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ECAC Journal: Brown plays big in big games
As ECAC Hockey teams jockey for position in the closing
weeks, one team that has to scare coaches as a potential
first-round opponent is Brown.
The Bears (9-9-5 overall, 5-6-5 ECAC) have climbed back to .500 in
recent weeks by playing the best hockey of any team in the
conference – besides Quinnipiac, of course – in the
month of February. Brown is 3-0-1 in its last four games, including
a 1-0-1 mark against the league's top two teams, Quinnipiac and
Yale.
The Bears are getting lights-out goaltending from senior
Anthony Borelli at the perfect time of year. The net minder
stopped 44 shots in a 1-0 victory over the Bulldogs February
12.
It's been a gradual ascent for Brown since Brendan Whittet's
hire before the start of the 2009-10 season. The Bears finished in
last place in the league standings last year, and looked as if they
might be destined for a similar fate this season after starting
3-6-4 in their first 13 games.
Brown has since climbed to seventh in the league standings,
only two points out of third place. Associate captain Garnet
Hathaway (Kennebunkport, Me.) believes the coaching staff of
Whittet, Mark White and Mike Souza has led the team into a new era
of Brown hockey.
“Once they brought in Coach Whittet, we had someone
with an emotional connection to the school,” Hathaway says.
“He went here, and he knows what it used to be. The coaches
got us all on the same wavelength. We're going to be up there at
the end of the year; there's no reason why we shouldn't
be.”
Hathaway says the biggest difference in the team's recent
stretch of success has been the defensive philosophy. The coaching
staff has made adjustments to the back-check, making sure each
player understands his positional responsibility.
“The game plan has changed a bit,” Hathaway
says. “It was necessary for everyone to buy into it. This
year, everybody has. This system lets our defensemen take the rush
and see what's happening. The focus is on our forwards playing back
in the defensive zone with lots of communication.”
The good news for Brown is that if it wants to make a move
in the ECAC standings, it will have plenty of opportunities. The
Bears' next four opponents – RPI, Union, Princeton and
Quinnipiac – all sit ahead of them in the league standings.
Perhaps when all is said and done, coaches won't have to be worried
about facing Brown in the opening round of the ECAC tournament. The
Bears could have a bye.
“Right now, we're on a roll,” Hathaway says.
“I don't see us slowing down. Everybody has the same goals,
and we all believe in everyone else in the room.”
Game of the week
Yale at RPI
Saturday, Feb. 16 (7 p.m., Houston Field House)
Yale was unbeaten in five games in January, but has fallen
on hard times in February. The Bulldogs have lost three of their
last four games, and dropped a 1-0 decision to Brown Tuesday night.
RPI has won four in a row and six of seven, climbing all the way
into a tie for third in the ECAC standings. The Engineers have
outscored their last four opponents by a combined score of
16-5.
Player of the week
Mike Condon, Princeton University
Senior, Goaltender
The Needham, Mass., native posted road victories over
Colgate and Cornell last weekend. The two wins boosted Princeton
from sixth to third place in the ECAC standings. Condon posted a
1.00 GAA and a save percentage of .974. He made 75 saves of 77
shots.
Power Rankings
- Quinnipiac (21-3-4, 14-0-2):
Quinnipiac earned the top spot in the PairWise Rankings
January 19, and as of mid-February, the Bobcats had yet to
relinquish the top spot. The Bobcats boasted a 21-game unbeaten
streak, the longest in NCAA hockey, as of the time of
publication.
- Yale (13-7-3, 9-6-1): Senior Jeff
Malcolm, a two-time ECAC Goalie of the Week this season, was
injured during a Feb. 1 game against Princeton. The Bulldogs are
0-2 since his injury.
- RPI (12-11-5, 7-6-3): Like last
year, the Engineers are playing better in the second half. They are
5-1 in their last six games. Last year, they finished 7-6-3 in the
second half after starting 3-15.
- St. Lawrence (13-11-4, 6-6-4):
Saints forwards Greg Carey and Kyle Flanagan rank second and
third in the country, respectively, in points per game behind
Boston College's Johnny Gaudreau.
- Union (13-10-5, 6-6-4): Union has
yet to make its typical second-half surge this season. Over the
past two seasons, the Dutchmen went 25-4-3 after the first of the
year. This year, they are just 4-6-1.
- Brown (9-9-5, 5-6-5): Regardless
of how things play out the rest of the way for the Bears, you have
to figure their 1-1 tie against Quinnipiac Friday night will go
down as one of the top highlights of the season.
- Princeton (9-10-4, 7-6-3): Senior
goaltender Mike Condon entered the semester with a loose grip on
the starting spot, but he has since become one of the top players
in the league. Last weekend, the Tigers were outplayed for long
stretches by Colgate and Cornell, but Condon led them to a 2-0-0
weekend.
- Dartmouth (11-8-4, 7-6-3):
The Big Green are just 3-6-1 since Dec. 31, and Sunday's 1-1
tie against Harvard was a disappointment considering the Crimson
sit in last place in the league standings.
- Colgate (13-11-4, 5-8-3): Colgate
is in the midst of raising funds for a new athletic facility on
campus, which would host the men's hockey program among other teams
at the school. In the first week of February, Colgate's board of
trustees voted to proceed with building the $37.8 million,
97,000-square-foot facility. Construction is scheduled to begin
once the school has received $25 million in gifts. The school had
raised $20.8 million. The current arena, Starr Rink, will be used
primarily as a practice facility once the new rink is built.
- Clarkson (7-14-7, 6-7-3): Clarkson
followed up a 6-3 win over Cornell Feb. 2 by beating defending ECAC
champion Union 2-1 on Friday at Cheel Arena. The Knights were
unable to keep the momentum rolling as the Green and Gold fell to
Rensselaer 6-2 on Saturday.
- Cornell (8-13-2, 4-10-2): Cornell was 2-10 in the first 12 games on the second half of its season. The Big Red are in danger of posting their first losing record since 1998-99, and only the third losing record in Mike Schafer's 18 seasons as coach.
- Harvard (6-15-2, 3-12-1): Harvard has just two wins since November 16, and both of them came against Boston University. The Crimson won the consolation game at the Beanpot for the third year in a row, posting a 7-4 victory over BU February 11. The Crimson have found their scoring touch against the Terriers this season. In the two games, they have netted 13 goals.
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