Men's Hockey Takes on Union in ECAC Opening Round

Saturday, March 9

Schenectady, NY

4 p.m.

Brown University

Union

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Chip DeLorenzo

Men's Hockey Takes on Union in ECAC Opening Round

3/8/2024 10:20:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

Game Notes Tickets Watch International Stream Live Stats

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Brown Bears (8-18-3, 6-14-2 ECAC) turn their sites to the playoffs and take on the Union Garnet Chargers (15-16-3, 9-10-3 ECAC) in the ECAC Opening Round Saturday afternoon at Messa Rink.

Saturday's game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+ in the United States and on Stretch Internet internationally.

SCOUTING THE BEARS

Brown enters the 2024 playoffs with an 8-18-3 overall record and 6-14-2 conference mark.
Brown's offense averages 2.1 goals per game and is led by sophomore Ryan St. Louis, who has 13 goals and 24 points. Sophomore Ryan Bottrill leads the Bears with 16 assists.
Brown's power play has 14 goals in 92 attempts (15.2%) with St. Louis, Alex Pineau, and Max Scott leading the team with six power play points apiece.
Brown's defense allows 3.2 goals per game to rank seventh in the conference.
Lawton Zacher holds a 2.81 goals against average and .911 save percentage in 25 starts.
Brown's penalty kill ranks sixth in the conference and 32nd nationally at 80.2% (69-86).

SCOUTING THE GARNET CHARGERS

Union enters the 2024 ECAC playoffs with a 15-16-3 overall record and 9-10-3 ECAC mark.
Union's offense averages 3.4 goals per game to rank second in the conference and 11th in the NCAA. Chaz Smedsrud leads the team with 13 goals and eight other Garnet Chargers have eight or more goals this season. Defenseman John Prokop leads the team with 27 assists and 35 points.
Union's power play clicks at 21.9% (30-137) to rank fifth in the conference and 23rd nationally. The team has 11 power play goals over the last nine games.
Defensively, Union allows 3.4 goals per game to rank ninth in the ECAC and 51st nationally.
Kyle Chauvette has started 33-of-34 games this season and holds a 3.15 goals against average and .891 save percentage.
Union's penalty kill leads the ECAC and ranks third in the country at 86.3% (113-131).

THE SEASON SERIES

Brown captured a 3-2 overtime road win over Union in the first meeting of the season in early January.
Alex Pineau tied the game in the final minute with an extra attacker goal before Ryan Shostak scored 2:16 into overtime to give the Bears the win.
Kyle Chauvette made 31 saves in the loss with Lawton Zacher stopping 17 shots.
In the February rematch at Meehan Auditorium, Union stormed back from a two-goal deficit with Brandon Buhr scoring the extra attacker goal in the final minute to force overtime.
The Garnet Chargers took the extra league point with the shootout win.
Zacher recorded a career-high 42 saves with Chauvette finishing the night with 21.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Saturday marks the 68th meeting between Brown and Union dating back to 1989.
Brown holds the overall series edge, 28-24-15, along with a 14-13-5 record at Messa Rink.

PLAYOFF HISTORY

Saturday marks the second playoff game between Brown and Union and first since the 2013 ECAC Championship game in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Union jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first with goals from Daniel Carr and Max Novak.
The Dutchmen extended the lead 2:20 into the second with another goal from Novak before Dennis Robertson found the net on the power play to cut into the lead at 7::57 of the second.
Troy Grosenick recorded 32 saves for Union with Anthony Borelli making 19 saves.

PINEAU STEPS UP

Freshman defenseman Alex Pineau picked up ECAC Defender of the Week honors after Brown's weekend in the North Country.
Pineau tallied a goal in the loss at St. Lawrence before adding two assists in the OT win at Clarkson.
Earlier in January, he added a career-high six shots on goal and four blocked shots against Dartmouth.
Pineau leads Brown defenders with six goals and 13 points and is fifth on the team in points.

EATING PUCKS

Brown blocked 20 shots in the shootout win at Harvard last weekend to mark the fourth game with 20 or more blocked shots.
The Bears block 13.3 shots per game and average 16.3 blocks over the last eight games.
Three Bears - Alex Pineau (61), Tony Andreozzi (42), and Brett Bliss (41) have blocked nearly 40% of the total shots this season.

BETWEEN THE PIPES

Freshman Lawton Zacher enters the weekend with a .911 save percentage and 2.81 goals against average in 25 starts.
The Buffalo, New York native has started each of the last 18 games.
Zacher recorded 41 saves in the shootout win at Harvard to close out the regular season, his third game this season with 40+ saves.

BROWN UNIVERSITY SPORTS FOUNDATION
The Brown University Sports Foundation (BUSF) is the lifeblood of the athletics program, and exists to enhance the student-athlete experience through philanthropic support from alumni, parents, fans and friends. A gift through the Sports Foundation makes an immediate impact on today's Brown Bears and helps them to be their best in the classroom, in competition and most importantly in the community. To learn more about supporting the Bears, please click here.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
For the latest on Brown Athletics, please follow @BrownU_Bears on Twitter, @BrownU_Bears on Instagram, like BrownUBears on Facebook and subscribe to the BrownAthletics YouTube channel.