Team Notes: Bears Face No. 6 New Hampshire
Multimedia: Brown is in its fourth year of
a partnership with America One (previously B2 Networks) to handle
all video and audio streaming needs. Video and audio, called by
Mike Rubin '00, for all 12 of Brown's home games will be streamed
live over the internet. In addition, three away games will be shown
live via America One. Free audio for all home games and select away
games will also available. In addition to Brown's normal audio
broadcasts on brownbears.com, six other games will also be
broadcast on WPRV AM-790, including Tuesday's game at New
Hampshire. Other remaining games to air on WPRV AM-790 include both
Harvard games, the home game against Yale, and a non-league game
against Providence. Video for single games can be purchased for $7,
or fans can purchase a season-long hockey pass (all men's &
women's games) for $75. Fans can also follow all Brown home games
on livestats, available at
http://livestats.prestosports.com/brown/
Brendan Whittet '94: Brown alum Brendan
Whittet, class of 1994, returns for his second season as Brown's
bench boss. A 15-year veteran of the college coaching ranks,
Whittet guided the Bears to one of their most successful seasons in
recent history in his first season at the helm. Under Whittet's
guidance, Brown won 13 games, the most since winning 16 during the
2004-05 season. The Bears improved in nearly every facet of their
game offensively, while advancing to the ECAC Hockey Championship
Tournament for the first time since 2003. A former defenseman for
the Bears, Whittet is the 15th head coach in the 111-year history
of the Brown men's hockey program and the 4th Brown hockey alum to
coach the team, joining Wescott E.S. Moulton '31 (1948-52), Donald
F. Whiston '51 (1953-55), and J. Allan Soares '60 (1971-74).
Tonight: The Bears play their first
non-league game of the season against a team from a difference
conference, as Brown has played a pair of non-league games against
ECAC & Ivy opponents Yale and Princeton. Today's game marks the
first time since November 2007 that Brown and UNH have met. New
Hampshire, ranked 8th in the country at the time, earned a 5-2 win.
Then sophomore, Jordan Pietrus '10, scored both goals for the
Bears. Tonight's game also marks the beginning of a difficult
stretch for Brown, which will play five games against teams
currently ranked in the National polls to close out the semester.
After tonight's game against the 6th-ranked Wildcats, the Bears
will face BU (currently ranked #2) on the road, and host games
against Union (currently ranked #13), RPI (currently ranked #17),
and Providence (currently receiving votes).
Homecoming: Tonight's game at UNH marks a
homecoming of sorts for current Brown assistant coach Mark White. A
defenseman for the Wildcats, White played in 133 career games (8g,
17a) at UNH, graduating in 2001. The game is also being played
roughly an hour away from the hometown of rookie forward Garnet
Hathaway, who hails from Kennebunkport, Maine.
Last Weekend: Following a period of 13 days
between games, the Bears posted a weekend sweep of Colgate (5-2)
and Cornell (3-2) on the road over the weekend. Not only were the
wins the first two ECAC Hockey wins of the year for Brown, they
also marked the first road sweep of the Colgate-Cornell trip since
the 1992-93 season, when head coach Brendan Whittet '94 was a
junior on the team. Saturday night's win over the Big Red also
marked the first victory over Cornell for all but one of the
current members of the team, as the Big Red had won 7 straight
games entering the most recent tilt. Senior Jeremy
Russell, who missed the entire 2007-08 season with an
injury, had been the only Bear to have been a part of a team to
beat Cornell, during the 2006-2007 when he was a freshman. That
road trip has not been easy for the Bears in recent history, as
Brown was 5-28-2 all-time at Colgate and 13-37-3 all-time at
Cornell.
Brown welcomed the return to the lineup of junior Jarred
Smith, who was injured in the season opener at Yale. In
addition, highly-regarded freshman Marc-Antoine
Carrier made his career debut after missing the first four
games with illness. Brown's special teams were the difference
against Colgate, as the Bears scored twice on the power play and
added a short handed goal, while going a perfect 5-5 on the penalty
kill. The next night against Cornell, team defense prevailed, as
the Bears limited the Big Red to just 12 shots over the final 40
minutes, after giving up 10 in the opening 20. Several
different players stepped up to help lead the team to the sweep, as
Brown's goals were scored by 8 different players and 12 different
players posted at least one point. Freshman Dennis
Robertson was the only player to have points in both games
with a power play goal, his 4th of the year, and an assist against
Colgate, and an assist against Cornell. Other players with multiple
points on the weekend included juniorJeff
Buvinow (2a against Colgate), junior Bobby
Farnham (1g, 1a against Colgate), senior Jesse
Fratkin (1g, 1a against Cornell), junior Jack
Maclellan (1g, 2a against Colgate), sophomore Chris
Zaires (1g, 1a against Colgate), and Smith (2a against
Cornell). Game-winning goals were scored by Farnham (Colgate) and
Fratkin (Cornell), while freshman Matt
Wahl scored his first career goal against the Big Red.
Junior goalie Mike
Clemente posted 48 saves on the weekend, including 28
against Colgate. He gave up just one even-strength goal, as three
of the four goals were scored with the opponent skating an extra
attacker.
Mike Clemente Named ECAC Hockey/MLX Skates Goalie of the
Week: In Brown's weekend sweep at Colgate and
Cornell, Clemente posted 48 saves, a .923 save percentage, and a
2.00 GAA, while allowing only one even-strength goal. Clemente
helped lead Brown to its first road sweep over the central-New York
duo since 2/93, its first win over Cornell since 1/07, and its
first regular season road sweep since 1/05. He recorded 28
saves on Friday against the Raiders with 20 the next night against
the Big Red.
This Date Historically Speaking: All-time,
Brown has played seven total games on November 23rd and has posted
an 1-5-1 record. The Bears are 1-1-1 in home games played on 11/23
and 0-4-0 in away games played on this date. The only
opponents Brown has faced in games played on November 23rd are: St.
Louis (1973), Harvard (1980), Rensselaer (1985), Alaska Anchorage
(1990), Princeton (1991), Michigan (1996), and Cornell (2002).
Brown's lone win was against Princeton, while the tie came against
Alaska Anchorage.
Brown vs. New Hampshire: Brown and New
Hampshire have met 34 times, with the Wildcats leading the all-time
series, 20-13-1, including winning each of the last seven meetings.
Brown has won only once in away games, a 3-1 victory on January 22,
1930. Only two members of current Brown team have ever faced New
Hampshire with seniors David
Brownschidle and Jesse Fratkin playing on the fourth line
in the last meeting between the two squads on November 24, 2007.
Brown's last victory over New Hampshire came on December 1, 1987
when the Bears edged the Wildcats, 4-3. During the all-time series,
New Hampshire has picked up some lopsided decisions, winning four
times by more than 7 goals, including an 11-3 victory in the
Championship Game of the 2001 Badger Showdown in Wisconsin. Brown
head coach Brendan Whittet has never faced New Hampshire as a head
coach, while UNH bench boss, Dick Umile is 5-0-0 all-time against
Brown in his 21st season with the Wildcats.
Scouting New Hampshire: The Wildcats are
coming off a weekend split in a home-and-home series with Boston
University, as each team won in its home rink. After losing its
season opener at Miami, 6-3, UNH went 6-0-3 over its next nine
games, including Friday night's 5-2 win over the Terriers.
The Wildcats nearly stretched their nation-leading unbeaten streak
to 10 games on Saturday night, leading 2-1 midway through the
second period, but BU scored three times in a span of nine minutes
to come from behind and claim the 4-2 win. UNH is led by a trio of
seniors, who have already reached double digits in scoring,
including Paul Thompson, who has 15 points (6g, 9a), Phil DeSimone,
who has 14 points (4g, 10a), and Mike Sislo, who has 11 points (5g,
6a). Thompson leads the team in both goals and power play goals
(3), while DeSimone leads the team in assists. Junior Matt
DiGirolamo has played all 11 games in net for the Wildcats and all
but 3:15 of the season, for which the net has been empty. In
671:45, DiGirolamo boasts a 2.50 GAA and a .918 save % with 313
saves and one shutout.
