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Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

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

Great article on former Brown player Ryan Garbutt:
http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/8...nts-lower-middle-class-players-caught-lockout

Note: My interest in Garbutt is from his short time as a Gwinnett Gladiator (ECHL) ... had the pleasure of watching him play a few games for us but we could all see - even in training camp - that he was a player to watch. When he got his call up to the A, we knew he would not be coming back.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

5hole said:
Great article on former Brown player Ryan Garbutt:
http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/8...nts-lower-middle-class-players-caught-lockout

Note: My interest in Garbutt is from his short time as a Gwinnett Gladiator (ECHL) ... had the pleasure of watching him play a few games for us but we could all see - even in training camp - that he was a player to watch. When he got his call up to the A, we knew he would not be coming back.
Click to expand...

Interesting article. Everybody liked Ryan while he was at Brown. Truly a good kid. Unfortunately he played under the wrong system for his skills. His speed and size weren't properly utilized. His natural instinct was to go to the net, but he was told to skate up and down the wing.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

BROWN 3 – HARVARD 1: PRE-SEASON EXHIBITION GAME

Brown played a spirited exhibition game against Harvard in Cambridge yesterday afternoon. The format was two 25-minute halves. By agreement between Brendan Whittet and Ted Donato, the teams were allowed to use as many players in the game as the coaches wanted, provided that only 18 forwards/defensemen dressed for each half. Brown used a total of 17 different forwards but only six defensemen were available (Dennis Robertson, Rich Crowley, Joey DeConsylis, Nate Widman, Brandon Pfeil and Greg Tang) due to injuries to Matt Wahl, Kyle Quick and Taki Pantziris. Goaltender Marco De Filippo played for the first half and allowed no goals. In the second half he was replaced by Anthony Borelli, who allowed one goal with less than 5 minutes left. The Brown goals were scored by Matt Harlow, Frank Drolet and Joe Prescott.

In the first half the forward line combinations were:
Harlow-Lorito-Jacobsen
Lappin-Naclerio-Prescott
Zaires-Lamacchia-Hathaway
Drolet-Hourihan-Siers

Barring injuries, these forwards should start against Princeton next Friday, with a possible fine-tuning of the line combinations. Because the injuries to Wahl, Quick and Pantziris are day-to-day, I won’t speculate on the defensive line-up for next weekend.

HIGHLIGHTS

1. The Bears played their new forechecking system to perfection, bottling up the Crimson in their defensive zone for long stretches, and generating good offensive opportunities.

2. Harlow’s goal was the result of strong forechecking and crisp passing in the offensive zone.

3. Lorito’s presence on the ice was hard to miss.

4. The freshman line played like veterans. Prescott scored a nice goal on a hard shot from the left side. Naclerio has great skills, and distributed the puck very well to his wings throughout the game.

5. Drolet, Hourihan and Siers did an excellent job as a checking/energy line. Hourihan and Siers are big men who can skate, and Drolet is as hard-working as anyone on this team and a positive role model for the younger players. It was good to see Drolet score a nice goal.

6. Chris Zaires, who has looked good in practice, played a solid first period. It would be a plus if Chris could be at least as good (and hopefully even better) than he was as a freshman.

7. I haven't seen a Brown team pass the puck as well as they did yesterday for quite some time.

8. I was very impressed with freshman defenseman Nate Widman. He has solid skills and size, and plays a little bit of a mean game. One of the problems with the Bears last year was a certain softness at defense. This won’t be the case this year.

9. Marco De Filippo was excellent in goal. He’s a big man who plays a good positional game. He gave Harvard very little net to shoot at. In the past Marco’s biggest problem were rebounds, but this seems to have been corrected.

At this point I’m obviously not ready to predict that Brown will win the ECAC, but this team appears to be much farther along in its development than I had expected. The future looks much brighter for Brown than it did a few months ago.
 
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Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

kdiff77 said:
http://brownhockeyblog.blogspot.com/

New post! Read, react, comment, etc.
Click to expand...

To your post, as a clarification:

I believe the only Brown sweep of Dartmouth in the past fifteen years came in 1998, highlighted by what I recall was a two-goal period from Tyler Garrow. Hoiness and Prescott scored in the third as well. Even the vaunted 03 and 04 Bear teams managed just a single win, including the consolation game in Albany in 2003.


To this weekend:

I'm intrigued by Brown-Princeton. Last year the Bears had one of their many meltdowns in New Jersey, and the game at home was also an OT game, albeit a loss. I recall three goals in about a minute of the first period, and the OT shot from Sdao in OT for the winner that Clemente never saw. I feel like both of the teams will be a little scrappy, possibly a little sloppy and tentative at first, with Princeton having a slight edge in terms of experience at the onset of the season. Calof and Berger are two skaters that are better, at least in terms of numbers, than anyone the Bears return. In fact, Princeton returns 74 of the 85 goals they scored a year ago, led by the top four.

I like the way Brown plays against Yale, since the Bulldogs are inclined to get into a track meet style of game, but I'm not certain if they have the same personnel to do so any more. That's not a dig against anyone in particular, but the days of Little, Kearney, Arcobello, Backman, Dignard, Donald, O'Neill, et al are past. They are still a quick team that likes to open it up, and it has been a terrific rivalry of late.

My questions about Brown are probably the same as everyone's:

1. Does Brendan Whittet roll out four lines? I think we have seen, over the first three years of his tenure, a tendency to see the bench shrink to four D and 9 forwards. Will that trend continue?

2. What sort of consistency do we see in back? An earlier post indicated a belief that Crowley was one of the Bears' better defenders last year, but there were times when he was not good at all. He is someone Brown absolutely needs to shore up a second pairing behind Wahl and Robertson, and I think we would like to see improvement in the games of Quick and Joey D, to the point where point play becomes a relative depth for the squad. These guys are not kids anymore, after all.

3. Who takes the face offs down the stretch? Jack Maclellan averaged more than 60% of the team's draws the past two seasons. Now, Lorito has exceptional wrists, but was hampered by an injury in the early goings, but who becomes the go-to guy on the dot is a question.

4. Can the energy line provide more than that? I've long liked the effort of guys like Hourihan and Siers, but are they, along with a guy like Hathaway, ready to take the next step and become point producers?

5. Is Marco DeFelippo the real deal? Can he be the real deal for 120 minutes a weekend?


I'm hopeful that the Bears can find a way to win at least one this weekend, but I'm refraining from any excitement until I see something on the ice.
 
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Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

BrunoFan00 said:
Does Brendan Whittet roll out four lines? I think we have seen, over the first three years of his tenure, a tendency to see the bench shrink to four D and 9 forwards. Will that trend continue?
Click to expand...

The 2012-2013 Bears appear to have enough depth to skate four lines. Whether the coaching staff will choose to do so, I can't tell. There's scoring potential on the first three lines, which wasn't the case in the past.

BrunoFan00 said:
What sort of consistency do we see in back? An earlier post indicated a belief that Crowley was one of the Bears' better defenders last year, but there were times when he was not good at all. He is someone Brown absolutely needs to shore up a second pairing behind Wahl and Robertson, and I think we would like to see improvement in the games of Quick and Joey D, to the point where point play becomes a relative depth for the squad. These guys are not kids anymore, after all.
Click to expand...

Again, I think that with the addition of Nate Widman and Brandon Pfeil, there's enough defensive depth to skate six defensemen regularly. That wasn't always the case in the past. Nate Widman adds considerable size and physicality to the defensive corps.


BrunoFan00 said:
Can the energy line provide more than that? I've long liked the effort of guys like Hourihan and Siers, but are they, along with a guy like Hathaway, ready to take the next step and become point producers?
Click to expand...

Not much scoring potential on a line made up of Drolet/Hourihan/Siers, but, as I said above, the energy line now is the FOURTH line, not the third or even second line as in the past. Hathaway has the potential to score goals, but he'll probably be on the second or third line, not on the fourth line.

BrunoFan00 said:
Is Marco DeFelippo the real deal? Can he be the real deal for 120 minutes a weekend?
Click to expand...

Time will tell, but I believe that De Filippo has the potential to be a solid goalie. His technique has improved tremendously under the guidance of Tony Cerisi. Let's keep in mind that unlike Mike Clemente or Dan Rosen, De Filippo came to Brown straight from prep school.

This is still a very young team. Seven of the top nine forwards and three of the top six defensemen are freshmen or sophomores.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

Euler18 said:
The 2012-2013 Bears appear to have enough depth to skate four lines. Whether the coaching staff will choose to do so, I can't tell. There's scoring potential on the first three lines, which wasn't the case in the past.



Again, I think that with the addition of Nate Widman and Brandon Pfeil, there's enough defensive depth to skate six defensemen regularly. That wasn't always the case in the past. Nate Widman adds considerable size and physicality to the defensive corps.




Not much scoring potential on a line made up of Drolet/Hourihan/Siers, but, as I said above, the energy line now is the FOURTH line, not the third or even second line as in the past. Hathaway has the potential to score goals, but he'll probably be on the second or third line, not on the fourth line.



Time will tell, but I believe that De Filippo has the potential to be a solid goalie. His technique has improved tremendously under the guidance of Tony Cerisi. Let's keep in mind that unlike Mike Clemente or Dan Rosen, De Filippo came to Brown straight from prep school.

This is still a very young team. Seven of the top nine forwards and three of the top six defensemen are freshmen or sophomores.
Click to expand...

Euler - great insight as always into the lines. I like to think that the fourth line will bring some heat this year, which will be nice to see. It's been too long that Brown's been rolling out a line to do pretty much everything that if they can get some good production out of their lower lines, that's a huge plus. You need that fourth line to go out and soften up the opponent rather just occupy space until the top two lines can go back out there. I'm just hoping Brendan keeps this format intact because that can go miles if they're having a great shift.

I think De Fillippo has the same potential as any goalie. Goalies are a weird bunch; they can go from being a complete sieve one year to being a complete masterpiece the next. If the coaching staff can get his technique to work, then he will be okay. The biggest thing for him will be to have defense in front of him that limits shot selection. It's a lot easier to stop 30 shots than 40, and it's a lot easier to stop 25 shots than 30. They'll need to limit garbage goals in front of him since that's where goalies get tied up the most.

I'm interested to see what happens this weekend. I feel like Brown will be playing with an edge because every major college hockey publication has picked them to finish dead last. Reminds me of this (go to 30 seconds into the video for the speech):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DouPRc4-ixw&feature=related
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

New post is up! It's essentially an extension of the last, going into the first weekend of league play.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

Humanoid said:
Euler - great insight as always into the lines. I like to think that the fourth line will bring some heat this year, which will be nice to see. It's been too long that Brown's been rolling out a line to do pretty much everything that if they can get some good production out of their lower lines, that's a huge plus. You need that fourth line to go out and soften up the opponent rather just occupy space until the top two lines can go back out there. I'm just hoping Brendan keeps this format intact because that can go miles if they're having a great shift.):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DouPRc4-ixw&feature=related
Click to expand...
Agree with fourth line potential. A lot of energy and with some playing time, there is scoring potential. Hopefully, Brendan gives them sufficient time togeher.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

Only one week to go to change or get your picks into the ECAC Pick The Standings Contest 2012-2013 thread. Cutoff date and time are Nov 2 at 7 PM.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

Any comments/thoughts on the game last night? Looks like Lappin had a solid game.

Looking at the box score I noticed a DNP for G Joe Mello, a name I hadn't seen before on the roster, but is there now. I assume he is a walk-on that Brendan enouraged to come out and play. Based on high school, St. Raphael, Brendan may have been aware of him.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

I wasn't able to catch the game last night, but I watched the highlights on brownbears.com.

First of all, the new jerseys of HEINOUS! The old design was plain, but it looked nice. These are really terrible, IMO.

Nick Lappin had some really soft hands on his breakaway goal. He's one to get excited about, for sure.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2012-2013:Climbing the ECAC Ladder

kdiff77 said:
I wasn't able to catch the game last night, but I watched the highlights on brownbears.com.

First of all, the new jerseys of HEINOUS! The old design was plain, but it looked nice. These are really terrible, IMO.

Nick Lappin had some really soft hands on his breakaway goal. He's one to get excited about, for sure.
Click to expand...

The video on the website is great. Hope it continues. I tend to agree about the jerseys. Wasn't
that style used in the '50s?
 
Mike Hutter said:
The video on the website is great. Hope it continues. I tend to agree about the jerseys. Wasn't
that style used in the '50s?
Click to expand...

First off, the jerseys are the third jerseys. Consensus at the rink from those I spoke to was pretty positive. Truthfully, I couldn't care less what they wear, as long as we see results.

The first period was the best 20 minutes of hockey Brown has played in five years. Completely dominant, looked like they outshot Princeton about 15-5, and won just about every face off. The first and second years established themselves immediately. Lorito may be ahead of things developmentally, and Hathaway looks like the power forward in the Volpatti/Harry Z mold.

As the game progressed, the younger guys came more into their own, and coach whittet confines to roll out his lines. I was impressed by the hustle f
drolet, who had several solid shifts in the third, and I thought both frosh dmen, specifically Widman and Pfeil, were pretty consistent.

Lappin and Naclerio are both special players As well, but it is one game and thus too early to judge. It sets up a matchup with a Dartmouth team against whom the bears have struggled of late. Again, I am reserving excitement and hope to see the first period play from Friday On a consistent basis.
 
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