There were positives during the season’s opening weekend for head coach Brendan Whittet and Brown, but just not enough to come out with a win.
The Bears played a pair of one-goal games with Ivy League rival Yale and non-conference foe Vermont at Meehan Auditorium, dropping them by 3-2 and 2-1 scores, respectively. Whittet’s club had a distinct territorial advantage and earned a 1-0 lead through two periods before the Catamounts won it with a two-goal third frame.
“For the most part, I thought we played pretty good hockey,” Whittet said after the UVM defeat. “I thought we hemmed (Vermont) in and had them on the ropes … We’re not naturally gifted around the net; it’s hard to score. I talked about making a 1-0 lead a 2-0 lead, but if we don’t, we have to feel comfortable winning a 1-0 game.”
Brown returns four of its top five contributors last season’s 8-19-4 team, including senior captain Tommy Marchin. The lone goal in Sunday’s game, though, came off the stick of freshman Justin Jallen, a product of the NAHL’s Northeast Generals. The 20-year-old also had an assist in the season opener.
Whittet is excited about the potential for Jallen and his team’s “smart and creative” rookie class. The Bears have seven first-year players, a nice mix of Canadians and New Yorkers, among others.
The emergence of freshmen always helps teams take the next step, but Brown needs leaders like junior Brent Beaudoin (Londonderry, N.H.) to take another next step if it hopes to improve upon last season’s 10th-place finish in ECAC play.
“(Brent has) really good stick skills and he’s kind of an all-purpose guy for us,” said Whittet. “He plays on the power play, he’s a really good penalty killer, and does well in the faceoff dot ― just an all-around hockey player. For us to take a step, he’s going to have to be a guy we rely on. Guys like (Beaudoin and Marchin) have to be on the scoresheet for us to be successful.
“We’ll continue to work and push to get this team to where it needs to be because I like this team a lot," Whittet added. "It’s a good team. We work extremely hard, and things eventually go your way if you work hard.”
New Northeastern
Northeastern will unveil a banner to commemorate Adam Gaudette winning the 2018 Hobey Baker Award prior to Thursday’s home game against Boston University. Before then, the Huskies have created a new identity after losing the Braintree, Mass., native and star linemates Dylan Sikura and Nolan Stevens to the pros.
Thirteen different players have scored through Northeastern’s first six games, including junior Grant Jozefek, who leads the team with four goals. The Huskies boast arguably the most balanced offense in Hockey East.
“We’ve got enough offense and it’s distributed, but it’s the mentality of grinding it out and being patient and just playing every shift,” head coach Jim Madigan said on Saturday. “We’re not fast-striking, and I know people have seen that out of our group the last two or three years. That’s not us. You’ve got to learn how to win close games, and I think our team took a step this weekend.”
Firsts for UNH
New Hampshire came back from two goals down to earn a 3-2 overtime win over Vermont in its Saturday night home and Hockey East opener, giving Mike Souza (Wakefield, Mass.) his first win as the Wildcats’ head coach. In addition, sophomore Mike Robinson (Bedford, N.H.) made 19 saves to clinch his first win in the UNH net.
Sophomore Charlie Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.) has enjoyed a strong run of play lately, registering five assists over his last three games. He had two on Saturday, including one to defenseman Benton Maass for the winning goal.
UNH started the season with three losses by a single goal to Colgate (twice) and Colorado College, plus a tie with the Tigers last weekend. It was the Wildcats’ first overtime win since defeating Providence in the Hockey East quarterfinals on March 15, 2015.
Fox’s night
Harvard’s Adam Fox is the only two-time All-American playing college hockey this season.
The defenseman got his junior season off to a torrid start with a goal and four assists in Saturday’s 7-6 overtime loss to Dartmouth, becoming the first Harvard skater to record five points in a game since Alexander Kerfoot on Nov. 11, 2014 against Boston College.
The Crimson went 5-for-7 on the power play in the setback, giving them more man-up goals than half of all Division 1 teams through a single game.
Bentley bursts
Bentley scored five goals in the second period en route to a 7-4 win over Holy Cross in Friday night’s Atlantic Hockey action. Three different Falcons scored two goals, including freshman Jakov Novak, the first NHL draft pick in program history. He's a New Hampton School graduate and became property of the Ottawa Senators last June.
As for locals, defenseman Connor Brassard (Fitchburg, Mass.) had points in both games last weekend. The junior had an assist against the Crusaders before scoring his first goal of the season in a 4-2 loss to UMass Lowell the following night.
Boston struggles continue
Another week, another pair of losses for the Commonwealth Avenue clubs.
Boston College and Boston University are both off to 0-4 starts, but this past week’s results were perhaps the most glaring. The teams were held off their scoreboard by a combined 12-0 score in their only games, both of which came on home ice.
BC was shut out for the third time in four games via a 7-0 loss to St. Cloud State, while Providence handed BU a 5-0 defeat.
In fact, neither team has scored a goal since Oct. 13.
