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Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

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  • Re: Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

    Boy, do we have some defensive/goaltending issues. We're conceding 3.8 goals a game (thankfully, we're scoring 3.4 a game to counteract it). Clemente's GAA is 4.06. His save percentage is well below .900. Borelli looked encouraging tonight, but nothing special. I wasn't impressed very much with DiFilippo in the home Princeton game, though his numbers are by far the best on the team (2.52, .921).

    However, we can't blame the goalies completely- we're being outshot by a good 6 shots a game (33-27, on average). Yes, the goalies need to be better, but so does the defense. We were outscored 10-5 this weekend. That's unacceptable. 5 goals a weekend isn't great, but it should at least get you a point. To let in more than that number is pretty bad, but to let in double? That's just appalling. Brendan Whittet was hired because of his defensive expertise, and yet the only area that's thriving is the offense. Don't get me wrong; I'm infinitely grateful for what he's brought to the table offensively, but he's supposed to be a defensive specialist. Why hasn't it shown on the ice yet? He has some solid defensemen and a very talented goalie in Clemente. The pieces are there, but what's puzzling is why they haven't been put together yet.

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    • Re: Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

      Weak effort last night vs RPI. Holding those Hockey East teams the way they did and givng up half a dozen to RPI at home? Young and inconsistent team but I expected a better effort las night
      Brown Bears - 2014 National Champions

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      • Re: Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

        Originally posted by Onion Man View Post
        Weak effort last night vs RPI. Holding those Hockey East teams the way they did and givng up half a dozen to RPI at home? Young and inconsistent team but I expected a better effort las night
        Yea, only giving up 5 and 4 goals to UNH and BU is quite the accomplishment and is much, much better than giving up 6.
        Go Red!!

        National Champions: 1954, 1985, 201x

        Houston Field House, Cheel Arena, Agganis Arena, Magness Arena, Ritter Arena, Messa Rink, Matthews Arena, Von Braun Center, Lynah Rink, Starr Rink, Appleton Arena, Dwyer Arena, Buffalo State Ice Arena, Kelley Rink (also Verizon Center (DC), Herb Brooks Arena, Fenway Park (Frozen Fenway I), Times Union Center, DCU Center, Blue Cross Arena)

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        • Re: Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

          Originally posted by burgie12 View Post
          Yea, only giving up 5 and 4 goals to UNH and BU is quite the accomplishment and is much, much better than giving up 6.
          Considering they gave up 4 and 5 goals to legit teams like UNH and BU on the road, it was disappointing to give up 6 at home to RPI. I guess I need more practice at being disappointed by hockey like "Hotel Management" fans have been for all these years.
          Brown Bears - 2014 National Champions

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          • Re: Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

            Originally posted by kdiff77 View Post
            Interesting fact: we're 3-1-2 away and 0-3-1 at home. Good thing we have 17 away games and just 12 at home.
            Not to presume this is anywhere near an answer for the Bears' abysmal record at Meehan over recent years, but it is far different to come out of the chute and find 350 people in the stands at your barn than it is to be motivated by the challenge of playing before 2,500-5,000 hostile fans at practically every road venue we visit.
            LET'S GO BRUNO!

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            • Re: Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

              Originally posted by bruno View Post
              Not to presume this is anywhere near an answer for the Bears' abysmal record at Meehan over recent years, but it is far different to come out of the chute and find 350 people in the stands at your barn than it is to be motivated by the challenge of playing before 2,500-5,000 hostile fans at practically every road venue we visit.
              With the exception of 08-09 (when the Bears didn't beat anyone, home or away, until Harvard in the playoffs), Brown has typically been somewhere around or above .500 at home, including last year. The crowd picked up as the Union game went along, but it's nothing like the UNH or BU fans.

              Of course, one could argue that, after the abysmal performance against RPI and Union, coupled with a poor performance against Princeton, why would the fans come out? It's a chicken-egg argument. Does success bring the crowd, or vice versa?

              The PC game, which could have been one with real storyline had both teams come out of the weekend successful, now takes on a play-for-city pride storyline, with Brown on the verge of losing a third consecutive going into the exam break, and a rematch with BU looming.

              I wonder if it's Clemente, Borelli or Defelippo getting the knod against PC... and what sort of adjustments can be made in one practice to solve the defensive assignment miscues.

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              • Re: Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

                Originally posted by BrunoFan00 View Post
                Of course, one could argue that, after the abysmal performance against RPI and Union, coupled with a poor performance against Princeton, why would the fans come out? It's a chicken-egg argument. Does success bring the crowd, or vice versa?
                I've been to all of the home games over many years and even during those seasons when the Bears were in contention for a first-round bye in the ECAC Playoffs [1994-95, 1997-98, 2002-03 and 2003-04], the fans (primarily students) did not show up in any significant numbers to support the team. And, apparently, no one has yet found the right incentive to consistently draw near-sellout crowds through the Meehan turnstiles.
                LET'S GO BRUNO!

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                • Re: Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

                  Originally posted by bruno View Post
                  I've been to all of the home games over many years and even during those seasons when the Bears were in contention for a first-round bye in the ECAC Playoffs [1994-95, 1997-98, 2002-03 and 2003-04], the fans (primarily students) did not show up in any significant numbers to support the team. And, apparently, no one has yet found the right incentive to consistently draw near-sellout crowds through the Meehan turnstiles.
                  RPI alum here. Having been to a handful of Brown games over the years I will say that the one thing that seems totally missing are young kids in the stands. Go to almost any other college hockey game and there are kids in the stands. At Brown, I see few, or none. My son walked away with 5 pucks from warm-ups yesterday due to the lack of competition. And this when kids don't even have to pay to get in! Brown must have the cheapest tickets in all of NCAA hockey. If I lived in Providence and could take my wife and 3 kids to a game for a total of $10 I'd be there all of the time. Obviously there is no marketing effort (or very little) from the school to try and get local kids or families to the games. With all of the youth hockey in Mass and RI, it should be pretty easy to make some connections and build a fan base of locals. Perhaps the University looks down on the town too much?

                  Here's hoping you can get some more folks out to support the cause. It's always better to watch hockey with a crowd.

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                  • Re: Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

                    Originally posted by kdiff77 View Post
                    Brendan Whittet was hired because of his defensive expertise, and yet the only area that's thriving is the offense.
                    Let me assure you that Brendan Whittet wasn't hired because we were looking for a defensively-minded coach. He was hired because the search committee and the Department of Athletics believed he had the best combination of qualities, among a strong group of applicants, to change the course of Brown hockey and revive this once proud program. The program is in excellent hands with Brendan, and is on the right track. There will be bumps along the way. This is a young team and several talented players are still adjusting to the college game. Have some faith. Better days are ahead.

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                    • Re: Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

                      Originally posted by Euler18 View Post
                      Let me assure you that Brendan Whittet wasn't hired because we were looking for a defensively-minded coach. He was hired because the search committee and the Department of Athletics believed he had the best combination of qualities, among a strong group of applicants, to change the course of Brown hockey and revive this once proud program. The program is in excellent hands with Brendan, and is on the right track. There will be bumps along the way. This is a young team and several talented players are still adjusting to the college game. Have some faith. Better days are ahead.
                      Sure, but my point was that he was the equivalent of a Defensive Coordinator at Dartmouth for several years, so one would assume that the area in which a team he coaches would excel in would be defense. Clearly that isn't the case, although, again, I am extremely grateful for the offensive overhaul, as it was much needed and more than welcome. It is my perception that Dartmouth is/was consistently one of the better defensive teams in the league (perhaps I'm incorrect; prove me wrong with statistics if this is so), so I expected a vast improvement defensively. Yes, it's a long process, and I'm not doubting the future of this program one bit. One weekend means nothing in the long run; it simply serves as a fine example that we aren't quite ready to be national contenders yet. However, I still have to question why the defense isn't better than it is. In a word, it's embarrassing. 3.8 goals a game? If that's not the worst in the country, it's dam n close. 19 goals in the last four games, and 6 games of allowing 4+ goals? Only 3 games in which we've allowed less than 3? Sheesh. Yes, we've been playing highly-ranked competition, but that's just unacceptable. I obviously can't attest to what goes on in practice, but if I had a chance to offer suggestions personally to Brendan, I'd tell him to focus on defense and discipline for now. Those are our two worst areas, by far. As far as goaltending goes, I don't know what to say. I think Clemente clearly has the talent, but he's as inconsistent as Scott Stirling used to be.

                      Don't get me wrong; I'm not trying to criticize the job Brendan is doing, because I recognize and appreciate the enormous strides we've made in just over a year. I'm merely questioning our abysmal defensive efforts (or lack thereof). A former defender and defensive coach in particular should be embarrassed by this problem.
                      Last edited by kdiff77; 12-06-2010, 10:53 PM.

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                      • Re: Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

                        When the Mayor's Cup game ends in a tie, what happens to the trophy? Is it like divorced parents with joint custody? PC gets it Monday/Tuesday, Brown on Wednesday/Thursday and they alternate weekends and divvy up holidays and school vacations?

                        jk lol

                        Brown had a nice comeback, but I wish they'd stop digging themselves these holes.

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                        • Re: Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

                          Originally posted by brown_penguin View Post
                          When the Mayor's Cup game ends in a tie, what happens to the trophy? Is it like divorced parents with joint custody? PC gets it Monday/Tuesday, Brown on Wednesday/Thursday and they alternate weekends and divvy up holidays and school vacations?

                          jk lol

                          Brown had a nice comeback, but I wish they'd stop digging themselves these holes.
                          I think the trophy actually reverts back to the team that last held it (in all seriousness). Although your comment... pretty funny.

                          I think part of the problem is that the team has no natural, strong, stay-at-home defensemen. Most teams can collapse back into their zone with two blue-liners who are anywhere from 6-2 to 6-5. They can stand in the back and clear the slot. The forwards meanwhile can cycle out to protect against the outside shots and get breakouts.

                          For the past couple years, Brown has been converting forwards to defensemen. This makes the offense explosive, but the defense ends up nonexistant. Couple that with a few goalies who aren't fantastic, and the goals start mounting.

                          On top of it all, the offense itself is explosive, but at the same time they're not getting production from anything outside of the top 2 lines (specifically Line 1). Jack McClellan should garner some type of mention for All Conference. What's he on pace for? 60-70 points? But outside of that, what's the third line done this year? What's the fourth line done? Is there even a fourth line at this point?

                          The fourth line is supposed to go out and spell the top 3 lines just long enough to keep the other team from scoring. They give you 5-7 minutes a game of physical tough play that doesn't put up points, but it keeps the other team from scoring and breaks them up a little bit. They soften them. brown doesn't have this. And the third line is supposed to occasionally play strong. I don't even think they see ice time because they're not great.

                          It's troubling because it shows a real drop-off and lack of depth.
                          Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.

                          STAY UP #94 #58

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                          • Re: Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

                            Good to see us come back from a deficit late, because lately, we've been blowing leads (Princeton, UNH, BU, Union). I wasn't there and didn't watch, so I can't attest to how we looked, but it seems like we slumbered through two periods and then woke up in the third. That's not so reassuring.

                            But hey, we're 0-0-3 against Hockey East opponents. That's not too bad.

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                            • Re: Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

                              Congrats to Yann Davis who got elected into the ECAC Top 50 this week.
                              Go Red!!

                              National Champions: 1954, 1985, 201x

                              Houston Field House, Cheel Arena, Agganis Arena, Magness Arena, Ritter Arena, Messa Rink, Matthews Arena, Von Braun Center, Lynah Rink, Starr Rink, Appleton Arena, Dwyer Arena, Buffalo State Ice Arena, Kelley Rink (also Verizon Center (DC), Herb Brooks Arena, Fenway Park (Frozen Fenway I), Times Union Center, DCU Center, Blue Cross Arena)

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                              • Re: Brown Hockey 2010-2011 - Onward and Upward

                                Originally posted by Humanoid View Post
                                I think the trophy actually reverts back to the team that last held it (in all seriousness). Although your comment... pretty funny.
                                ::sigh:: Maybe next year.

                                Also, someone at the game asked me what the Brown goal song was and I just shrugged and answered "techno?"

                                haha, anyone know?

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