The men's ice hockey team stopped its six-game losing streak and salvaged Senior Weekend in its last home stand against Ivy League opponents Harvard and Dartmouth last weekend.
Brown (8-15-4, 5-12-3 ECAC) was able to notch a critical league point in a thrilling 3-3 overtime game against Harvard (8-8-11, 6-5-9) Friday night.
"There are good ties and there are bad ties," said Head Coach Brendan Whittet '94. "That was actually a good tie. We came back in the game and got a point."
After one period of play, the Bears' losing streak looked like it would continue as they fell into a 2-0 hole. Though Brown had the 12-6 shot advantage, Harvard capitalized on the play of its assistant captain Alex Killorn, who notched both of Harvard's goals in the first period.
"I thought (Killorn) was skating well," Whittet said. "We didn't really do a good job of playing basic one-on-one defense."
Goalie Mike Clemente '12 made acrobatic saves to keep the score from getting out of hand in the first period. The Harvard goalkeeper was peppered by shots from captain Jack Maclellan '12, assistant captain Bobby Farnham '12 and Jeff Buvinow '12, but none of the Bears could find the back of the net.
But in the second period, Bruno struck back quickly after Jarred Smith '12 scored a goal less than two minutes into the period. The wraparound goal from Smith put the team within one and shifted the momentum in Brown's favor.
"I thought we got better as the game went on," Whittet said. "There wasn't any cohesiveness early on, but we played together better as we went forward."
It seemed that Brown had tied the game after a confusing play in which the puck — and Maclellan — ended up in the Harvard net, but the goal was waved off by the referees after further review. Harvard responded to this close call by putting one past Clemente, taking the 3-1 advantage.
The Crimson shot itself in the foot throughout the game, accumulating 16 total penalty minutes, giving Bruno plenty of scoring opportunities. Maclellan capitalized and scored his team-leading 15th goal off assists from Buvinow and Dennis Robertson '14, who had two points in the game.
As time wound down in the third period, Brown could not find a way to draw even with Harvard until the last two minutes of the period, when Massimo Lamacchia '15 came through with a clutch goal. This goal was also contested, but this time, the video review confirmed the goal, which ignited Meehan Auditorium as the Bears headed into overtime.
Though Brown had a power play almost immediately after overtime started, Harvard stood strong and kept the game a tie.
"We've got to work on a few things so that we don't have to claw back from two goals, but it's good to get the tie," Maclellan said.
The final goal marked a major milestone for Maclellan, as he notched his 100th point for Brown on the assist to Lamacchia's goal.
"It's a nice accomplishment but would've been a little nicer if we'd gotten the win," Maclellan said. "It was definitely nice, especially after freshman year when I only had six points. I never imagined I would be able to (hit 100)."
The positivity of the Harvard game was shattered in the 4-1 loss against Dartmouth (10-13-4, 7-10-3). Bruno fell behind 3-0 after the first two periods and was only able to avoid being shutout after a goal from Matt Harlow '15 in the third period.
The team sits in a marginally better position heading into the last weekend of regular season hockey, moving up one spot to second-to-last. But the Bears are within striking distance of Princeton (8-13-4, 6-11-3), against whom Brown will end the season tomorrow. Today, the team will travel to Quinnipiac (16-11-5, 8-8-4). The standings following these two games will determine whom Brown will play in the first round of the ECAC playoffs, which will begin March 2.
