After a pair of road victories last weekend, the men's hockey team is right in the middle of the ECACHL race as they head down the home stretch of the season. On Friday Mike Meech '05 recorded his first career hat trick in a 5-3 victory over Yale, and on Saturday the Bears overcame an early deficit to beat Princeton 4-2.
With the two victories, the Bears moved into a tie for sixth place in the 12-team division with a 6-5-2 conference record (11-6-3 overall). Last year at this time, the Bears were in quite a different position, sitting at the top of the league.
"It's kind of been a different scenario," said assistant captain Gerry Burke '05. "Last year we were in the driver's seat most of the season, and now we are trying to climb our way back."
This year the Bears started out a bit slow, picking up their first win four games into the season. But things started to turn around after the Bears played a set of games against then-seventh-ranked University of Minnesota-Duluth.
"The first couple weeks of the season was tough," Burke said. "Going up to Duluth ... the first game we should have won, but lost, and then in the next night, a game we shouldn't have won, we pulled it out. It showed that we can play against anyone in the country and a lot of that confidence has carried us."
Since beating the Bulldogs 2-1 on Nov. 20, the Bears have gone 9-2-2. The scoring has been spread across the team, but Adam D'Alba '08 has been the mark of consistency between the pipes for the Bears. In 14 games he has posted a .941 save percentage and 1.74 goals against average, ranking him first and third nationally in those respective categories.
"He's confident. And when he is, it makes our team confident," said Sean Dersch '07. "He'll be there for the big saves - we know he is going to stop the first puck and we'll clear away the rebound."
D'Alba's recent play has brought back memories of the 2003-2004 season, when Hobey Baker finalist Yann Danis '04 provided a solid backbone for the team. Burke, for one, seems to think so.
"It's a lot like last year," Burke said. "D'Alba is very solid, and when you play with a lot of confidence, like with Yann, you stop the puck. Yann wasn't doing anything spectacular, he was just always there."
First and foremost, though, the Bears hope that things as a team will unfold in a different manner than last year.
"Last year finishing the way we did was kind of disappointing," Dersch said. "It's good we are picking things up now at the end."
After losing a few late-season games, the Bears went into last year's playoffs a bit out of stride and after a first round bye fell to a streaking Harvard squad.
"Harvard really found their stride at the end of the year," Dersch said. Last year Harvard finished the season in sixth place but went on to win the ECAC championship against ninth-place Clarkson.
Burke says in the nine remaining games, the team hopes to move up in the standings and gain a bye and home ice advantage. But after the experience of last year's playoffs and the previous year, in which the fifth-seeded Bears made it to the semifinals of the ECAC championship, Burke knows the importance of gaining momentum.
"Two years ago we had to play two rounds and last year both finalists played first-round games. Maybe there is something to say to that," Burke said.
One thing that may pay off for the Bears in the later parts of the season and playoffs is the familiarity between line mates.
"Last year there were a bit more line changes. This year there seems to be a bit more chemistry being made between each other," Dersch said.
In a league with such parity, the Bears hope to continue to use their power play to win close games. Last weekend the Bears netted six power play goals on 15 man advantages.
"It will be key if we can get one or two goals on the power play every night," Dersch said. "In the ECAC (special teams) is how games are won or lost."
With all nine of Brown's final games against ECACHL opponents and only nine points separating the top eight teams, the playoff picture is subject to any sort of sudden change.
"You look at the standings right now, and you have no idea how things are going to end up," Burke said. "But it's like this every year. It's not how you start, but how you finish."
