Following a 17-day hiatus over Thanksgiving break, the men’s hockey team resumed conference play on the road this weekend with a 5-1 loss to No. 17 Clarkson University Friday and a 2-2 tie against St. Lawrence University Saturday.
Saturday night, Nolan Aibel ’20 equalized the game late in the second period to send Brown (1-6-2, 1-4-2 ECAC) into its second overtime contest of the season. Joachim Weberg ’21 and Justin Jallen ’22 scored Friday and Saturday, respectively, while Brady Schoo ’19 recorded a pair of assists against the Saints.
Brown 1, Clarkson 5
Friday night, Weberg scored in the second period to bring the Bears within one goal of the Golden Knights (8-5-0, 2-2-0), but a trio of unanswered Clarkson goals put victory out of reach for Bruno.
The Golden Knights opened scoring in the first minute of the game as Kevin Charyszyn found the back of the net on a one-timer 44 seconds into the contest. Marly Quince extended the lead for Clarkson late in the stanza, sending a shot into the Brown goal from between the circles.
But the Bears responded early in the second period, when Weberg redirected a feed from Chris Berger ’21 past Golden Knights netminder Jake Kielly. Berger maneuvered around a Clarkson defenseman through the right circle and sent a pass across the crease, where Weberg tapped the puck past Kielly to narrow the deficit to one. Dorian Dawson ’22 also recorded an assist on the play.
Aaron Thow widened the Golden Knights’ advantage to two with a goal midway through the stanza. Though the Bears’ offense remained persistent, outshooting Clarkson 10-6 in the final period, the Knights tacked on a pair of goals — including one on the power play — to secure the victory.
In net, goaltender Gavin Nieto ’20 posted 23 saves. The Bears went 6-for-7 on the penalty kill in the contest.
“We were working hard but sometimes not working intelligently — we got away from some systematic things,” said Head Coach Brendan Whittet ’94. “We needed to come back with a much different effort … on Saturday and I thought we responded very well.”
Brown 2, St. Lawrence 2 (OT)
The following day, the Bears dominated possession from the drop of the puck, outshooting the Saints 23-4 in the first period and 44-22 overall. Aibel scored the equalizer late in the second stanza to send the teams into overtime.
“We were all over them — we’re at our best when we’re cycling down low, maintaining possession in the offensive zone and getting pucks up quick in the neutral zone,” Aibel said. “We were doing all that and we were getting a lot of pucks to the net. … I think we just have to bear down on our chances a little bit and we’ll find some wins in the future.”
Jallen put Bruno on the board with his third goal of the season late in the first period. After having his initial shot denied, Jallen finished off his own rebound in a play that was sent to video review and ruled in favor of the Bears.
The Saints (2-11-1, 0-3-1) responded with a pair of goals in the span of a minute and a half to gain an advantage early in the second frame. Andrew McIntyre sent a backhand shot from the slot past Brown netminder Luke Kania ’21 three minutes into the stanza before Alex Gilmour converted on St. Lawrence’s second power play of the evening to reclaim the lead.
The Bears continued to pressure the St. Lawrence net and leveled the tally when Aibel collected a pass from Schoo and launched a shot past Saints goaltender Emil Zetterquist late in the second period.
After a scoreless third stanza, Kania made four key saves in overtime to preserve the tie.
“Saturday was a real step forward for us — we played the way we wanted to and I think we definitely did enough to win that game,” Weberg said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t come away with a win, but it’s always good to get at least one point on the road.”
“I like a lot of things we did in the game, and if we continue to trend upwards with those habits, with those systematic things that we stress, it eventually will lead to wins,” Whittet said. “We just can’t deviate — we’ve got to play as a team and I did see that on Saturday and I was very happy to see … how the guys responded to a Friday night game where we weren’t at our peak.”
Looking ahead, Whittet emphasized the importance of playing with tenacity around the net in order to convert offensive opportunities into goals.
“We’ve got to find a way to bear down around the net a little better … We’re gripping the stick a little tight right now,” he said. “If we continue to get the chances we’re getting, eventually it’ll go in. But it’s a situation where, in practice, you’ve got to constantly stress finishing drills, making sure that you’re depositing pucks in the net.”
As the first half of the season draws to a close ahead of the winter break, the Bears are preparing for a pair of home games against Union College and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this weekend. The team hopes to carry the momentum from Saturday’s matchup into the contests.
“We haven’t gotten the results that we wanted the past few weeks, but we’re confident in our ability (and) we’re confident in all of our teammates, our coaching staff and our game plan as a team,” Weberg said. “We’re getting better and better every day, and I think that showed on Saturday.”
This weekend, it’s important for the team to “really put all of our energy into these two games, hopefully come out with four points and put ourselves in a good spot after Christmas break,” Aibel added.
The Bears return home to host Union Friday and RPI Saturday at Meehan Auditorium. Face-off is at 7 p.m. both nights.
