The Bears were shut out twice in three games this weekend, falling 3-0 at No. 11 Harvard on Tuesday and 3-0 at home against St. Lawrence on Friday. The lone bright spot of the weekend was Bruno's 5-2 win over Clarkson College on Saturday's Senior Night. The Bears finished the weekend at 14-10-3 overall, but more importantly they remain stuck in sixth place in the ECACHL with a record of 9-9-2.
"It was average hockey (on our part)," Head Coach Roger Grillo said after the Harvard loss. "We weren't skating well."
The loss to Harvard ended any chance of a fourth-place finish, and it served as a stinging reminder of who's been on top lately between the two clubs.
"They're an excellent team, and they've been on a roll," Grillo said of the hot Crimson. "We gave them some easy goals. We could be better."
Harvard has now won nine straight conference games, and is chasing ECACHL leader Cornell. Brown, meanwhile, has continued a season-long pattern of matching each step forward with another back.
While Brown no longer has the chance to claim one of the ECACHL's four first-round byes, the Bears' win Saturday guaranteed they will enjoy home ice for the first round of the playoffs.
The Bears came into Saturday night's game against Clarkson looking to make up for a sub-par effort the night before against St. Lawrence.
"That effort was unacceptable," said captain Les Haggett '05 of the team's play against the Saints. "(Against Clarkson) we're going to come out flying in the first period."
Brown had an additional motivation: Saturday's was the last regular season game at Meehan Auditorium for Bruno's seniors.
The Bears put sustained pressure on Clarkson from the start. Joe Bauer '06 put Brown up 1-0 at 4:57, scoring off the rebound of a Rugo Santini '06 shot.
Known for its grit, the Clarkson side quickly responded to the Bear blitz. Two minutes later, the Golden Knights beat goalie Adam D'Alba '08 on a rebound to tie the score at 1-1.
Haggett immediately responded for the Bears, freeing the puck up for winger Jeff Prough '08 in the slot, who converted his eighth goal of the season to recover the lead for Brown, 2-1. Twenty-five seconds later, Haggett dug the puck from the corner and sent it to his other wing, Brian Ihnacak '07, who lifted an elegant wrist shot high into the net for a 3-1 lead. After a few minutes' rest, Haggett was back for more, initiating a give-and-go play with Chris Swon '05, juking a Clarkson defender in his way and then firing an inside-out slap shot high to the far side for the 4-1 lead.
Haggett's spectacular goal ended a decisive 10-minute run for Bruno. Each team would add a goal in the third, ending the evening with a 5-2 Brown win.
The Brown captain's three points on the night left him one shy of 100 for his career.
"It's nice when they go your way," Haggett said. He also lauded the efforts of his teammates, singling out Bauer and Santini.
Haggett's ire had been sparked by Bruno's performance the previous night, in which St. Lawrence blanked the Bears in a fast and scrappy game before a sparse crowd at Meehan. Brown started slow, then turned up the tempo only to run out of gas at the end.
"That was very disappointing," Haggett said. "This time of year, you can't give the other team 20 minutes. We came out flat."
St. Lawrence capitalized first, when center T.J. Trevelyan - the Saints' top scorer, and leader of the ECACHL's third-best offense - put the Saints in front at 7:21. The Bears roused themselves in the second period, but Sean Dersch '05 could not convert in close at 9:00. Cory Caouette '06 churned through Saint defenders to create a power play - an advantage that was neutralized seconds later when Brown was caught for having too many men on the ice. The line of Dersch and Brian McNary '08 blazed back against the swift Saints, but faced with another backhander to deposit, Dersch missed again.
Frustration mounted as one drive after another was rebuffed by St. Lawrence goalie Mike McKenna. In the third period, Trevelyan struck again to all but nail the game down.
The uncharacteristic blanking was Brown's first shutout loss in a year.
"We just didn't create enough scoring chances," Grillo said. "It was ugly - not very good hockey."
This weekend the Bears have one last chance to build momentum when they travel to the University of Vermont and Dartmouth to close out the regular season.
