Bears Begin Three-Game Homestand Tonight against Princeton

This Weekend: In the midst of a stretch of playing four games in eight days, the Bears begin a three-game homestand this weekend against Princeton and #4 Quinnipiac. The ECAC weekend marks the final two League games for the Bears, who will close the semester on Tuesday night against AIC. Brown's next League game is not until January 8th when the Bears play a single game at Dartmouth. The Bears' next League weekend is not until January 22-23, when they travel to St. Lawrence and Clarkson, as a single game at Yale sits between the Dartmouth weekend and the trip to the North Country.

Toy Drive: In conjunction with the three final games of the semester, Brown will be sponsoring a toy drive to benefit the Hasbro Children's Hospital. Any fan who brings a new, unwrapped toy will receive one free admission to the game per toy donated.

Last Time Out: Brown won its second straight game on Tuesday night, picking up a 4-1 victory over Harvard, also the Bears' first ECAC win of the season and first Ivy League victory since earning a 5-4 win at Dartmouth on February 22, 2008. The game was actually much closer than indicated by the final score, as Brown held a 2-1 lead with just 1:11 remaining and Harvard about to go on a power play. The final two goals came in a span of 17 seconds with the Crimson net vacated, as senior Aaron Volpatti scored his second short-handed goal of the year at 19:23 and sophomore Jack Maclellan scored for the third straight game at 19:40. Sophomores Jarred Smith (2nd goal) and Jeff Buvinow (1st goal) scored late in the first and early in the second, respectively, to give Brown a 2-0 lead. Buvinow's goal would stand as the game-winner after Harvard closed to within one at 13:15 of the second. Sophomore Mike Clemente stopped 42 shots, including all 18 he faced in the first period, to help lead the Bears. The win was Brown's third straight over Harvard and gave the Bears a 3-0-2 record over the Crimson in the previous 5 meetings.

Coming Up: Brown will close out the semester and three-game homestand on Tuesday evening with a non-league contest against AIC. The game marks the end of a stretch of four games in eight days for the Bears and is also the final home game until January 29th, as Brown will play six straight road games to open the 2010 calendar year.

These Dates Historically Speaking: All-time, Brown has played 19 total games on December 4th and 15 total games on December 5th. Brown has faired better on the 5th with a 10-4-1 overall record, compared to a 6-13-0 record in games played on the 4th. Brown is 4-6-0 at home on 12/4 and 6-2-0 at home on 12/5.

Brown vs. Princeton: Brown holds a 78-61-8 advantage over Princeton in the all-time series, which dates back to a 4-4 tie during the 1899-1900 season. The two teams played six straight overtime games, with Brown posting a 1-2-3 record in those contests, before Princeton earned a victory in regulation, 4-3, in the final meeting between the two schools during the 2006-2007 season to clinch that year's ECAC First Round series. Since that win, Princeton has won six straight games to stretch its winning streak over Brown to seven contests. Last year, Princeton swept Brown during the regular season, winning by a 5-1 margin at both Brown and Princeton. The Tigers also earned a 4-1 win over the Bears in the non-league game, as part of the Showcase at Meehan. Earlier this season, Brown and Princeton battled to overtime, but the Tigers scored 1:16 in to break a 0-0 tie and earn the victory. Senior Devin Timberlake is Brown's statistical leader against the Tigers with six points (1g, 5a) in nine career games, while classmate Aaron Volpatti adds four points, all goals, in 11 career games.

Scouting Princeton: The Tigers are in the midst of a four-game skid, having dropped three straight games and gone 0-3-1 in their last four. Princeton was last in action on November 25th, a 5-1 loss to its travel partner, Quinnipiac. Prior to that, the Tigers were swept in a League weekend at Cornell (L, 5-2) and Colgate (L, 5-4 ot). Senior Dan Bartlett currently leads the Tigers with 8 points (5g, 3a), while junior Mike Kramer is second on the team with 7 points (4g, 3a). 14 other players have tallied at least one point this season, while 8 others have scored at least one goal. Senior Zane Kalemba has seen the majority of time in net (328:37) and has posted a 3.65 GAA and a .890 save percentage with a 1-4-1 record. Junior Alan Reynolds (182:37) has posted a 2.30 GAA and a .916 save percentage with a 2-1-0 record.

Brown vs. Quinnipiac: Brown and Quinnipiac split the season last year with each team winning on the road. The Bobcats claimed a 5-1 victory in Providence, while the Bears earned a 3-2 win in Hamden, posting their third victory in 10 tries, as Quinnipiac leads the all-time series, 7-3-0. The Bears and the Bobcats met for the first time at Quinnipiac in January of 2006 with Quinnipiac claiming a 3-2 win in overtime. Brown earned the season split with the Bobcats in 2006, with a 5-3 win in Providence to close out the regular season. The two teams split the season series again in 2006-07, with each team winning in its home rink for the second straight year. Senior Sean McMonagle leads all Brown players against Quinnipiac with 5 points (2g, 3a) in six career games.

Scouting Quinnipiac: Riding the nation's longest winning streak at 8 games entering Friday night's contest at Yale, Quinnipiac is currently ranked #4 in the nation with a 12-1-0 record and a 7-0-0 mark in the ECAC. During their current unbeaten streak, the Bobcats have all seven of their league wins and most recently, a 5-4 overtime victory over UMass, outscoring their opponents, 36-17 during this time. In fact, Quinnipiac scored at least four goals in all but one of those 8 games (a 3-2 win at Cornell), and netted five goals in five of the eight games. Quinnipiac is led by senior Brandon Wong with 19 points (8g, 11a), while senior Eric Lampe has 18 points (9g, 9a). Four other players have already reached double digits in scoring, while 18 other players have registered at least one point. Sophomore Goalie Dan Clarke, the national Player of the Month (November) has seen the majority of time in net (508:08) and has posted a 2.24 GAA to go along with a .932 save percentage and an 8-0-0 record. Freshman Eric Hartzell (209:27) has also seen significant time and has a 2.29 GAA with a .917 save percentage.