Team Notes: Brown Travels to North Country with Valuable Points on the Line

This Weekend: With the non-league portion of the schedule now complete, Brown is  in the midst of 16 straight ECAC Hockey contests (7 to go), having posted a 3-6-0 record in the first nine. The Bears travel to Clarkson and St. Lawrence this weekend to close out the regular season series with the Golden Knights and Saints. After dropping four straight games, Brown will look to get back in the win column and gain momentum for the final push for home ice. This weekend will be critical for all teams involved, as Clarkson currently sits in the 8th and final spot for home ice. The Golden Knights are two points ahead of Brown. St. Lawrence is currently directly behind the Bears, occupying the 10th position with nine points, two less than Brown.
   
Last Time Out: For the 2nd time in their last three games, the Bears outshot their opponent by nearly a two-to-one margin, but came away on the losing end of a 3-0 shutout. Dartmouth scored once in each period, including the game-winning goal just 35 seconds into the game, and received 39 saves from James Mello to post a 3-0 win, despite getting outshot, 39-23. Junior Mike Clemente recorded 20 saves for Brown, which was shutout for the second time in three games.

This Date Historically Speaking: All-time, Brown is 14-7-0 in games played on February 11th, and 9-11-0 in games played on February 12th. The Bears have never faced Clarkson on February 11th and are 0-1-0 against St. Lawrence in games played on February 12th, falling 7-5 at Meehan in 1988. Brown is 9-4-0 in away games on the 11th and 4-4-0 in away games on the 12th.

Brown vs. Clarkson: Brown and Clarkson have met 77 times, with the Golden Knights leading the all-time series, 56-15-6. Brown won the first meeting, 6-5, in a neutral site game played at St. Lawrence on 12/20/52. Clarkson dominated Brown in the early part of the series, winning 13 straight games from 1981-1987 and going 21-0-5 from 3/7/92-11/30/01. Since the 2001 game,
Brown has found some success, earning a 7-10-1 record, including sweeping the series with a pair of 3-2 wins last year. The Bears snapped a seven-game winless streak against the Golden Knights with a 3-2 victory in Potsdam on 1/23/10, their first victory over Clarkson since 11/11/05. Brown earned the sweep with a 3-2 win in Providence on 2/19/10, the Bears' first sweep over Clarkson since the 2004-05 season. Senior Harry Zolnierczyk is Brown's statistical leader against the Golden Knights with four points (2g, 2a) in five career games, while junior Jeff Buvinow (1g, 2a) adds three career points in five career games.

Scouting Clarkson: Since posting a 3-1 win at Brown on January 22nd, the Golden Knights have gone 0-4-0, falling to Quinnipiac, 3-2, Princeton, 4-3 (ot), Cornell (5-2), and Colgate (4-2). Like Brown, Clarkson is fighting for home ice for the first round of the playoffs, as the Golden Knights currently occupy the 8th and final spot for home ice, with both Brown and St. Lawrence within striking distance. Last weekend at Colgate and Cornell, Clarkson was led by senior Brandon DeFazio, who scored a goal in each game, while junior Jake Morley tallied a pair of assists against the Big Red. DeFazio currently leads Clarkson with 20 points (11g, 9a) in 27 games, while junior Nick Tremblay has 19 points (9g, 10a) in 26 games and Morley adds 18 points (5g, 13a) in 27 games. Tremblay leads the team with four power play goals, while DeFazio, freshman Allan McPherson (7g, 9a), freshman Matt Zarbo (6g, 7a), and senior Scott Freeman (6g, 6a) all have a team-high two game-winning goals. Junior Paul Karpowich has seen the majority of time in net this year and has posted a 3.05 GAA and a .911 save percentage in 26 games (12-12-2). Sophomore Cody Rosen has been the goalie of record for one game (0-1-0) and has posted a 1.94 GAA and a .940 save percentage in three contests.

Brown vs. St. Lawrence: Brown and St. Lawrence have met 72 times, with the Saints leading the all-time series, 38-25-9. St. Lawrence won the very first meeting, 6-3, on 12/19/52. In the early part of the series, St. Lawrence dominated Brown, winning eight straight games from 1981-1985 and going 10-0-2 from 2/13/87-1/9/93. Since the 1993 game, Brown has earned a 19-13-7 record, including an 11-8-4 record since the 2001-2002 season. In addition, Brown has also earned at least one point against the Saints in each of the past 20 seasons, winning at least one game in 15 of the past 20 years, including the 2-1 victory earlier this season. Last year, Brown was 1-1-1 against the Saints, earning a 2-2 tie at Meehan, a 3-0 win in Albany, and falling, 5-2,  at Appleton. Senior Harry Zolnierczyk is Brown's statistical leader against the Saints with 5 points (2g, 3a) in six career games, while senior Jesse Fratkin and junior Jack Maclellan each add 2-2-4 totals in six career games.

Scouting St. Lawrence: After getting swept at the hands of Brown and Yale on January 21st-22nd, the Saints are 1-2-1 in their last four games, posting a 2-2 tie with Quinnipiac and a 4-0 win at Colgate, and dropping games to Princeton (5-3) and at Cornell (4-3, ot). Last weekend in the split with the Raiders and Big Red, St. Lawrence was led by three players, who all had three points, including sophomore Kyle Flanagan (2g, 1a), senior Nick Pitsikoulis (2g, 1a), and sophomore George Hughes (1g, 2a). Six other players posted at least one point over the weekend, while junior Robby Moss played both games in net, stopping 24 shots in the shutout against Colgate and 31 in the OT loss to Cornell. Freshman Greg Carey continues to lead St. Lawrence with 28 points (15g, 13a) in 27 games, while Flanagan also has 28 points (10g, 18a) in 27 games. Carey also leads the team with six power play goals and shares the team lead with Flanagan and senior Aaron Bogosian (9g, 10a) with two game-winning goals. Freshman Matt Weninger has seen the majority of time in net this year and has posted a 2.52 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 20 games (4-12-3). Moss has appeared in eight games (3-2-2) and has a 3.07 GAA and .911 save percentage, while junior Joe Spadaccini has been the goalie of record for one game (1-0-0) and has a 3.02 GAA and an .875 save percentage.

Maclellan for Hobey: Junior assistant captain Jack Maclellan, who leads the Bears in scoring with 30 points (14g, 16a) in 22 games, is among the nominees for the 2011 Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Maclellan, who has posted at least one point in 18 of Brown's 22 games, enters the Clarkson-St. Lawrence games ranked 11th in the nation with 1.36 points per game, 11th nationally with 0.64 goals per game, 32nd nationally with 0.73 assists per game, and 3rd in the nation with two short-handed goals. An assistant captain this year, Maclellan has 70 career points (31g, 39a) in 88 games. Fans can vote for their choice once every 24 hours and as many times as they like at www.hobeybakeraward.com. When online voting closes, the votes are tabulated and the results carry a weight in the final selection process of the Hobey finalists and winner.

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, five away games will be shown live via America One, including both games this weekend. Free audio for all home games and select away games will also be available. In addition to Brown's normal audio broadcasts on Brownbears.com, six other games will also be broadcast on WPRV AM-790, possibly including the February 22nd game against Harvard. 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).

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.

Jack Maclellan and Matt Wahl Earn All-Tournament Honors: Following Brown's second place finish at Notre Dame's Shillelagh Tournament (6-1 win over #10 Boston University; 7-3 loss to Minnesota State), junior Jack Maclellan (2g, 1a) and freshman Matt Wahl (2a) were both named to the All-Tournament Team.

Harry Zolnierczyk Named ECAC Hockey/MLX Skates Player of the Week: Following Brown's split with #1 Yale (L, 5-2; W, 3-2), which snapped Yale's winning streak at 10 games and handed the Bulldogs their first ECAC loss of the season, senior Harry Zolnierczyk was named ECAC Player of the Week. The Bears' second leading scorer had 4 points (2g, 2a) in the pair of games, including a short-handed goal that in the first game, that tied the score at 2-2, and the game-winning goal with 46 seconds left in regulation in the come-from-behind win in the second game. He also had the primary assist on both goals in the victory, and was +3 for the weekend.

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