Coming off an extremely successful bout two weekends ago, during which the Bears tied a strong Colgate University team and defeated then-No. 15 Cornell 5-2, the men seemed uncharacteristically complacent this weekend, falling at home 5-3 to Union College and 4-3 to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday night.
"There really is no excuse for our performance this weekend," said forward Brian McNary '08. "I don't even know what to say. The guys are excited after last weekend, but we need to bring that same effort every time. We can't just expect to beat teams just because. I mean, we're good, but we still have to come to play, and we didn't, so we embarrassed ourselves twice in front of a home crowd."
The defeats knocked Brown into last place in the ECACHL standings, tied with Harvard with 10 points. Fortunately for Brown, only three points separate it from the three squads tied for fifth.
On Friday night, the Bears came out of the gate sluggish. Union used Brown's lethargy to its advantage, jumping all over the Bears from the start.
"We just came out flat," said Head Coach Roger Grillo. "We weren't moving, skating hard and playing our style of hockey. There was no energy and it really showed."
In the first six minutes of play, the Dutchmen built a two-goal advantage, netting a puck at 2:38 and another at 5:40 before the Bears even got a single shot off.
Forward Jeff Prough '08 did manage to capitalize on one of just four Brown shots in the period, however, tallying a goal on a power play at 17:15. McNary slipped the puck from the top of the right faceoff circle to Prough in the crease for a one-timer that beat the Union goalie. The goal was Prough's 11th of the season.
At 12:44 into the second period, Union reclaimed its two-goal lead with a power play goal that managed to get behind Brown goalie Dan Rosen '10 after a flurry in front of the net. At the time, Rosen was playing with a teammate's stick after losing his own.
The Bears started the third period with a four-on-three advantage. Just 18 seconds into the period, David Robertson '08 received a pass at the top of the circle from fellow point man Sean Hurley '08. Robertson fired a shot that deflected off a diving Union defenseman's shoulder and then traveled into the back of the net.
With their lead diminished to 3-2, the Dutchmen buckled down, scoring their third power-play goal of the game just a few minutes later at 4:14.
Brown refused to accept defeat, quietly, however. At 13:36, defenseman Jeremy Russell '10 fired a slap shot from the left point. The puck slipped through the Union goaltender's legs, bringing the Bears to within one score.
Yet Russell's effort was not enough. Union's empty-net goal at 19:10 sealed the Bears' fate in their 5-3 loss.
Saturday night wasn't any better for the Bears. A hard-fought contest against RPI proved disappointing due to errors made at key times during the game.
"We had better energy," Grillo said of the Bears' performance against RPI. "We just didn't capitalize on some chances we were given and we made a few key mistakes that they really took advantage of. That was the difference between winning and losing."
Brown came out with more intensity Saturday, earning a lead at 9:39 in the first period when McNary finished an end-to-end rush by converting a slick give-and-go with forward Eric Slais '09. Brian Ihnacak '07 started the play with an outlet pass to Slais on the left side of the offensive zone.
The Bears kept their lead for the rest of the period, but RPI tied the score just 30 seconds into the second period, jumping on the opportunity created from a Brown offensive-zone turnover. An RPI power play later in the period enabled the Engineers to gain the lead at 6:31. Just three minutes later at 9:44, another RPI player lit the lamp for a 3-1 lead over the Bears.
Aaron Volpatti '10 netted his second goal of the season at 14:26 of the second period, closing the scoring gap to 3-2. Volpatti stole the puck from an Engineer along the right side of the boards and had only the goalie to beat. With a teammate running interference in front of the net, Volpatti roofed a shot to slice Union's lead to 3-2.
Brown took advantage of a 5-on-3 situation to even the score early in the third. Matt Vokes '09 won an offensive zone face-off and swung the puck back to Prough at the top of the circle. The puck went to Robertson, who fed Hurley for a one-timer that Hurley lined up and fired, beating the goalie between his legs.
The tie was short-lived, though. The Engineers scored their second power-play goal of the night at 9:09 when an RPI player slapped the puck past Rosen after a skirmish in front of the Brown net.
"There were some good things that happened on Saturday night," Grillo said. "But not enough."
Defenseman Paul Baier '08 expressed similar disappointment.
"The guys are all kind of frustrated," Baier said. "We came off that huge weekend with a lot of momentum and then we just didn't get it done these last two games. We're a gritty, scrappy team. We can't just throw our jerseys out there and expect to win. We aren't a finesse team. We can be really good sometimes, but our wins come from battling and fighting hard, so when we don't bring that attitude to the rink, well, you get this weekend."
Brown will get another crack at improving its ECACHL position this weekend at Princeton on Friday night at 7 p.m. and at Meehan Auditorium against Quinnipiac University on Saturday night.
