The ECACHL coaches predicted this would be a rebuilding year for Brown and they picked the Bears to finish last in the league.
But after two more wins this weekend, Brown is proving the preseason expectations to be way off-base. The Bears battled American International College at home Saturday afternoon and defeated the Yellow Jackets 4-2. On Sunday, the Bears hosted Providence College in the 21st annual Mayor's Cup and avenged last year's 5-1 loss with a 2-1 victory to claim bragging rights over their cross-town rival. Brown is now 4-3-2 on the year.
"Well, we got four points out of (the weekend) and beating a good team like Providence will be a confidence booster that we can hopefully carry into next weekend," said defenseman Paul Baier '08. "These upcoming games will be huge for us, and I just want (Sunday's) intensity to carry through. If it does, we'll be in good shape in terms of ECAC points."
On Friday, Brown out-shot AIC 12-4 in the first period, but the Yellow Jackets secured a 1-0 lead after slipping the puck past goaltender Mark Sibbald '09 at 8:01. The Bears came out flat early but dominated from the start of the second period on.
The Bears' first goal came 4:20 into the second period. After receiving a pass from forward Jeff Prough '08, captain and forward Sean Dersch '07 cycled the puck with Sean Muncy '09 several times in the right corner before Muncy fired the puck from the top of the face-off circle to even the score at 1-1.
During a Brown four-on-three power play a few minutes later, defenseman Sean Hurley '08 collected a pass in the slot from David Robertson '08 and one-timed the puck into the net to give the Bears a 2-1 advantage at 7:03.
Brown's lead didn't last long, though. AIC struck back on a power play of its own at 14:05 to tie the game at 2-2. However, Bruno was unfazed by the winless Yellow Jackets and it finished the period off with back-to-back goals just 1:30 apart.
Forward Matt Vokes '09 scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at 18:06. The spectacular display of offensive talent began with a pass from forward Antonin Roux '07 to Brian McNary '08, who slipped the puck to Vokes. Knocked to his knees, Vokes still managed to fire off a shot that beat the AIC goaltender between his legs and restored the Bears' advantage.
This goal was McNary's second assist of the game and Vokes' eighth point this season.
"Matty has played extremely well so far," said Head Coach Roger Grillo. "He has been one of our most consistent forwards and a great contributor to our offensive line-up."
At 19:36, forward Devin Timberlake '10 notched his first collegiate goal on a Brown penalty kill, widening Brown's lead to 4-2. Hurley hit Timberlake with a perfect pass in the offensive zone before Timberlake faked AIC's goalie to the right and slipped the puck past him and into the net.
"Of course it's nice to get a win when you don't play your best," said Chris Poli '08. "At the same time, we are working hard to establish a certain standard of play and we just didn't meet it on Saturday."
With 16 saves, 13 of which came during the decisive second and third periods, Sibbald earned his first collegiate win.
"We are definitely happy for Mark," Grillo said. "While I wasn't happy with energy of our team, he was a bright spot for us," he added.
After Saturday's game, the team held a long closed-door meeting in the locker room to discuss its inconsistent play.
"We aren't always going to win playing (as poorly as) we did today," Poli said. "We talked about how we are a team that has tons of talent but needs to develop a better attitude."
Saturday's meeting had an immediate effect.
"We played one of our best periods of hockey," Grillo sad. "The guys responded well to Saturday's talk and came out ready to play."
The Bears out-shot the Friars 21-7 in the first period and emerged with a two-goal lead, shutting Providence out in the process.
Muncy recorded his fourth goal of the season at 6:06. The Friars' goalie stopped an initial shot from McNary, but the rebound went right to Muncy, who in turn slapped the puck over the goalie's left shoulder and into the corner of the net, giving Brown a 1-0 lead.
Just over four minutes later, forward Brian Ihnacak '07 netted his first goal of the season. Forward Ryan Garbutt '09 passed the puck back to defenseman Jeremy Russell '10 in the neutral zone. Russell found an opening and slipped the puck to Ihnacak who was alone down the left boards with a Providence defenseman nearby in the middle of the offensive zone. Ihnacak rifled a hard, low snap shot at the top of the left face-off circle that beat the Friars' goalie on his left.
After the break between the first and second periods, Providence came out flying and Brown seemed to ease off, perhaps content with the lead earned in the first 20 minutes of play.
Just 2:49 into the second period, the Friars beat Dan Rosen '10 with a one-timer on a Friars' five-on-three advantage. But that's as close as Providence would come. Though the Friars out-shot Brown 29-14 during the final 40 minutes of play, a strong Bears defense and solid goaltending helped Brown to its first Mayor's Cup in two years.
Rosen recorded 35 saves in the win over PC.
"You have to credit Dan and our defense," Poli said. "I mean, when the only goal (PC scored) was on a five-on-three, something back there is working."
The Bears resume ECACHL play next weekend, facing St. Lawrence University and Colgate University on Friday and Saturday nights, both at home.
