What's new
By:
USCHO Fan Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • The USCHO Fan Forum has migrated to a new plaform, xenForo. Most of the function of the forum should work in familiar ways. Please note that you can switch between light and dark modes by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right of the main menu bar. We are hoping that this new platform will prove to be faster and more reliable. Please feel free to explore its features.

Brown Hockey 2013-2014 - Climbing to the Top of the ECAC Ladder

Re: Brown Hockey 2013-2014 - Climbing to the Top of the ECAC Ladder

http://www.uscho.com/2013/10/02/ten-to-watch-picking-college-hockeys-top-forwards-for-2013-14/

Three ECAC forwards, and none of them are Lorito. Also, in the ECAC Pick the Standings thread, many have Brown in the bottom tier of the league, after the coaches and media picked the Bears a spot lower than they finished last season.

I'm sure Brendan Whittet has no problem being overlooked. That should play right into his strategy, in fact. Here's to hoping that this year's team is just as tight in the locker room as last year's. If it is, they should be able to use these slights as fuel.

The thing I'm most excited for about this season is that expectations don't seem to be through the roof, as one might expect following a great playoff run. That should allow the players to operate without feeling the heat, and maybe we sneak into the top six in the ECAC.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2013-2014 - Climbing to the Top of the ECAC Ladder

Something I think a lot of people aren't considering is that last year wasn't an ultimate, final run at a championship/NCAA berth. It was a building block. Sure, Borelli was great last year, but his defense was an enormous factor in his success, shutting down shooting lanes and clearing traffic out from in front of the net. Borelli wasn't supremely talented; there was a reason he sat for three years. The defense played as a solidified unit, and Borelli made the saves he needed to plus a few difficult ones a game. He controlled his rebounds. That was the formula. And the defense, as a unit, executed it tremendously.

Now, I think the real question is if we can count on one of the goalies to make the same saves Borelli did last year. All we need is a competent netminder, not an elite one. Also, can we count on the defense repeat last year's success? There were a few games where Borelli did bail out the team, but as a whole, I believe they were the reason his numbers looked so good.

I'm excited. This is still (somehow) a young, developing team, and this year's freshman class should be able to make contributions, particularly on offense. Look for Garnet Hathaway to become one of the most vilified and reviled players in the league, and look for Matt Lorito to approach or surpass the 40-point threshold.

Should be a fun year.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2013-2014 - Climbing to the Top of the ECAC Ladder

I look for Brown to earn home ice in the first round (6th to 8th spot). Team seems to play hard at all times and last year made it difficult on a nightly basis for opposing teams to earn points and as a result Brown came up with point(s) in every ECAC series with the exception of Dartmouth.

Agree with Kdiff77 that you just need solid numbers from the goalies. Would be difficult to match Borelli's numbers from last year. If DeFilippo or any of the newcomers can put up between 10 to 13 quality starts in ECAC play and the offense and defense maintain or improve on last years stats should be a promising year.

Best of luck to you guys this year.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2013-2014 - Climbing to the Top of the ECAC Ladder

kdiff77 said:
http://www.uscho.com/2013/10/02/ten-to-watch-picking-college-hockeys-top-forwards-for-2013-14/

Three ECAC forwards, and none of them are Lorito.
Click to expand...

I'm planning to watch Lorito. :-)


kdiff77 said:
http://www.uscho.com/2013/10/02/ten-to-watch-picking-college-hockeys-top-forwards-for-2013-14/Also, in the ECAC Pick the Standings thread, many have Brown in the bottom tier of the league, after the coaches and media picked the Bears a spot lower than they finished last season.
Click to expand...

I can't keep up with so many experts. :-)
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2013-2014 - Climbing to the Top of the ECAC Ladder

Mark Divver tweeted earlier that AD Jack Hayes checked out the newly renovated Schneider Arena today. He suggests that this may indicate a possible renovation of/replacement for Meehan Auditorium.

I wouldn't want to see Meehan knocked down, with all its history and due to my own personal nostalgia (I basically lived at that place as a kid), but I'd love to see a renovation. The entrance and foyer is very nice, as the 2003 renovation spawned a timeless look that will last for years to come. But we could use new seats, press box, and general reconfigurations of the seating areas. Obviously, PC now has a competitive advantage over us in terms of local recruits with their new terrific facility.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2013-2014 - Climbing to the Top of the ECAC Ladder

kdiff77 said:
Mark Divver tweeted earlier that AD Jack Hayes checked out the newly renovated Schneider Arena today. He suggests that this may indicate a possible renovation of/replacement for Meehan Auditorium.
Click to expand...

All Jack would have had to do is to walk into any of the Ivy League rinks, except for Harvard... And the Harvard rink is now undergoing major renovations. The other five hockey-playing Ivy schools are Brown's major competition for student-athletes.

kdiff77 said:
I wouldn't want to see Meehan knocked down, with all its history and due to my own personal nostalgia (I basically lived at that place as a kid), but I'd love to see a renovation. The entrance and foyer is very nice, as the 2003 renovation spawned a timeless look that will last for years to come. But we could use new seats, press box, and general reconfigurations of the seating areas.
Click to expand...

Actually, I would like any possible renovations to focus on:
1. Replacing the compressors. The ice has become terrible. One of these days the system is simply going to stop working, period.
2. Improving the locker rooms. They're a disgrace aesthetically, functionally and hygienically (i.e., improper ventilation; mold).
3. Improving the coaches' offices. Small, dark, moldy.

kdiff77 said:
Obviously, PC now has a competitive advantage over us in terms of local recruits with their new terrific facility.
Click to expand...

We don't necessarily compete with PC in the recruiting arena. Because of the AI and other admission standards, Brown (and its Ivy sisters) can't take some students that PC can.

If by local you mean Rhode Island, I'm not terribly worried, as Rhode Island produces very few Division I prospects. But if you include Massachusetts, then I'd say Brown is now doing well, with some solid representatives on the current roster, not to mention in the near future. I remember when Roger Grillo felt Brown couldn't compete with the other Ivies for players from Massachussetts. The current Brown coaching staff has dispelled that notion.
 
Euler18 said:
All Jack would have had to do is to walk into any of the Ivy League rinks, except for Harvard... And the Harvard rink is now undergoing major renovations. The other five hockey-playing Ivy schools are Brown's major competition for student-athletes.



Actually, I would like any possible renovations to focus on:
1. Replacing the compressors. The ice has become terrible. One of these days the system is simply going to stop working, period.
2. Improving the locker rooms. They're a disgrace aesthetically, functionally and hygienically (i.e., improper ventilation; mold).
3. Improving the coaches' offices. Small, dark, moldy.



We don't necessarily compete with PC in the recruiting arena. Because of the AI and other admission standards, Brown (and its Ivy sisters) can't take some students that PC can.

If by local you mean Rhode Island, I'm not terribly worried, as Rhode Island produces very few Division I prospects. But if you include Massachusetts, then I'd say Brown is now doing well, with some solid representatives on the current roster, not to mention in the near future. I remember when Roger Grillo felt Brown couldn't compete with the other Ivies for players from Massachussetts. The current Brown coaching staff has dispelled that notion.
Click to expand...

Didn't they have to replace the compressor a few years back? I remember it burned a hole through the ice or something like that.

Clearly - Hermanos fault :)
 
Euler18 said:
All Jack would have had to do is to walk into any of the Ivy League rinks, except for Harvard... And the Harvard rink is now undergoing major renovations. The other five hockey-playing Ivy schools are Brown's major competition for student-athletes.



Actually, I would like any possible renovations to focus on:
1. Replacing the compressors. The ice has become terrible. One of these days the system is simply going to stop working, period.
2. Improving the locker rooms. They're a disgrace aesthetically, functionally and hygienically (i.e., improper ventilation; mold).
3. Improving the coaches' offices. Small, dark, moldy.



We don't necessarily compete with PC in the recruiting arena. Because of the AI and other admission standards, Brown (and its Ivy sisters) can't take some students that PC can.

If by local you mean Rhode Island, I'm not terribly worried, as Rhode Island produces very few Division I prospects. But if you include Massachusetts, then I'd say Brown is now doing well, with some solid representatives on the current roster, not to mention in the near future. I remember when Roger Grillo felt Brown couldn't compete with the other Ivies for players from Massachussetts. The current Brown coaching staff has dispelled that notion.
Click to expand...

In the past couple years, there have been several good prospects that both Brown and PC have been in the running for (both RI and MA kids). Yes, PC is able to recruit an entire demographic that Brown simply cannot due to AI standards, but it would seem that PC is also going for some of the same products Brown is, and not vice versa.

Agreed on the ice quality. It's been dreadful for better than a decade now. The locker rooms were redone in 2003, but if they're that appalling, then they definutely need to be replaced.

I still think we need to modernize the arena a bit to appeal to the casual fan. Not many families with kids want to sit in a hard, wooden seat painted either brown, red or yellow (yellow? I never understood that). Some more aesthetically pleasing (and, perhaps, comfortable) seats could be beneficial in getting people to come back for future games. It's all about the fan experience, and right now, I don't know that we can offer one that comes close to competing with our crosstown rivals.

The diehards (like those of us on this forum) will always go to the games, but the casual fan is harder to retain.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2013-2014 - Climbing to the Top of the ECAC Ladder

kdiff77 said:
...seat painted either brown, red or yellow (yellow? I never understood that).
Click to expand...

Check out the official Brown seal (60's era); the colors used for the Meehan seats are intended to replicate the colors of the seal -- yellow at the top, red in the middle, and the rest brown. See below:

http://www.econ.brown.edu/fac/louis_putterman/courses/ec151/brownuniversityseal.gif
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2013-2014 - Climbing to the Top of the ECAC Ladder

bruno said:
Check out the official Brown seal (60's era); the colors used for the Meehan seats are intended to replicate the colors of the seal -- yellow at the top, red in the middle, and the rest brown. See below:

http://www.econ.brown.edu/fac/louis_putterman/courses/ec151/brownuniversityseal.gif
Click to expand...

That's what I figured, but it just has never looked aesthetically pleasing to me, especially in this era of sleek, modern stadiums and arenas. I'd much prefer if the top tier of seats was simply painted red, to match the middle tier, or brown, to create a stripe effect.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2013-2014 - Climbing to the Top of the ECAC Ladder

Following up KDiff's post about the possible new tournament, below is a link to today's ProJo story about it. But article is of even more interest with its report of Brown getting a commitment from a 16 year-old playing juniors. Brendan has shown a great eye for talent but can you really project how a 16 year old will do 3-4 years later?

http://www.providencejournal.com/sp...am-tourney-at-dunk-would-include-pc-brown.ece
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2013-2014 - Climbing to the Top of the ECAC Ladder

Some thoughts on the potential tournament:

1) The Hockey East and Big Ten schools are looking for non conference games against quality opponents, but they all can't lose a particular gate. In the future, scheduling AHA teams for the purpose of pasting them and collecting a home game will have to be placed by wayside because of the new statistic factored into the Pairwise. Instead of record against TUC, it's now going to be a weighted average of home or away and neutral site games. For that reason, I think this can succeed. Coming to play PC and Brown with Teams X and Y would generate a better statistic instead of just paying for Team Q to come in and get murdered. It'll be more beneficial.

2) The biggest problem, right now, in my opinion, is that Brown doesn't have that many non-cons to go around. If you think about it, they have the Mayor's Cup and the Ivy Shootout, they only have three other non-conference games to go around. While this would ensure they would play a quality team with one of those, it would also cost them a potential open date from which to host a team like Boston College or go on a Denver-Colorado College road trip. It would also harm them from playing a game like this year at UNH. The quality of opponents has gotten better, but I think it would require the Ivy Shootout to be disbanded. Remember that the Ivy Shootout formed as a response to the fact that Cornell and Harvard didn't have problems with gaining opponents, while Brown, Dartmouth, and Princeton did (Yale, depending on how good of a team they were from year-to-year, also could have or couldn't have this issue). That put them at a competitive disadvantage against the other schools. Now that the gap has closed, the Ivy Shootout might not be required anymore. Two non-conference games against teams you'll play twice during the year might be able to be lost now that teams are showing the willingness to play ivy League schools.

And, honestly, I'd like to take credit for that point, but I have to defer to a Brown alum that I spoke with. He's been around longer than me, and his analysis on the matter was fantastic. He really gets it when it comes to Brown hockey, but then again, he's been around it for 17 years or so.

3) I'm interested to see how this plays out opposite the UConn tournament. FWIW, the UConn tournament always had them playing an AHA team in a league game in the first round, usually against SHU or AIC. The UConn tournament also included two "other" teams, which last year was Brown and Minnesota State. Now that UConn is heading to Hockey East, I don't know if that AHA slot will now open up to an at-large. They play three games a year against five schools in the AHA, so that substituted one home game where they'd play a home and home later int he year. I doubt with the way Hockey East is scheduling (two games a year against conf. opponents in a home-and-home setup) that they'll make that a one-off conference game. That means another slot might be opening for a game at a place like the hartford Civic Center, where they'll be playing their home games.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2013-2014 - Climbing to the Top of the ECAC Ladder

Some thoughts on the potential tournament:

1) The Hockey East and Big Ten schools are looking for non conference games against quality opponents, but they all can't lose a particular gate. In the future, scheduling AHA teams for the purpose of pasting them and collecting a home game will have to be placed by wayside because of the new statistic factored into the Pairwise. Instead of record against TUC, it's now going to be a weighted average of home or away and neutral site games. For that reason, I think this can succeed. Coming to play PC and Brown with Teams X and Y would generate a better statistic instead of just paying for Team Q to come in and get murdered. It'll be more beneficial.

2) The biggest problem, right now, in my opinion, is that Brown doesn't have that many non-cons to go around. If you think about it, they have the Mayor's Cup and the Ivy Shootout, they only have three other non-conference games to go around. While this would ensure they would play a quality team with one of those, it would also cost them a potential open date from which to host a team like Boston College or go on a Denver-Colorado College road trip. It would also harm them from playing a game like this year at UNH. The quality of opponents has gotten better, but I think it would require the Ivy Shootout to be disbanded. Remember that the Ivy Shootout formed as a response to the fact that Cornell and Harvard didn't have problems with gaining opponents, while Brown, Dartmouth, and Princeton did (Yale, depending on how good of a team they were from year-to-year, also could have or couldn't have this issue). That put them at a competitive disadvantage against the other schools. Now that the gap has closed, the Ivy Shootout might not be required anymore. Two non-conference games against teams you'll play twice during the year might be able to be lost now that teams are showing the willingness to play ivy League schools.

And, honestly, I'd like to take credit for that point, but I have to defer to a Brown alum that I spoke with. He's been around longer than me, and his analysis on the matter was fantastic. He really gets it when it comes to Brown hockey, but then again, he's been around it for 17 years or so.

3) I'm interested to see how this plays out opposite the UConn tournament. FWIW, the UConn tournament always had them playing an AHA team in a league game in the first round, usually against SHU or AIC. The UConn tournament also included two "other" teams, which last year was Brown and Minnesota State. Now that UConn is heading to Hockey East, I don't know if that AHA slot will now open up to an at-large. They play three games a year against five schools in the AHA, so that substituted one home game where they'd play a home and home later int he year. I doubt with the way Hockey East is scheduling (two games a year against conf. opponents in a home-and-home setup) that they'll make that a one-off conference game. That means another slot might be opening for a game at a place like the hartford Civic Center, where they'll be playing their home games.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2013-2014 - Climbing to the Top of the ECAC Ladder

Humanoid: You raise some great points. I, for one, would like to get rid of the Ivy Shootout. I think the four programs involved have outgrown it, and, now that Hockey East teams have just 20 conference games (meaning most will schedule 14 non-con games to fill out the schedule), it is no longer necessary. We can schedule teams like BC, BU, and UNH consistently, and we've played all three of those teams in recent years (BC will come to Meehan this season). Basically, we have the Ivy Shootout and the trip to Colorado, and then every other non-con game is against a HE opponent this year. That's telling.

So, if we were to abandon the Ivy Shootout, we'd have five open non-con games. Presumably, we'd be able to fill 3-4 of those with HE teams (excluding PC). A weekend trip to Colorado or Minnesota or Michigan to play some good NCHC, WCHA, or B1G teams would be very doable, which would raise our SOS difficulty (because playing Dartmouth and Princeton three times a year does NOT do that). It's a win-win.
 
Re: Brown Hockey 2013-2014 - Climbing to the Top of the ECAC Ladder

Humanoid said:
Some thoughts on the potential tournament:

1) The Hockey East and Big Ten schools are looking for non conference games against quality opponents, but they all can't lose a particular gate. In the future, scheduling AHA teams for the purpose of pasting them and collecting a home game will have to be placed by wayside because of the new statistic factored into the Pairwise. Instead of record against TUC, it's now going to be a weighted average of home or away and neutral site games. For that reason, I think this can succeed. Coming to play PC and Brown with Teams X and Y would generate a better statistic instead of just paying for Team Q to come in and get murdered. It'll be more beneficial.
Click to expand...

If Brown and PC aren't cooperating to get "name" opponents, they really should be. Not sure how that would work or if there are any bylaws that prevent that kind of cooperating between leagues....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top