Team Notes: Bears Face No. 10 Rensselaer and No. 12 Union

This Weekend: With the non-league portion of the schedule now complete, Brown is  in the midst of 16 straight ECAC Hockey contests (10 to go) and travels to New York's Capital District for a pair of games against #10 Rensselaer and #12 Union. Brown will look to post a weekend sweep for the first time since November 19-20 when the Bears earned a sweep at Colgate and Cornell. Since the turn of the calendar year, the Bears have posted four straight weekend splits, including league splits with Harvard (W, 4-3) and Dartmouth (L, 3-1), Yale (L, 5-2) and Yale (W, 3-2), and St. Lawrence (W, 2-1) and Clarkson (L, 3-1).  
   
Last Time Out: The Bears split a pair of games for the 4th straight weekend, defeating St. Lawrence, 2-1, on Friday, before falling to Clarkson, 3-1, on Saturday. Both games were tied, 1-1, heading into the third period and the winning goal each night was scored during the first three minutes of the final frame. On Friday, it was freshman Garnet Hathaway's first career game-winning goal that lifted Brown to the win 1:49 into the period. On Saturday, the Golden Knights scored a power play goal at the 2:06 mark and then added an empty netter for the victory. Junior Jack Maclellan posted a point in each game with a penalty shot against St. Lawrence and an assist against Clarkson. Freshman Matt Wahl scored Brown's other goal on the weekend, netting his first career power play goal to get the Bears on the board early in the second period against the Golden Knights. Junior Mike Clemente was solid in net, stopping 59 of 62 total shots, including 34 of 36 against Clarkson. For the weekend, he posted a .952 save percentage and a 1.52 GAA. 

Brown vs. Rensselaer: This weekend will mark the 81st meeting between Brown and RPI, dating back to a 5-0 Brown win during the 1951-52 season. The Engineers currently lead the all-time series, 52-21-7, including a 6-2 win at Brown earlier this season. The two teams split the regular season in 2009-10, with each team winning in its own rink. The Bears then faced RPI in the first round of the playoffs, eliminating the 6th-seeded Engineers in three games with wins in game #1 and game #3. The split during the regular season marked the first time in four seasons that Brown earned a win over RPI in the regular season, as the Engineers were 7-0-1 from January 2006 through February 2009, including sweeping the season in 2006, 2007, and 2009. Juniors Jack Maclellan (4g, 2a) and Bobby Farnham (2g, 4a) are Brown's statistical leaders against RPI with six points (2g, 4a) in eight and seven career games, respectively. Classmate Jeff Buvinow has six points, all assists, in eight career games.

Scouting Rensselaer: RPI concludes its four-game homestand this weekend against Brown and Yale after sweeping Harvard (3-2) and Dartmouth (5-1) last weekend. The 10th-ranked Engineers boast a 15-6-3 record (7-5-0 ECAC), including a 10-1-0 mark at Houston Fieldhouse. The only loss at home was a 3-2 decision to Clarkson on January 7th, as RPI's other five losses were all on the road. Following the weekend sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth, senior Chase Polacek earned ECAC Player of the Week honors after notching three goals, including both game-winners, and an assist. Junior Allen York earned Goalie of the Week recognition after stopping 54 of 57 shots in the two games for a .947 save percentage and a 1.51 GAA. Polacek leads the Engineers with 34 points on a team-high 14 goals and a team-high 20 assists. He also shares the team lead with five power play goals and leads the team with six game-winners. Sophomore Nick Bailen is second on the team with 27 points (8g, 19a), while senior Tyler Helfrich has added 22 points, split evenly between goals and assists. He also has five power play goals and is second with three game-winners. York has seen the majority of time in net this year (1392:38), appearing in 23 games and in all but 66:41 of the season. He has a 1.94 GAA and a .927 save percentage to go along with a 14-6-3 record and one shutout.  

Brown vs. Union: This weekend marks the 41st meeting between Brown and Union, dating back to a 3-2 Union victory on December 30, 1989. The Bears hold a 19-11-10 series advantage over the Dutchmen, including a 7-4-5 record in the past 16 meetings. Since the 2007-08 season, when the current seniors were freshmen, Brown holds a 2-2-3 record, including a pair of ties last season. However, the Bears' last win was in December, 2008 (5-4). Junior Jack Maclellan is Brown's statistical leader against Union with 4-2-6 totals in five career games, while seniors Jeremy Russell (7 games - 2g, 1a) and Harry Zolnierczyk (4 games - 1g, 2a), and junior Jeff Buvinow (5 games - 3a) all have three career points.

Scouting Union: The Dutchmen are coming off a weekend split with Dartmouth (L, 4-1) and Harvard (W, 2-1), as Friday's loss to the Big Green snapped Union's four-game winning streak and marked its first home loss of the season (10-1-1). Connecticut is the only other team not to lose to Union at Messa Rink, as the Huskies earned a 3-3 tie on October 28th. Sophomore Jeremy Welsh leads Union with 29 points (13g, 16a) in 26 games and is tied for second on the team with five power play goals. Freshman Daniel Carr is second with 27 points (14g, 13a) and a team-high nine power play goals. Junior Kelly Zajac (8-16-24), freshman Josh Jooris (8-16-24), freshman Mat Bodie (4-18-22), and sophomore Wayne Simpson (8-12-20) have all already reached 20 points on the year, as Simpson is tied for second with five power play goals and Zajac leads the team with three game-winners. Sophomore Keith Kinkaid has seen the majority of time in net this year (1405:44) and has posted a 1.92 GAA and a .922 save percentage in 24 games (15-7-2, 2 shutouts). Both freshman Troy Grosenick and senior Corey Milan have played in three games with Grosenick holding a 2.12 GAA and .897 save percentage and Milan earning a 3.05 GAA and .862 save percentage.