The men’s hockey team (5-15-1, 5-9-1 ECAC) tied St. Lawrence (7-13-6, 5-7-4 ECAC) 1-1 Saturday night at Meehan Auditorium, but lost in the shootout, allowing the Saints to pick up the extra point. The game, which counts as the Bears’ first tie of the season, came after a 5-0 home loss to No. 20 Clarkson (15-7-6, 10-2-4 ECAC) Friday.
The game against Clarkson was a one-sided affair from start to finish with Brown unable to build off the momentum from its 2-1 upset win vs. No. 11 Cornell on Tuesday.
The Bears avoided falling behind for most of the first period, with the best Clarkson chance clanging off the post. But with 30 seconds left before intermission, a Clarkson centering pass was deflected through the legs of Brown goalie Mathieu Caron ’25, putting Clarkson up 1-0.
From there, Clarkson controlled the action, adding two more scores within the first half of the second period, putting the game out of reach and piling on another two goals in the third.
“We had played so well against Cornell in terms of defensive structure and high (competition),” said Head Coach Brendan Whittet. “We let Clarkson dictate what they wanted to do and that’s not a good recipe to win.”
This fluctuation in performance between games is typical for this Bears team, which now has seven losses by four or more goals, according to Whittet. “We’ve been highly inconsistent,” he said, mentioning frequent injuries and absences as factors. “Our lineup has been in flux.”
The Bears were shutout for the fourth time this season and, with an average of 1.65 goals per game, sit at 58th out of the 59 NCAA Division I teams in scoring.
Whittet identified increased power play efficiency and a higher volume of shots as the keys to improving goal output, but emphasized that the team cannot rely on its offense.
“It always starts on the defensive side of the puck,” he said. “We’re not dynamic enough offensively so we have to win more low-scoring games.”
But on Saturday against St. Lawrence, the offense began the game with a spark. The Bears recorded 13 shots in the first period, compared to just four against Clarkson. “We had a great first period,” Whittet said. “One of the best first periods in a long time.”
But the game would remain scoreless for much of the period, and goalie Mathieu Caron ’25 was forced to make multiple impressive saves to deny clear St. Lawrence chances to score.
The Bears would break through with just 10 seconds left in the period. A St. Lawrence defenseman slipped trying to handle the puck in his own zone, allowing left winger Jake Harris ’22 to rush in on a breakaway and slip the puck through the legs of the St. Lawrence goalie.
“Luckily it got caught in his feet and he tripped and I fished it out,” Harris said. “I saw the goalie had a big five hole open so I just tried to shoot it as (quickly) as I could and luckily it went in.”
But the Saints would respond in the second period, generating more shots and eventually drawing equal in the score column eight minutes in, when center Jordan Steinmetz, rushing to the front of the net, tipped a centering pass over Caron’s shoulder.
The Bears’ offense went cold for long stretches during the second period, recording only three shots. Brown was also unable to take advantage of its five power play opportunities during the game. Difficulty gaining the offensive zone was a theme for Brown during the power play, and much of the Bears’ ten minutes with a man advantage was spent chasing the puck back in their own zone.
“We (have to) find a way to score on the power play,” Whittet said. “Our power play has (not been) very good all year and it has to be something that is a weapon.” Brown has scored on just 11% of its power plays this year, ranking 56th among NCAA Division I teams.
It was on the Bears’ final power play of the game with just 1:33 to go that they had their best chance. Defenseman Luke Krys ’23 fired a wrister from the blue line that struck the post to the goalie’s right.
With the chance gone, the game went into 3-on-3 sudden death overtime. Both teams played the period cautiously, but defenseman James Crossman ’23 had the best chance on a clear breakaway. The St. Lawrence goalie barely got a piece of Crossman’s wrister, keeping the game alive.
Still tied after the overtime period, the game moved into a shootout. Harris began the proceedings for Brown, picking up the puck at center ice and moving right before dropping his shoulder and cutting left. He cut too close in, allowing the St. Lawrence goalie to make the save.
St. Lawrence’s first taker, Kaden Pickering, fired a quick wrister into the top shelf over Caron to supply all the Saints would need. Center Tristan Crozier ’22 and right winger Justin Jallen ’22 faltered in their penalty shot attempts.
Despite the disappointing result, Caron was happy with how the team played. “It was a good show of character that (the) guys bounced back,” he said.
The Bears travel to Connecticut Tuesday to face Quinnipiac (23-2-3, 12-1-1 ECAC), the number two ranked team in the country. The two teams first played in November in Providence, when the Bobcats eked out a 1-0 win with a third period goal. “We had a really good game against them when they were here,” Caron said.
“Our guys will know how good they are and we’ll be ready,” Whittet added. “They’re not unbeatable.”
The Bears’ offense will have to have a superb performance to find the net past Quinnipiac’s defense and goalie Yaniv Perets. In a 1-0 win over Rensselaer Saturday, the Bobcats earned their 13th shutout of the season, setting a new Division I record. The team allows a miniscule 0.96 goals per game, by far the best mark in the NCAA.
“We didn’t get close to the results we wanted (this weekend), but I’m happy with the way the guys battled,” Harris said. “I think we have to forget about it and move on to Tuesday because we have a big matchup.”
