Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

[Euler18]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

All I know after this debacle is that Brendan had better skate this team ragged next week. If we don't rebound against Union, that is, but the way we played tonight wasn't good enough to beat anyone in the country. Getting shut out in two games against one of the worst teams in the NCAA is pathetic.

But beating the same nationally ranked team twice over the past two and a half months is precious!

 

[kdiff77]

But beating the same nationally ranked team twice over the past two and a half months is precious!

This team is so frustrating! But so elating! Oy vey.

The first period looked like more of Friday's game, but the last two periods, particularly the third, were tremendous. Great, entertaining game.

 

[Wholin1]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

Well we know who our Daddy is. Props to Brown and please don't line up with Union in the playoffs.

 

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

Interview with Ryan Jacobson in today's BDH:

http://www.browndailyherald.com/jacobson-15-shoots-into-top-10-rookie-scorers-1.2691091

 

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

Why was Farnham not playing last night? I didn't catch the Dartmouth game, so I can only assume he was injured (please, no!), suspended, or benched based on something that happened in Friday night's game.

As for last night's game, we looked to be the vastly better team the first two periods but then the vastly worse team in the third. Both Harvard goals occurred directly following officiating miscues - on the first, both linesmen had their arms raised as if they were going to call icing, but never blew the whistle. No one waved off the icing, they just didn't call it! On the second, Lamacchia was taken down in front of the Harvard net and slammed into the boards, but no interference call was made, and Harvard countered and scored. I'm not going to blame Harvard for taking advantage, but the officials were just awful (surprise!). The third goal, of course, was a n empty-netter.

Overall, it was a disappointing weekend after getting 5 of the last 8 possible points. Outscored 9-3 in two games? Yikes.

 

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

The ups and downs of this young team are maddening. Hopefully, and I believe it will happen, by the time of a home first round playoff series the team will have really jelled.

 

[BrunoFan00]

Why was Farnham not playing last night? I didn't catch the Dartmouth game, so I can only assume he was injured (please, no!), suspended, or benched based on something that happened in Friday night's game.

As for last night's game, we looked to be the vastly better team the first two periods but then the vastly worse team in the third. Both Harvard goals occurred directly following officiating miscues - on the first, both linesmen had their arms raised as if they were going to call icing, but never blew the whistle. No one waved off the icing, they just didn't call it! On the second, Lamacchia was taken down in front of the Harvard net and slammed into the boards, but no interference call was made, and Harvard countered and scored. I'm not going to blame Harvard for taking advantage, but the officials were just awful (surprise!). The third goal, of course, was a n empty-netter.

Overall, it was a disappointing weekend after getting 5 of the last 8 possible points. Outscored 9-3 in two games? Yikes.

Farnham skated in warmups, so I can only assume he was either testing something that didn't feel quite right or was ill. I am hoping it's the latter.

The officiating was, again, inconsistent. I saw both goals exactly as you did - the icing where both officials were looking at each other but not waving it off, and the second one where the Brown skater was caught up ice after a trip - only I thought it was Buvinow, not Lamacchia. Either way, the trip wasn't called. There was another situation when Brown was on the power play when Lorito was clearly tripped, it wasn't called, and Harvard countered, and one of the Bears got called for a hold or interference to end the power play prematurely.

Another peculiarity - the same guys who had apparently disallowed a couple goals and lost control of the Brown-Dartmouth game were at Bright last night. Very odd.

As to ECAC officiating, it does not seem as though improving it is really a priority. In fact, it seems as though the league is fairly comfortable with the officials' general body of work. I can't for the life of me figure it out. What troubled me about last night's game was how the stickwork that was allowed in the first two periods suddenly became a penalty in the third. Not that the inconsistency should be such a shock at this point.

Back to the Bears... good to see Hathaway back in the lineup. He seems to be working his way back into the regular rotation. Harlow continues to skate well without the good fortune of finishing. Drolet played a solid game against Harvard, and it was nice to see Smith, who has played his best hockey this year, get a goal by virtue of hard work. That said, not sure if the 9 goals can be attributed to the defense or to the goaltending. Either way, the Bears squandered points that would have seen them closing in on the top 4 and instead are now fighting for home ice, with very hot RPI on their tails. Seriously... what are the odds of an 8-9 series, with Brown going to Yale.

A credit to Brendan Whittet for having the Bears so focuses last night. They came out and stayed out of the box for 40 minutes against the best power play in the nation, and seemed to have put the Dartmout game behind them. That said, Mike H is right: the inconsistency of this team is indeed maddening!

 

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

Hathaway looked good in his return. It will be interesting to see who loses ice time now that he's back (Jeff Ryan? Harlow? Draper?).

I don't know if anyone has noticed this, but Adam Goldberg has not played since the Princeton game, when he had a breakaway and elected to pass rather than shoot, and the play was broken up. He was benched for the rest of the game, and I have not even seen him dress since then. Anyone know if Whittet is punishing him for that play, or if he simply has fallen out of favor? He was on the second line that game, so to drop so quickly to being benched would be odd.

Also, is there any word on what was wrong with Farnham against Harvard, and if he'll be ready to play this weekend?

 

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

Jack M has been nominated - 1 of 10 - for the Lowe's senior CLASS award

http://www.uscho.com/2012/02/01/lowes-senior-class-award-finalists-announced/

 

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

Hathaway looked good in his return. It will be interesting to see who loses ice time now that he's back (Jeff Ryan? Harlow? Draper?).

I don't know if anyone has noticed this, but Adam Goldberg has not played since the Princeton game, when he had a breakaway and elected to pass rather than shoot, and the play was broken up. He was benched for the rest of the game, and I have not even seen him dress since then. Anyone know if Whittet is punishing him for that play, or if he simply has fallen out of favor? He was on the second line that game, so to drop so quickly to being benched would be odd.

Has Goldberg like Carrier left the team?

Also, big weekend coming up. I think that if Brown does not aweep, it will be difficult to get a home series in first round. I can't make it to Providence so I am taking the second best choice for things to do - watch Cornell at Union.

 

[kdiff77]

Also, big weekend coming up. I think that if Brown does not aweep, it will be difficult to get a home series in first round. I can't make it to Providence so I am taking the second best choice for things to do - watch Cornell at Union.

Not a bad alternative! Should be a great game.

 

[BrunoFan00]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

Has Goldberg like Carrier left the team?

Also, big weekend coming up. I think that if Brown does not aweep, it will be difficult to get a home series in first round. I can't make it to Providence so I am taking the second best choice for things to do - watch Cornell at Union.

Goldberg, unlike Carrier, is still on the roster. My guess is he's not playing because, well, he wasn't playing well. It's unfortunate that a guy who came with a lot of credentials has basically played his way out of the lineup. But, truthfully, I don't know who he would play over. He's not as multi-dimensional (i.e. can kill penalties) as Hourihan, doesn't have speed as good as Harlow, and can't center like Juola. Even guys like Ryan and Drolet, seldom used in the past, have earned more minutes. I'm hoping Goldberg elevates his game into next year, when the roles and spots of guys like Smith will be up for grabs.

Since Juola has come back to the lineup, Zaires is back on the wing, not center - and has played much better. Be interesting to see if that pattern continues this weekend.

Agreed - this has to be a sweep, or at the very least three points. We can't keep giving up points to teams with whom we are battling for home ice in the cluster that is 75% of the ECAC.

 

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

This is embarrassing. Absolutely, completely embarrassing. We have blown a THREE GOAL LEAD AT HOME TO THE LAST-PLACE IN THE LEAGUE.

Unless something remarkable happens, this is going to be our 4th-straight loss. That's just not good enough, not at this stage in the season.

I know I said at the beginning of the season (in reaction to the title of this thread) that it would probably take one more year for us to start winning consistently. I stand by that, but at the same time, we should be winning NOW, to some degree. I know this team is young. I know there aren't a lot of leaders. But the team's play is, quite simply, just not. good. enough. It's not like there's a dearth of talent here- this is a good team, and we all know it. They just don't have any heart. None whatsoever. And that's on the coaching staff.

I'll give Whittet one more season to start getting good results. If he fails, he's as worthless as Grillo was, in my eyes. And yes- I am declaring this season done. Barring something remarkable, and near-miraculous, we are going to finish somewhere from 10th-12th, and we are going to get creamed by the likes of Harvard, Dartmouth, Clarkson, or Quinnipiac (all of which have had our number lately). The only thing that separates Whittet's teams from Grillo's is that we don't play like thugs anymore. Whoopty-doo.

 

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

What happened last night? The PA at Union gave a score of Brown 3 SLU 0. Is Mike C lost? Other problems?

After seeing Cornell twice this weekend, one on TV and then at Achilles, and Union against Brown once at Achilles, it is notable that Brown has beaten U both times and Cornell once. U is a very good team. With its #1 goalie playing last night instead of #2, who is good but not as good as Gosenick, U would have won as #2 let in two soft goals. Cornell gave U trouble with its neutral zone trap, the same scheme Coach Whittet used when Brown beat U the first time. U finally started to dump the puck in and use its superior skill and skating to tie Cornell. Still not that impressed with Iles. He seems to get rattled when pressure is put on him with several shots.

I'm off to see Brown play Colgate Saturday. Colgate simply destroyed RPI last night (I just finished watching the game on tape) and with Brown losing twice to RPI with no goals, Brown better be ready.

 

[Brunofan]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

Ouch - is the honeymoon is over with the first slam on Brendan? Soon we'll be comparing the Grillo vs Whittet breakout.....

Tough time to go on a four game losing streak - I was looking at the standings and with five conference wins we are in 11th place, but teams bunched up ahead of us only have have six to seven wins. We could have stayed in the thick of things if we had taken care of what seemed like winnable games. Rest of the schedule looks tough, hope the boys can avoid finishing in last place.

 

[TimU]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

What happened last night?

Early in the game Sean Logue was called for a contact-to-head major penalty/game misconduct. Brown scored 3 goals before the major expired (impressive feat, by the way).

Once that was over, the game completely changed and St. Lawrence scored 5 consecutive goals.

It seems that SLU had something to prove last weekend after losing 4 straight and being embarrassed at RPI and Union. Brown's in a similar spot and needs to have a similar effort next weekend. Easier said than done of course, considering your opponents, but if SLU can win at Ylae and, especially, at Brown . . .

 

[Euler18]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

It's not like there's a dearth of talent here- this is a good team, and we all know it. They just don't have any heart. None whatsoever.

Anyone who's close to this program knows that what you're saying is absolutely ridiculous. I think the above statement is unfair and entirely uncalled for. What do you know? Have you been in the locker room during games/after games? Do the players and/or the coaches open their hearts to you? Half of the team was ill on Saturday, but they showed up and gave all they physically could. One player threw up at the bench. I saw a couple of the guys in the trainer's room after the game. They were spent. No heart? Hardly!

I'll give Whittet one more season to start getting good results. If he fails, he's as worthless as Grillo was, in my eyes.

You haven't the foggiest idea about what it takes to build a winning program at this level. Brendan inherited a program in shambles. It's only been two and a half years. Each recruiting class has been better. I wish I could talk about next year's great entering class. It took Bob Gaudet five years to build a contender at Brown, and another five years to build a contender at Dartmouth. It took Nate Leaman several years to build a contender at Union. Eight freshmen played last Saturday night. They're very good, but they're also inexperienced and still developing physically.

The only thing that separates Whittet's teams from Grillo's is that we don't play like thugs anymore.

As Bob Gaudet used to say, we don't get the "finished" players. This coaching staff is molding these young players. They're teaching these young players the fundamentals of the game. It's a long process. And the players recognize that. A few days ago a player told me in my office that he'd learned more about playing defense in the last three and a half months than he'd learned in all the years before he came to Brown.

 

[Brunofan]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

Anyone who's close to this program knows that what you're saying is absolutely ridiculous. I think the above statement is unfair and entirely uncalled for. What do you know? Have you been in the locker room during games/after games? Do the players and/or the coaches open their hearts to you? Half of the team was ill on Saturday, but they showed up and gave all they physically could. One player threw up at the bench. I saw a couple of the guys in the trainer's room after the game. They were spent. No heart? Hardly!


You haven't the foggiest idea about what it takes to build a winning program at this level. Brendan inherited a program in shambles. It's only been two and a half years. Each recruiting class has been better. I wish I could talk about next year's great entering class. It took Bob Gaudet five years to build a contender at Brown, and another five years to build a contender at Dartmouth. It took Nate Leaman several years to build a contender at Union. Eight freshmen played last Saturday night. They're very good, but they're also inexperienced and still developing physically.


As Bob Gaudet used to say, we don't get the "finished" players. This coaching staff is molding these young players. They're teaching these young players the fundamentals of the game. It's a long process. And the players recognize that. A few days ago a player told me in my office that he'd learned more about playing defense in the last three and a half months than he'd learned in all the years before he came to Brown.

Must say I did not know that an 'academic advisor' would be invited into the Brown locker room during the games as wll as after the games? (unless it was to say hello to the players/bring children in after the coach has addressed the team). Are you asked to participate in any pre/post game speeches or strategies? Things have come a really long way, when I played the advisor position was a total figure head position - I don't think anyone on the team ever went to his office for advice - certainly the players and coaches weren't "opening their hearts" to him.

I'd challenge the 'shambles' point. Players like Mclellan, Farnham, Buvinow, Harry Z, Robertson, Brownschilde were solid players who carried the team the last two years. Agreed there are some strong young players that are being built up and should be solid long term - but there are a number of freshmen & sophmores that seem to be misses that are not even dressing....and the general knock on the boards is that our depth is killing us as the 3rd & 4th line are not contributing.

In agreement that Brendan has a long, tough job to do and we'll get there. But let's judge him on his own merits, no need to break someone else down just to build up the new guy when the facts don't yet support that theory.

 

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

Granted I am the eternal optimist when it comes to Brown hockey but 2 wins over U and 1 over Cornell, two ranked teams, shows there is reason to believe that this team can play. The inconsistent and up and down play drives me nuts but I chalk it up to youth. I fully agree with Euler that Brendan has done a masterful job in getting the talent out from the palyers - witness, Harry Z, Volpatti, Brownscheidel, Jack M, and Bob Farnham. As to Farnham his improved play over 4 years has been remarkable. Getting the frosh and sophs to avoid the inconsistent play is a difficult job and there i still time this year for his work to pay off. Remember the RPI and Yale playoff wins two years ago.

 

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2011-2012 - The Future Is Now

Anyone who's close to this program knows that what you're saying is absolutely ridiculous. I think the above statement is unfair and entirely uncalled for. What do you know? Have you been in the locker room during games/after games? Do the players and/or the coaches open their hearts to you? Half of the team was ill on Saturday, but they showed up and gave all they physically could. One player threw up at the bench. I saw a couple of the guys in the trainer's room after the game. They were spent. No heart? Hardly!

I have not been in the locker room, and I don't need to. I know heart when I see it, and this team doesn't have anything resembling it. The first two seasons under Whittet, it seemed like all we HAD was heart, and that talent was at a premium. This year, it is quite the opposite- we have the talent to be more than just competitive, but when it matters most, and in games we should win, the team doesn't show up. When we have showed heart (against Yale, Providence, UNH, Cornell, Union), we have proven that we can be among the best in the league. But against the likes of AIC, Holy Cross, St. Lawrence and RPI? Nothing.

If it's not an absence of heart, please, tell me- what in the hell has led to us losing to those doormats? You can't reasonably argue that those are better teams than us, because they just aren't. Plain and simple, they all suck. And we lost to them all. And were shut out by three of them, and shutout by one of them TWICE.

I recognize that you are much closer to the program than I am, and I have a great deal of respect for you and your persistent optimism for Brown hockey. But sometimes I think you let your personal interactions with the team interfere with your ability to see reality. In this instance, the reality is that this team simply has not shown heart against many of the teams it has faced this season.

You haven't the foggiest idea about what it takes to build a winning program at this level. Brendan inherited a program in shambles. It's only been two and a half years. Each recruiting class has been better. I wish I could talk about next year's great entering class. It took Bob Gaudet five years to build a contender at Brown, and another five years to build a contender at Dartmouth. It took Nate Leaman several years to build a contender at Union. Eight freshmen played last Saturday night. They're very good, but they're also inexperienced and still developing physically.

Fine, I'll give him two more years. But if we're still a 10-16 team at that point...I'm sorry, there are no excuses anymore. He's just not the right man for the job.

Let me clarify: I want Brendan Whittet to bring Brown to national prominence. I don't want anyone else to do it. I want the Brown alum, the local guy, the hard-nosed, old-school, honest guy who has started to turn this program around to succeed on all levels. But if he doesn't succeed in another couple years, why should we keep him around? I don't want him to have to leave. I want him to stay here for the rest of his career, and make us a powerhouse. But what if he doesn't?