, apparently with some sort of hamstring injury. 

The Bears struck first in both games this weekend, and could/should have gotten better results. Marco DeFilippo had a fantastic pair of games, allowing just five goals on 74 shots. Not bad at all. It looks like Anthony Borelli will be on the bench for good, contrary to some of Whittet's preseason comments regarding the goaltending situation. 

It's good to see Matt Lorito keep scoring. He could be a really important piece to build around for the next three seasons. Last year, he was hampered by a broken wrist before the season started, but he seems to finally have recovered all his wrist/forearm strength and has even better hands than last year. 

Ryan Jacobsen is someone who needs to step up soon. He was our second-leading scorer last year, and hasn't put up a single point through four games. I expect him to get going relatively soon, but a quiet start is never a good thing, especially since we've had three one-goal games already. We've been outscored 9-5 so far, and while that's a great defensive number through four games, five goals is unacceptable. The offense simply has to improve, and Jacobsen is a big part of that. 

I am not trying to pick on Jacobsen, because he obviously isn't the only one struggling. But it's a little disappointing to see him not living up to expectations so far. Hopefully he kicks it into high gear sooner rather than later, because he is one of our more talented players. 


Looking forward, Brown hosts St. Lawrence and Clarkson this weekend in its conference home openers. St. Lawrence has been red-hot to start the season, going 5-1 with impressive wins at Western Michigan and Maine (outscoring the Black Bears 10-1 over a two-game stretch). However, Clarkson is still looking for a win at 0-4-3, which is good news for an injury-stricken and young Brown team. Three or four points is ideal for this weekend, but realistically, we should expect two. I'll have a more intensive preview later in the week. 

Thoughts After Week 1

Results: 

Brown 2, Princeton 1

Dartmouth 4, Brown 0

Two recent trends remained true this past weekend: Brown and Princeton played a low-scoring affair dominated by defense, and Dartmouth beat the crap out of Brown. 

I was not able to catch the Princeton game, but after seeing the highlights, I was impressed by a couple things: 

First, the new highlight format is terrific! I'm hoping that this is a constant thing for the rest of the season, though it wasn't as comprehensive for the Dartmouth game. 

Second, Nick Lappin had a terrific goal in the second period. Great hands. 

The new jerseys, however, are hideous. One poster on the USCHO forum mentioned that he was told these were the alternate home jerseys, but the team wore them again against Dartmouth Saturday. I'm hoping he was right, because I really don't like them at all. 

Now, for Saturday: 

I was able to watch the first and second periods of Saturday's game, and I was actually pleased with the way we were playing. We had some great energy and chances in the first, and Marco DeFilippo was playing great. However, we never were able to capitalize on our opportunities, and once again, Dartmouth proved too strong as the game wore on. 

It's getting really old, losing to the Green almost every time we play them. I don't know what hex they have over Brown, but we need to find a way to break it. Fortunately, we have a chance this Saturday, as the Bears travel to Hanover a night after meeting Harvard in Cambridge. 

I'll have more later in the week about this weekend's games. It was a pretty "meh" start to the season for Brown- a close win over a middle-of-the-pack opponent followed by a shellacking at the hands of a longtime nemesis. We'll see how the team improves in Week 2!

Mark Your Calendars, Part 2

This is part two of a series of installments previewing potentially-exciting Brown hockey games in the upcoming season. The previous post focused on Brown's opponents in the Ivy Shootout at Meehan Auditorium. 

Jumping forward a week, the Bears will open league play at Harvard on Friday, November 2. Harvard emerged victorious in Cambridge in a game where every officiating call possible went against Brown. I won't get into it because it's water under the bridge, but I was at the game and watched the replays on the Harvard jumbotron, and I could not have been more displeased with the missed calls. 

In Providence, the Crimson jumped out to a 3-1 second period lead before Brown rallied for a spirited 3-3 tie. This series hasn't had as much bite in it as in previous years, but the results have still been extremely close and hard-fought. In the 2009 playoffs, 12th-ranked Brown went into the Bright Hockey Center expected by many to be swept away by a clearly superior Harvard team. However, the Bears managed to do something no one had done in Harvard's storied 100-plus-year history: shutout the Crimson in back-to-back games at home, largely on the back of Mike Clemente's stellar goalkeeping. 

Brown would go on to be swept by a juggernaut of a Yale team in the quarterfinals, but beating Harvard on its own home ice was inspiring enough (and, perhaps, exacted a measure of revenge for their victory over Brown in the 2004 playoffs, when the Bears were one of the favorites to win the ECAC Tournament). 

Mark Your Calendars

Now that the season is approaching rapidly, I figured it would be a good time to write about some of the most intriguing and exciting games Brown will play this season. Some of the obvious rivalries will be included, as well as some potentially-overlooked games and any with an interesting twist, either on the ice or off. This is the first installment, with more to follow in the coming days. 

Right off the bat, Brown faces an interesting first weekend of play. On Friday, October 26th, the Bears host Princeton in the first game of the Ivy Shootout at Meehan Auditorium. While Princeton is an Ivy League rival, the two potential matchups on Saturday really grab my attention. Brown will play either Dartmouth or Yale, depending on Friday's results. 

Ever since Bobby Gaudet was left Brown to coach Dartmouth following the 1996-97 season, Dartmouth has essentially owned the Bruno. The Bears have an absurdly abysmal record of 6-19-3 against the Green since the 1998-99 season (I couldn't find a record of the 1997-98 season online, though I remember a 6-5 home overtime win and I believe a 4-2 loss on the road. Don't quote me on that). Gaudet has had no problem mercilessly beating his former employer, and his success has extended into the Whittet era. The Bears just cannot seem to buy a win against Dartmouth, which is frustrating because they always seem to play a somewhat dirty game (against Brown, anyway- I admittedly haven't seen them play anyone else). 

Let's Go!

It's been well over a month since my last post, and for that, I apologize profusely. I've been very busy lately and haven't had much free time. Additionally, there hasn't been a whole lot of Brown hockey-related news worth writing about. 

But now that the beginning of the season is in sight (we're just a week away from the Ivy Showcase), it's time to start writing about and discussing Brown hockey. 

Brown has been picked last by just about everyone. Coaches, media, Brian Sullivan, members of the USCHO Fan Forum- no one seems to have any faith that the Bears can take the next step this season. Unlike in previous years, the pundits seem to have respect for the way Brown plays, but simply do not think Bruno can compete based on its perceived lack of talent and youth. 

I suppose it's easy to understand most people's reasoning: this is a program that hasn't hosted a home playoff game, had a winning season, or finished any higher than 9th since 2005. It hasn't been nationally ranked since 2004. It hasn't seen a 40-point scorer since Damian Prescott in 1998. It hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since 1993, and has never won an ECAC Championship. Why should any neutral observer think there's any chance of any of these things happening this season?