Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

[Pappy89]

RPI fan here. I was at the game as well. You are correct that the 3 goals were team goals. Ernst was very good 1 on 1. The third goal was an unsettled puck that "knuckleballed" over his shoulder. I was at the opposite end and saw it clearly. Just cannot read those pucks off the stick.

Brown is big, and played big the first period. The game opened up in the second period, which suited RPI more. If Brown can keep the game slow, and clear the crease more consistently, they can win games. I'm surprised at your record. You are much better than your record shows. And yes, one of your ties should be a win. Good luck in the playoffs, and I hope we do not draw you.

Was at the game and I can't agree with this. The 3rd goal, assuming it was not a tip, was weak. The other 3 were not. 1st PP was a rebound with traffic in front. Second through a screen. 4th goal was an RPI forward jamming it in from under his pad. These are all "team" goals.

On the other hand, I thought he could easily have let in 2-3 more in the 3rd. He made a number of strong saves. In the end... I'd put the blame on poor D zone coverage by the team.

He played well enough to win but the team did not. Had he played out of his mind... then they could have hung on.

[kdiff77]

Was at the game and I can't agree with this. The 3rd goal, assuming it was not a tip, was weak. The other 3 were not. 1st PP was a rebound with traffic in front. Second through a screen. 4th goal was an RPI forward jamming it in from under his pad. These are all "team" goals.

On the other hand, I thought he could easily have let in 2-3 more in the 3rd. He made a number of strong saves. In the end... I'd put the blame on poor D zone coverage by the team.

He played well enough to win but the team did not. Had he played out of his mind... then they could have hung on.

The team significantly outplayed RPI, taking 52 shot attempts to RPI's 39. RPI played a better third period but Brown dominated the first 40 minutes and should have won the game. Poor goaltending and inopportune penalty-taking killed us.

The first goal was a result of nice puck movement that had Ernst moving laterally, so there was very little he could've done.

The second was a wide open shot from the point. He was not screened. It was not tipped. He simply didn't stop it.

The third goal was a joke.

The fourth goal was a bad rebound that no goalie at this level should give up, which allowed RPI to jam it in.

If we had a goaltender who could give us a .910 save percentage (which REALLY isn't asking for a lot, since that's still below average), we would likely have four or five more wins this season. The forward corps is good at keeping possession and generating chances, though they need to improve at executing. The defensemen are actually playing pretty well in general. But goaltending is the Achilles' heel of this team.

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

Ernst was terrific tonight, bailing out his shaky defense time and again. I thought we were ok overall, but that Union was more assertive and stronger on the puck. Frankly, both teams are better than their records right now.

How about those line combinations tonight? I don't think Mark Naclerio had ever played on the third line in his Brown career before this game - he started in the top six his freshman year and has been a mainstay ever since. However, he hasn't been playing well lately, so I didn't mind the move, especially considering that Lafferty and Corcoran have each looked good recently.

It pains me that both Schoo and Scherer were scratched both nights. Those two are far too talented to ride the pine. I'd be fine with a rotation now that all of the defensemen are healthy, but there's no way Schoo and Sherer can both sit in back-to-back games.

I was initially skeptical about the Rossi-Pryzbek-Doane line, but they actually contributed well - aside from the goal, which all three players combined on, they forechecked well and cycled very effectively, creating several good chances in the process.

All in all, we won't beat Harvard or Dartmouth next week if we're as sloppy as we were against RPI and Union. But if we can cut down on silly turnovers, get some decent goaltending and get pucks to the net more frequently, we could pull it off.

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

Iyou are not warching the Bean Pot tonight, check your listings for the AHL All Statr Game. Yann Danis was selectcted as one of the 2 goalies for the Eastern Division.

[BrunoFan00]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

Tonight's game will be broadcast locally on AM790 and online via 790business.com. I'm not sure what sort of video feed UConn provides.

[kdiff77]

I disagree with you assessment of the goalies. Yes the third goal was a joke but you cant put this on our goalies. How many odd man breaks or breakaways did they have. I think that our defense is very suspect. I have been to all the games and have watched time and again the defensemen not stand up anyone at our blue line. They give up the opposing blue line and allow the opponent an easy break out. On two on ones, they consistently go after the player with the puck rather than shutting down the passing lane ( Goalie takes the shooter and defenseman takes away the pass). They dont fight for real estate in front of our net. The defenseman are -8,-6,-6,-6,-1,-1,-1 with only Pheil and Wynne at 0 and no one on the positive side of the ledger. There is a lot of talent here. Ernst has shown he can win given support. Steele has shown glimpses of the season he had two years ago. Conor Maher had a decent game against Clarkson. !st goal tipped in by his own defenseman, 2nd goal was the result of a back door pass that wasnt defended and the 3rd was a 2 on 1 that was played wrong. After that the team quit.

I don't disagree that the defense is suspect - with few exceptions, they don't do a great job of shutting down passing/shooting lanes and clearing pucks out of the zone.

But you can't ignore that goaltending has been a major problem for this team. It's not the issue every night - for example, Ernst singlehandedly got us a point against Union - but I would argue that the goalies have played poorly more often than they've played well.

Anyway, tonight should be a good test. UConn has shown flashes of ability and played some of the better HE teams tough (they tied BC at Conte last weekend). But they've also been beaten by some of the lesser HE opponents, so it'll be interesting to see how they come out against us.

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

Conor Maher had a decent game against Clarkson. !st goal tipped in by his own defenseman, 2nd goal was the result of a back door pass that wasnt defended and the 3rd was a 2 on 1 that was played wrong. After that the team quit.

Team quit? Pretty harsh assessment. I have seen Brown play poorly in several games over the years but I never thought it quit. Curious as to your reasons for that conclusion.

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

I'm going to set the under/over for tonight's crowd at 100. The snow is coming down hard!

Let's just hope Massachusetts hasn't plowed 95 very well and Harvard has to endure a super long, tedious bus ride.

I do feel like we might pull off an upset tonight - Harvard is coming off the Beanpot loss and might get caught looking ahead to Yale tomorrow. But we need to play very, very well. That's an extremely talented team.

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

I'm going to set the under/over for tonight's crowd at 100. The snow is coming down hard!

Let's just hope Massachusetts hasn't plowed 95 very well and Harvard has to endure a super long, tedious bus ride.

I do feel like we might pull off an upset tonight - Harvard is coming off the Beanpot loss and might get caught looking ahead to Yale tomorrow. But we need to play very, very well. That's an extremely talented team.

(1) What's the weather prediction for tomorrow? If my grandaughters' HS hockey game is over sooner than later, I was thinking on coming down for the honoring of 1976 team. Best ever? But I still have a sour taste from last year when I drove down after a snow storm.

(2) Fully agree with you as to H. And if Brown wins, and with Dartmouth traveling on 95 through a storm, Brown has a good chance to prevail.

[kdiff77]

(1) What's the weather prediction for tomorrow? If my grandaughters' HS hockey game is over sooner than later, I was thinking on coming down for the honoring of 1976 team. Best ever? But I still have a sour taste from last year when I drove down after a snow storm.

(2) Fully agree with you as to H. And if Brown wins, and with Dartmouth traveling on 95 through a storm, Brown has a good chance to prevail.

The weather looks clear for tomorrow - it's supposed to stop snowing around 6 tonight, and it'll be almost 40 degrees tomorrow so a lot of the accumulation might melt. It looks like we only have 5 inches or so right now, anyway.

That 1976 team, though before my time, has to be considered the best in program history. Hands down.

Dartmouth scares me just as much as Harvard. This is a ridiculously underrated team (due to its poor start) that is clicking on all cylinders right now. It'll be a tough weekend if we don't get efficient scoring, strong defense, limited turnovers and penalties, AND dependable goaltending. It's time for guys to step up!

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

Well, Harvard does look pretty flat! Unfortunately, we look flatter.

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

The officiating in the third period was an absolute travesty. We deserved a point out of that. Unbelievable.

[BrunoFan00]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

The officiating in the third period was an absolute travesty. We deserved a point out of that. Unbelievable.

From where I was sitting, the first penalty should have, minimally, been matching. The way that Harvard's Anderson was grinning on the bench came because he knew he should have gone to the box - hell, he stayed on the ice and appeared shocked they weren't matching. I thought the Willman penalty was ticky-tack at best. But not the difference. The first goal shouldn't have happened, and I think the Vesey goal that was disallowed was a beauty - maybe offside, maybe a skate in the crease, but probably should have been a goal. Never mind that both of the Brown goals were soft.

This team plays just well enough to not win. Frustrating.

[kdiff77]

From where I was sitting, the first penalty should have, minimally, been matching. The way that Harvard's Anderson was grinning on the bench came because he knew he should have gone to the box - hell, he stayed on the ice and appeared shocked they weren't matching. I thought the Willman penalty was ticky-tack at best. But not the difference. The first goal shouldn't have happened, and I think the Vesey goal that was disallowed was a beauty - maybe offside, maybe a skate in the crease, but probably should have been a goal. Never mind that both of the Brown goals were soft.

This team plays just well enough to not win. Frustrating.

VERY frustrating. Once again, Brown plays well against a better opponent and comes up with nothing.

The first goal was bad; looked like Ernst just lost it. The second was unavoidable - a shot attempt was blocked in front of the Harvard goal, and the defender sprung the best player in the country on a clean breakaway.

We never should've been put in the position where the third was possible. The call on Willman was, at BEST, laughable. And the roughing call a few minutes earlier should have gone both ways, since BOTH PLAYERS were involved.

I hope this team comes out mad tomorrow and jumps all over Dartmouth. They really need (and deserve) a win.

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

While on the Ivy Sports website, I came across this compilation of Ivy League championships.

http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/histo...eague/BySchool

Other than not being in last place, Brown's record is not great. But what is especially telling is that over the last several years Brown is consistently last. Can this be explained by Ruth Simmons' indifference to athletics or is something else going on?