The men's hockey team posted a win and a loss this past weekend in conference games against the University of Vermont and Dartmouth at Meehan Auditorium. Friday night, the Bears defeated Vermont 3-1. A night later, Dartmouth ended Brown's four-game winning streak with a one-sided 3-1 defeat. The Bears' record now stands at 12-7-3 overall and 7-6-2 in the ECACHL.
The two games were crucial for the sixth-place Bears, as the Big Green and the Catamounts stand between them and a first round bye and a home playoff series.
Against Vermont on Friday, Brown showed the sharper skating that has characterized the team's recent success.
"We've been chasing (Vermont) in the standings," said Captain Les Haggett '05, who scored three of the team's four goals on the weekend.
Haggett connected with Paul Baier '08 on a first-period power play to put Brown in the lead at 11:09.
"I thought that was our best first period all year," Grillo said. "After that we settled back a bit and let them take the play to us."
After the first intermission, Vermont dominated the territorial battle, out-skating Brown and generating power play opportunities. Brown committed three penalties in a span of just under three minutes to give the Catamounts two 5-on-3 opportunities.
With the clock ticking down on the second two-man advantage, a Vermont wing recovered a rebound and fired a wrist shot from 15 feet that Brown goalie Adam D'Alba '08 somehow managed to stop as he dove to his right.
"Instinct kicks in," said D'Alba. "We practice that play, and it's a tough one to stop. He (the shooter) was falling too."
Brown was quick to capitalize on their goalie's save of the night. At 8:28, Jeff Prough '08 scored on a rebound off a Brian Ihnacak '07 shot.
"The stop on the 5-on-3 was huge, and then we scored on the back end," Grillo said.
Despite the goal, Vermont out-shot the Bears 14-5 in the second period.
Vermont's pressure finally broke through at 11:58 in the third when Jeff Corey scrambled from behind the net to get the puck past D'Alba.
"I was a little disappointed that we let them get back in the game," Grillo said, "but a lot of our guys stepped up."
With Vermont pressing to tie the game in the final minute, the Catamounts pulled their goalie to give them an extra offensive option. The plan backfired when Haggett corralled a rebound deep in his own end and his clearing pass banked off the boards, went all the way down the ice and into the empty Vermont goal.
"We used our speed well tonight - that's one of the fastest teams in the country," said Prough.
First-year wing Prough had five shots for the night and skated both on the penalty kill and power play. "The season's going pretty good," Prough said. "I'm glad the coaches put me in there."
Dartmouth had been the pre-season favorite to win the ECACHL conference before injuries and early losses dropped the team from the national spotlight. Saturday night's game was a reminder that the Big Green are still dangerous, as Dartmouth and its touted stars Lee Stempniak and Mike Ouellette out-shot the Bears 45-21.
The majority of the first period was a scoreless tie until Dartmouth erupted for two goals with under three minutes left. Oullette knocked in the second goal, which would prove to be the game winner, with just 10 seconds left before intermission.
Haggett got the Bears back in the game when he scored off a pass from Rugo Santini '06 with 5:25 left in the second period. Brown did not get any closer and the Big Green sealed the victory with an open net goal 17 seconds before the final buzzer.
"I thought we were pretty bad (tonight)," said Head Coach Roger Grillo. "Dartmouth played pretty well."
This weekend Brown travels to Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for two more ECACHL games.
