The men's hockey team got off to a strong start in the first period of its season opener on Friday, but was unable to keep up the intensity for the rest of the two-game weekend. Bruno ended up losing its first game to No. 10 Princeton, 4-1, and the second game to Yale the following night, 6-3.
Fans - dressed as everything from the Burger King to Brown hockey players - yelled and banged on the glass as the Bears began their season on Halloween night at Meehan Auditorium. And the Bears gave them plenty to cheer about early on, coming out on the ice with energy and aggression, playing to a stalemate against the Tigers through the opening period.
Halfway through the first period, things got heated, when 6-foot 5-inch, 240-pound defenseman Mike Stuart '09 tangled up with Brett Wilson of Princeton. Stuart threw a punch and was sent off of the ice for a two-minute roughing penalty, leaving Princeton on a power play. With less than 30 seconds left on the power play, Princeton seized the opportunity and scored the game's first goal.
Just 1:10 later, Ryan Garbutt '09 responded with a goal of his own, three seconds into a Brown power play. At the onset of the power play, captain Devin Timberlake '10 deflected the faceoff to assistant captain Matt Vokes '09. Vokes sent a quick pass to Garbutt, who sent a shot through the five-hole to tie up the game. But it was all downhill for the Bears from that point on.
Midway through the second period, Tiger Cam Ritchie shot a one-timer which was blocked by goalie Dan Rosen '10. Matt Godlewski's second attempt off the rebound was blocked by Rosen, too, but Mark Magnowski managed to slap in the go-ahead goal on the second rebound.
Brown gave up another goal in the second period, and Magnowski added his second goal of the game in the final period.
"Hopefully (the Princeton game) doesn't set a tone," Head Coach Roger Grillo said.
"Our expectations for tomorrow (are) to wipe the slate clean," Timberlake added.
Brown's offense looked better on the second night, but their defense gave up six goals.
Under four minutes after the puck dropped against Yale, Bulldog Mark Arcobello passed the puck from the left faceoff circle to Nick Jackowiak, who wound up for a one-timer that beat Rosen.
With just 17 seconds remaining in the first period, Bobby Farnham '12 broke loose and deked Yale goalie Alec Richards for his first career goal, cutting Yale's lead to 2-1.
But the Bears failed to carry the momentum into the second period, as the Bulldogs tallied two goals in the first eight minutes of the frame to open up a 4-1 advantage.
With four minutes left in the period, the Bears closed the gap when Jeremy Russell '11 beat the goalie with one second left on a power play, to make it a 4-2 game. Yale fired back with a power play goal of its own under three minutes later, to grab a 5-2 lead heading into the final period.
After the Bulldogs widened the lead to 6-2, Brown got one more goal, when assistant captain Jordan Pietrus '10 sent a one-timer into the net off a pass from Garbutt. But that was as close as the Bears got, as the game ended with Yale on top, 6-3.
Despite the two losses, the team remains optimistic.
"We have lots of hockey left and I'm confident that this team will get better every game and get to the level that we'll be one of the top teams in the NCAA," Garbutt said.
Vokes, who had two assists in the Yale game, also maintained a positive tone, saying, "It's a learning experience at the beginning of the season. It builds character."
"We played strong. We played tough," Grillo said. "We've just got to play smarter - be a little more disciplined."
The Bears will return to the ice when they travel to upstate New York next weekend to take on two ECAC opponents. Brown will face off against Clarkson in Potsdam, N.Y., next Friday and will play St. Lawrence in Canton, N.Y., on Saturday.
