Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

[Humanoid]

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

On the fight card the other night - Volpatti v Garbutt!!

http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/115924

BTW - Garbutt at Brown - 56, 56, 30, and 61 in terms of PIM over his four years (freshman year last)

Volpatti - 39 as a freshman, 28 as a soph, 54 as a junior...........115 as a senior (on only 37 penalties). JACKPOT

Volpatti got 17 minutes against St. Cloud for facemasking (5, 10 game miscon, and a 2 all on the same play), and got tossed from 3 games that year (not inlcuding the misconduct against SLU in the 3rd place game). Kind of interesting.

[kdiff77]

BTW - Garbutt at Brown - 56, 56, 30, and 61 in terms of PIM over his four years (freshman year last)

Volpatti - 39 as a freshman, 28 as a soph, 54 as a junior...........115 as a senior (on only 37 penalties). JACKPOT

Volpatti got 17 minutes against St. Cloud for facemasking (5, 10 game miscon, and a 2 all on the same play), and got tossed from 3 games that year (not inlcuding the misconduct against SLU in the 3rd place game). Kind of interesting.

You'll notice they were both Grillo recruits. No wonder Brown had a reputation for thugging it up.

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

Bruno on Bruno violence!

Remember when Mike called Garbutt the human penalty at least 5 times. The man was guaranteed to get at least 2 penalties a game for something like boarding or charging. Ahhhhh the good ole days.

OLD TIME HOCKEY!!Don't forget about Harry Z when he would go wild. Quite the trio.
Interestingly, all 3 are playing now in the NHL.

[KFBS]

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

You'll notice they were both Grillo recruits. No wonder Brown had a reputation for thugging it up.

Half of Volpatti's penalties were because his hits sounded so bad. Most were clean, the refs just felt they to call something because it sounded like boards might collapse.

Those stats are more a reflection of the caliber of officials in the ECAC.

[Humanoid]

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

Half of Volpatti's penalties were because his hits sounded so bad. Most were clean, the refs just felt they to call something because it sounded like boards might collapse.

Those stats are more a reflection of the caliber of officials in the ECAC.

I've heard that a few times about Volpatti's hits. The Yale boards were always designed to bend, which meant Antoine Laganiere in his freshman year got clobbered and god fobid someone hit Danny Kearney or that Arcobello dude. Here's 2 minutes, Aaron. Thanks for coming.

Probably my favorite thing was when Volpatti apparently asked the ref to give him a 5 in the 3rd period of the 3rd place game so he could get the all time Brown record for a season. Not sure if that's true or not but he made a hit and told the ref he wanted 5 for the record since neither team was going to the tournament.

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

I've heard that a few times about Volpatti's hits. The Yale boards were always designed to bend, which meant Antoine Laganiere in his freshman year got clobbered and god fobid someone hit Danny Kearney or that Arcobello dude. Here's 2 minutes, Aaron. Thanks for coming.

Probably my favorite thing was when Volpatti apparently asked the ref to give him a 5 in the 3rd period of the 3rd place game so he could get the all time Brown record for a season. Not sure if that's true or not but he made a hit and told the ref he wanted 5 for the record since neither team was going to the tournament.

I believe it is true. I was at that game and when the penalty was called he talked with the ref after the ref signalled a call that seemed to be just a two minute one (I can't recall exactly what it was). When the ref gave him 5, he was all smiles.

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

After last night's win, I started to figure out the possibilities of Brown getting a home ice paly-off series. Seriously math challenged I gave up. I now just saw Burgie12's post. He has done the numbers and thoroughly explored Brown's and others chances after last night's games:

http://board.uscho.com/showthread.ph...ourney-2012-13

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

I have been cleaning out some old files in my home. I came across a copy of the BAM for July 1967, which covered my graduation. An announcement about season tickets for the upcoming 1967-1968 hockey season caught my eye. You youngsters out there will see the great support Brown hockey got back then. Below is a link to the page it was on.


http://archive.org/stream/brownalumn...ge/96/mode/2up

[BrunoFan00]

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

Some thoughts about the weekend:

1. Jeffrey Ryan should be the ECAC Player of the Week. Three points at Princeton and two down the stretch against the #1 team in league to give the Bears a tie. His goal against Qpac to bring the Bears within one was about determination and grit, and he got the EA goal started with some terrific play against the boards to free the puck up for Lorito, who set it to Zaires. He skated tremendously against Quinnipiac, finished some hits, killed penalties, and buzzed around the ice. I cannot think of any player who had this significant an improvement from his first three years to his final in my 17 years watching this team - maybe Jon DiRienzo, but DiRienzo had the benefit of skating with Damien Prescott. (Truthfully, all too often we were waiting for these break-throughs, they never happened, and players too frequently declined).

2. With Hathaway out on Saturday night, I admittedly felt like the Bears would struggle against Quinnipiac, and when they went up 3-1 early in the third, I thought it was all but over. So too did most of their fans, and you got the sense that the only people in the building that felt the Bears were going to come back were behind the Brown bench.

3. When Quinnipiac called timeout after the Ryan goal, the Bears' bench went to right to work. Brendan Whittet went down to the side of the bench with the d-men and left Mike Souza to talk to the forwards. At such a critical juncture of the game, he wasn't micromanaging, and his ability to use the coaching staff in its entirety, coupled with the fierce energy that he was bringing, was masterful. To get two goals in two minutes against a team that last gave up more than two almost two months ago (and that to Nebraska-Omaha), while trailing 3-1 on the road, on their senior night, gave yet more evidence of why Brendan Whittet may be deserving of more consideration for league coach of the year than he will actually get.

4. Very impressed with Brown's d-zone play for the most part. Yes, there was an errant pass or two that led to the first (and last) Quinnipiac goal, and a couple of icings in the overtime that may have caused a heart palpitation or two, and the DeConcylis penalty to prompt the second Quinnipiac goal, but overall the Brown defense played pretty well, and Anthony Borelli was solid once again.

5. Once again, give me Brendan Whittet any night of the week.

6. I think Quinnipiac is a good team, but Hartzell may be a product of a system. Once Brown put some heat on him, he collapsed; a goal was disallowed, and the play of guys like Barron and Dalhuisen, who are physical and strong in front of him, helped clear out other pucks that would have otherwise caused him more problems. I honestly don't see them as the #1 team in the nation; a team that knows how to win, sure. A team that plays a solid system and gets balanced scoring from four lines, absolutely. But #1 in the nation is a stretch, I think.

7. The past two Cleary Cup winners have been winless against the Brown Bears, Union in 2011-12 and Quinnipiac this year.

8. In case I hadn't mentioned it, give me Brendan Whittet any night of the week.

9. I'm hoping Hathaway's injury isn't serious. While Siers gave the Bears a couple of good shifts, and Lamacchia and Senecal filled in ok with Naclerio and Ryan, Brown needs #23 to make some consistent noise, particularly moving into the playoffs.

10. Looking forward to next weekend. I hope the students and the community make it out for two big games; Cornell is starting to roll, and Colgate always plays us tough. Very excited.

[Humanoid]

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

Some thoughts about the weekend:

1. Jeffrey Ryan should be the ECAC Player of the Week. Three points at Princeton and two down the stretch against the #1 team in league to give the Bears a tie. His goal against Qpac to bring the Bears within one was about determination and grit, and he got the EA goal started with some terrific play against the boards to free the puck up for Lorito, who set it to Zaires. He skated tremendously against Quinnipiac, finished some hits, killed penalties, and buzzed around the ice. I cannot think of any player who had this significant an improvement from his first three years to his final in my 17 years watching this team - maybe Jon DiRienzo, but DiRienzo had the benefit of skating with Damien Prescott. (Truthfully, all too often we were waiting for these break-throughs, they never happened, and players too frequently declined).

2. With Hathaway out on Saturday night, I admittedly felt like the Bears would struggle against Quinnipiac, and when they went up 3-1 early in the third, I thought it was all but over. So too did most of their fans, and you got the sense that the only people in the building that felt the Bears were going to come back were behind the Brown bench.

3. When Quinnipiac called timeout after the Ryan goal, the Bears' bench went to right to work. Brendan Whittet went down to the side of the bench with the d-men and left Mike Souza to talk to the forwards. At such a critical juncture of the game, he wasn't micromanaging, and his ability to use the coaching staff in its entirety, coupled with the fierce energy that he was bringing, was masterful. To get two goals in two minutes against a team that last gave up more than two almost two months ago (and that to Nebraska-Omaha), while trailing 3-1 on the road, on their senior night, gave yet more evidence of why Brendan Whittet may be deserving of more consideration for league coach of the year than he will actually get.

4. Very impressed with Brown's d-zone play for the most part. Yes, there was an errant pass or two that led to the first (and last) Quinnipiac goal, and a couple of icings in the overtime that may have caused a heart palpitation or two, and the DeConcylis penalty to prompt the second Quinnipiac goal, but overall the Brown defense played pretty well, and Anthony Borelli was solid once again.

5. Once again, give me Brendan Whittet any night of the week.

6. I think Quinnipiac is a good team, but Hartzell may be a product of a system. Once Brown put some heat on him, he collapsed; a goal was disallowed, and the play of guys like Barron and Dalhuisen, who are physical and strong in front of him, helped clear out other pucks that would have otherwise caused him more problems. I honestly don't see them as the #1 team in the nation; a team that knows how to win, sure. A team that plays a solid system and gets balanced scoring from four lines, absolutely. But #1 in the nation is a stretch, I think.

7. The past two Cleary Cup winners have been winless against the Brown Bears, Union in 2011-12 and Quinnipiac this year.

8. In case I hadn't mentioned it, give me Brendan Whittet any night of the week.

9. I'm hoping Hathaway's injury isn't serious. While Siers gave the Bears a couple of good shifts, and Lamacchia and Senecal filled in ok with Naclerio and Ryan, Brown needs #23 to make some consistent noise, particularly moving into the playoffs.

10. Looking forward to next weekend. I hope the students and the community make it out for two big games; Cornell is starting to roll, and Colgate always plays us tough. Very excited.

Some thoughts of my own (even though you made several of them).

1) The fact that we say this about Jeffrey Ryan is something special. He's not a particular great skill player, but the fact that he factors into a decision late in the year shows that Brown can really have anyone show up on any given night.

2) I was actually talking to someone about Hathaway being out, and they said something to the effect of that Brown really needs him. I turned around and said, "Well that means someone else will have to step up." I didn't mean it in a sense that "Ok hathaway's out, who cares?" I meant in a sense of "Do you really expect Brown to roll over because a guy is out with an injury?" There is no injury that this Brown team can't overcome. There might be nothing they can't overcome on the whole. I love that I called that one.

3) The same thing happened against Quinnipiac at Brown. Tied at 1-1, the refs called two quick penalties against brown because, you know, their prized possession of the #1 team in the nation can't God Forbid lose a game to *gasp* Brown (hehehehehe). That set up a VERY long 5-on-3. Whittet burned his TO and called his players over. He said one thing to Lamacchia, with an exaggerated point. Almost positive it was just "win the f---ing faceoff" (pardon my Francois Drolet on that one). Then he coached the two defensemen (Robertson and Wahl). The trio won the faceoff then killed off the entire 5-on-3 on their own in what was an absolutely fantastic moment. Every time I see Whittet and the staff start talking to the players, I get giddy and want to lace them up.

4) Jake Goldberg for Defender of the Year. Is there anyone who would argue this?

5) My first born will be named Whittet Euler Humanoid. Mrs. Humanoid doesn't know this yet. I'm sure it'll go over well.

6) Hartzell is soft. He's a lot like that Yale guy back in the day. When you have a team in front of you that's really solid, a goalie looks great. Few teams in college actually have a goalie who can dominate for them. Niagara had all those shutouts, but that wa a product of team defense and play as opposed to Chubak dominating the games. Same thing with Boston College and the great Pahkah Milnah. Milner is actually a very weak goalie; he won titles becuase he had the world' sbest defense in front of him. Ditto for Kieran Millan up there where people major in "Saying No and Ignoring It" - BU. Hartzell's no different. You take him and put him on other teams and he's average. Likewise you take an average goalie like a Tony Capobianco or a Raphael Girard and put them on great teams with solid systems and you get stat kings.

Except for that Meisner guy at AIC. He's playing his arse off and that team is HORRIBLE. I spend a lot of time with the AHA and I swear to God that guy goes to bed at night with nightmares of rubber plants.

7) This is why championships aren't won in the regular season. See also: 2007 New England Patriots, 16-0. Excuse me while I go set fire to the giant salad fork sticking out of my back.

8) My first born will not be named Grillo Roy Humanoid. Speaking of which, my daily shot at that putz up at Northeastern. Tell me how the entire collective buttocks of Hockey East tastes. 10th place? Hey nowwwwww THAT's a solid program right there. Hope the Fat One is readying his resume in two years. Am I coming off spiteful and bitter? Yes? Then again, he'd probably have killed this team and its great chemistry then left after a year. But, hey, he'll always have that runners up trophy from the Beanpot. Goes again to prove that one player does NOT make a team. A team makes a team.

That said - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYHSDuLUSug - makes me think of both of them.

9) All I'll say to that is - In Whittet We Trust. Just remember to breathe and think of it this way. Every time you go to analyze why Brown will struggle without a guy, just remember who the coach is. KG - take it away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyjOy7fRzs0

10) If any student reads this. Go out, buy some ice cold dr. peppers and come put your school colors on to support this team. They are making the name on the front of the jersey proud, and you dont even have to like hockey to enjoy this. They are playing for themselves, and they are playing for the university that they chose to attend. It's something I said at the beginning of the year when moose knuckle headed for NU. You play for the name on the front of the jersey not the name on the back, and Brendan's rallied this team for that cause. The students should recognize this and realize that they, too, chose the name on the front of those jerseys, and even if you don't like sports, you can go and stand up for YOUR school. Not the alumni. Not the administration. YOUR school and YOUR team. And that's awesome.

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

In contact with Bruno today he mentioned that Brown is tied for second in the Ivy race with Dartmouth. Yale has clinched the Ivy title.
Focusing on the ECAC, I keep on forgetting about the Ivy race. @nd is good.

Also, in then focusing on Ivy statistics I noticed Borelli is #1 ranked goalie, Hathaway and Lorito are tied for fifth, and Naclerio is top ranked freshman in scoring. Throw in Robertson, Pfeil and Goldberg, Brown should have a stronshowing in All-Ivy.

[BrunoFan00]

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

In contact with Bruno today he mentioned that Brown is tied for second in the Ivy race with Dartmouth. Yale has clinched the Ivy title.
Focusing on the ECAC, I keep on forgetting about the Ivy race. @nd is good.

Also, in then focusing on Ivy statistics I noticed Borelli is #1 ranked goalie, Hathaway and Lorito are tied for fifth, and Naclerio is top ranked freshman in scoring. Throw in Robertson, Pfeil and Goldberg, Brown should have a stronshowing in All-Ivy.

Borelli is absolutely the first-team all-ivy goalie. Shutout Cornell and Yale, played great twice against Princeton (almost a third shutout there), and played well against Dartmouth and Harvard. To me, Naclerio is an all-Rookie guy, probably Honorable Mention, as is Pfeil. Besides Sdao from Princeton and probably one of the Dartmouth guys, I can't think of a better d-man than Robertson.

Forwards a tougher nut to crack. Sikura (D), Agostino and Miller (Y), Calof (P), and probably Laganiere are the top forwards, IMHO. Nothing against Hathaway or Lorito, but those guys have been a step above. Hathaway is probably a second team guy.

All Rookie, if there were an All-Ivy rookie team:
Naclerio, Lappin, and Criscuolo (from Harvard) are no brainers. Pfeil and Obuchowski (Yale) are the top frosh D-men. Goalie is probably Charles Grant from Dartmouth, as I don't think many others have gotten Ivy minutes, and I think he only played three games.

Interesting debate, for sure.

[BrunoFan00]

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

And, lest the Yale folks argue for Malcolm, bear this number in mind:

Malcolm has the best winning percentage, true, at 6-0. He also allowed double the number of goals on 32 less shots than Borelli, who sported an unconscious .970 save percentage and 0.88 GAA in Ivy play. Yann had a GAA of 1.18 and save percentage of a mere .960 in 2004, when the Bears tied for Ivy League title with a 7-2-1 record. Pretty good company there for Mr. Borelli.

In contact with Bruno today he mentioned that Brown is tied for second in the Ivy race with Dartmouth. Yale has clinched the Ivy title.
Focusing on the ECAC, I keep on forgetting about the Ivy race. @nd is good.

Also, in then focusing on Ivy statistics I noticed Borelli is #1 ranked goalie, Hathaway and Lorito are tied for fifth, and Naclerio is top ranked freshman in scoring. Throw in Robertson, Pfeil and Goldberg, Brown should have a stronshowing in All-Ivy.

[MarkEagleUSA]

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

6. I think Quinnipiac is a good team, but Hartzell may be a product of a system. Once Brown put some heat on him, he collapsed

Not trying to be argumentative here but I disagree. He did not collapse. The entire team went to sleep for the last 2-1/2 minutes and played really sloppy in front of him. I didn't have a good look at either of the late goals so I can't say whether they were all Hartzy's fault.

a goal was disallowed

Because your guy drove the net and forced Hartzell across the line after he had stopped the puck. It was clearly the right call (even in the ECAC) and I was shocked it was made, and made quickly.

the play of guys like Barron and Dalhuisen, who are physical and strong in front of him, helped clear out other pucks that would have otherwise caused him more problems.

Isn't that what defensemen are supposed to do? Why do you think we have one of the nations best defense's? I feel it's the top reason for our success thus far.

I admit, Hartzell hasn't faced as much rubber as some other goalies, but he's been there when we needed him. He's kept us in games when our defense was suspect and offense wasn't producing. Is he the best goalie to strap on the pads? No, but he's been above average all season long.

I honestly don't see them as the #1 team in the nation; a team that knows how to win, sure. A team that plays a solid system and gets balanced scoring from four lines, absolutely. But #1 in the nation is a stretch, I think.

A stretch? How so? Look at the numbers, they speak volumes. Since the polls are really nothing more than a popularity contest and/or power ranking, they're very subjective. But the PairWise and other statistical measurements aren't. The 'Cats have done what they needed to do. They haven't been flashy or put up huge scores, but they have done the work. To me, the ranking is just recognition for their effort.

Having said all that, I was impressed with Brown last night. In fact, I thought they gave us a tougher challenge than Yale did Friday. The difference last night was Hartzell for the first 58 minutes, and Brown's never quit attitude over the last 2. I thought we carried an edge in overtime but I feel the team was content with a tie. I think you'll make some noise in the ECAC's and I hope we don't have to face you come the 15th of March.

[BrunoFan00]

Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

Not trying to be argumentative here but I disagree. He did not collapse. The entire team went to sleep for the last 2-1/2 minutes and played really sloppy in front of him. I didn't have a good look at either of the late goals so I can't say whether they were all Hartzy's fault.

He looked rattled after the first goal and didn't have the same lateral movement or focus on the last one. The defense was skating, but the forwards weren't back-checking on the last goal, which allowed Brown to put more heat to the goal than he had seen in the first 50 minutes combined, or so it seemed.

Because your guy drove the net and forced Hartzell across the line after he had stopped the puck. It was clearly the right call (even in the ECAC) and I was shocked it was made, and made quickly.

I didn't say it was the wrong call. I'm just saying the goal was disallowed. In years past, a Brown team that has a goal disallowed would hang its collective head and give up.

Isn't that what defensemen are supposed to do? Why do you think we have one of the nations best defense's? I feel it's the top reason for our success thus far. I admit, Hartzell hasn't faced as much rubber as some other goalies, but he's been there when we needed him. He's kept us in games when our defense was suspect and offense wasn't producing. Is he the best goalie to strap on the pads? No, but he's been above average all season long.

Whoa, relax. Yes, that is what they are supposed to do, and they are good. But hence why I think Hartzell is a product of the system. I thought he moved well, made some nice saves, and is very good. But hardly one of the best goalies in recent league memory. Very good, yes. Excellent at times, yes. And, as you put it, certainly above average. But I don't quite put him in the category of Danis, Leneveu, McKee, Grosenick a year ago.

A stretch? How so? Look at the numbers, they speak volumes. Since the polls are really nothing more than a popularity contest and/or power ranking, they're very subjective. But the PairWise and other statistical measurements aren't. The 'Cats have done what they needed to do. They haven't been flashy or put up huge scores, but they have done the work. To me, the ranking is just recognition for their effort.

Again, relax. Just because I don't think they are the best team in the country doesn't mean I don't think they are a good team, or deserving of a #1 seed in the national tournament when it rolls around next month, depending what happens in the next few weeks. Having seen BC, Minnesota, and Miami in person, I think they are better teams, top to bottom, and have done more against better opponents. Please don't take this as personal effrontery or condemnation of the body of work Quinnipiac has put together this year - I am impressed by them, and, let's face it, most Brown fans would give up a limb or appendage to have a team be 22-4. As to the PWR, somehow Yale is #15. And their past month has been, well, iffy.

Having said all that, I was impressed with Brown last night. In fact, I thought they gave us a tougher challenge than Yale did Friday. The difference last night was Hartzell for the first 58 minutes, and Brown's never quit attitude over the last 2. I thought we carried an edge in overtime but I feel the team was content with a tie. I think you'll make some noise in the ECAC's and I hope we don't have to face you come the 15th of March.

I felt the difference in the first 58 minutes was Brown getting pushed around physically. Goodman, Dalhuisen, Barron, Van Brabant - every single one of those guys finished big, clean hits, and then most of the Bobcats watched the Bears skate around in the last five minutes of the game. Very perplexing if I'm a Q fan. The two games between Brown and Quinnipiac were classics, mainly because Brown played to the level of their opponent. And, again, I give credit where credit is due - to the Brown coaching staff, for keeping the Bears believing that they can compete with anyone against whom they strap on the pads.

Appreciate the dialogue, and wish you well. Unless we're playing you!