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Men's Hockey Hosts Holy Cross Saturday in Season Opener
10/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Full Game Notes (PDF) | Interactive Guide | Video Preview
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Brown men's hockey team will kick off the 2015-16 season on Saturday, Oct. 31 when the Bears welcome Holy Cross to Meehan Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Links to live video and live stats will be available at www.brownbears.com.
Matchup: Brown (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) vs. Holy Cross (1-4-0, 1-1-0 AH)
Date: Saturday, October 31, 2015
Time: 7:30 PM
Venue: Meehan Auditorium (Providence, R.I.)
Stream: brownbears.tv
Twitter Updates: @BrownMensHockey
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All-Time in Season Openers
Since Brown's first season in 1897-98, the Bears are 37-50-4 in season-opening games. Brown earned its third straight season-opening victory last year when the Bears topped Army, 4-2.
Scouting Holy Cross
Holy Cross heads into Saturday's contest at 1-4 and will play Brown in the tail end of a five-game road swing. The Crusaders most recently topped Canisius on Saturday, 4-1, to snap a four-game losing skid. The Crusaders return 21 players from last season (14-15-8) including five of six starters, while they welcome seven freshmen. Holy Cross returns nine of its top 10 point producers. Mike Barrett has led the way so far this season with four goals in five games, while Michael Laffin has five points (2-3-5) as one of four players with at least two goals. Paul Berrafato and Tommy Nixon have split time in net and check in with a save percentage of .857 and .892, respectively. The Crusaders have allowed 13 goals on 19 opposing power-plays situations for a 68.4 PK percentage.
Brown vs. Holy Cross All-Time
Brown and Holy Cross have met six times, with the Bears leading the all-time series, 5-3-0. The two teams met last season when Holy Cross picked up a 5-0 win at home. Prior to 2003, the two teams had not faced each other since 1950.
2015-16 Leadership
Senior Mark Naclerio will serve as team captain for the second straight season, while fellow senior Nick Lappin will be the assistant captain for the second time in as many years.
Bears in Belfast
In November, Brown will travel to Northern Ireland to participate in the inaugural "Friendship Four," an international tournament in Belfast, along with Colgate, UMass Lowell and Northeastern. Brown will play a conference game against Colgate on Friday, November 27 before taking on one of the Hockey East teams in the championship/consolation game the following day. The Friendship Four will be held at the Belfast Giants/Odyssey Arena.
Season Outlook: Forwards
Lettermen returning/lost: 12/4
Newcomers: 2
Despite the loss of the Matt Lorito to graduation, who logged 106 career points, the Bears will boast a heavy dose of firepower up front. Mark Naclerio has 98 career games under his belt and enters his final go-around with 31 goals and 50 assists for 81 points. The two-time captain and top line center tied for the team lead with 23 points in 2014-15.
Lappin, who will serve as assistant captain, earned All-Ivy honors for the second straight season as a junior in 2014-15. The winger led the team with 14 goals on 112 shots and finished third with 21 total points in 29 games played. Lappin has 73 total points (34g, 39a) over his first three seasons at Brown.
Senior Joe Prescott and juniors Zack Pryzbek and Davey Middleton will be looked at for leadership and consistent play after gaining steady ice time over the past few seasons.
Brown will have plenty of young but experienced players at the forward position, including a trio of NHL draftees in Sam Lafferty, Max Willman and Tyler Bird, who played regularly as rookies. Lafferty led the group with 12 points (4-8-12), while all three improved down the stretch and formed a strong second line by the end of the season.
Season Outlook: Defense
Lettermen returning/lost: 6/2
Newcomers: 4
Senior Brandon Pfeil and junior Tyler Wood will anchor the Brown defense this season with 148 combined games between the two players. Pfeil has skated on the top pairing since his sophomore campaign when he finished as a plus-10, while Wood has earned consistent time ever since he came to College Hill as a freshman in 2013-14.
Brown was young on defense last season, but that should bode well for the Bears this time around, as current sophomores Josh McArdle, Ben Tegtmeyer and Dane Cooper have plenty of experience after the trio was counted on regularly as rookies.
The Bears also welcome in four talented newcomers, made up of Max Gottlieb, Will Scherer, Brady Schoo and Conner Wynne, who will add much needed depth on the backend.
Season Outlook: Goal
Lettermen returning/lost: 3/0
Newcomers: 0
Juniors Tyler Steel and Tim Ernst form a solid goaltending tandem for head coach Brendan Whittet and his staff, as both have shown flashes of brilliance over the past two seasons.
Steel will look to return to his rookie form, when he led the team with 21 games played and earned Honorable Mention All-Ivy accolades. He went 8-10-3 with a 2.67 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage during that season, but battled back from injury before his sophomore campaign.
Ernst appeared in 20 games with 17 starts last winter and finished with a 6-8-3 record, but came on strong down the stretch. He was named ECAC Goaltender of the Month for February after going 4-1-2 during the month with a 1.97 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage. He also posted two shutouts on the season.
In addition, sophomore Connor Maher will push Steel and Ernst for playing time. He appeared in one game as a rookie against Quinnipiac when he made 17 saves for a save percentage of .944.
