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The Brown Bears are the 42nd team in our 2017 schedule preview. The Bears went 16-3 overall in 2016, and 6-0 in Ivy League play. They were upset by Harvard in the Ivy League semifinals, and lost to Maryland in overtime, 15-14, in the NCAA semifinals. Let’s dive into their schedule.
BROWN
The Bears begin the regular season as they did last season, as they’ll host defending MAAC champion Quinnipiac and Stony Brook in their first two games of the season, both at home. The Quinnipiac game is February 18, while the Stony Brook game is February 25.
Brown plays their first road game March 4 against Rutgers. Hopefully, that game is as fun as we think it will be. The Bears return home for three more games, starting on March 7 against Villanova. The Ivy League opener is against Harvard on the 18th, followed by Holy Cross three days later. The team ends the month in Amherst to take on UMass on March 25.
Ivy League play continues on April 1, as the Bears travel to New Jersey to take on Princeton. They’ll host dark horse contender Penn on April 8, before they travel to Connecticut to take on rival Yale on April 16. In last year’s thrilling matchup, the Bears defeated the Bulldogs, 14-12. Brown will stay in their home state of Rhode Island, as they’ll play guest to the Providence Friars on April 18. The home finale is against Cornell on April 22. The Bears will take on Bryant on April 25, before wrapping the regular season against Dartmouth on April 29.
Brown loses a ton of guys from last year’s outrageous squad. They return Tewaaraton winner Dylan Molloy, after he scored 116 points in 2016. But a broken foot he suffered during the postseason might have cost his team a chance at winning a National Championship, although it’s unfair to say that one injury made a difference. But this was a season-laden Brown team last season, and now they’ll be without Kylor Bellistri, Henry Blynn, Bailey Tills, Brendan Caputo, and Matt Graham. They’ll need guys such as attackmen AJ Lucchese, Foster LeBoeuf, Owen Rogers, and Dino Lavalle, as well as midfielders Carson Song, La Salle College High School product Stephen Hudak, Brewster Warble, and Jack Collins to step up in a big way this season.
Defense is slightly better, as the team returns defensemen Alec Tulett, JJ Ntshaykolo, Max Gustafson, and Alex Santangelo, and LSM Larken Kemp. James Lawrence is gone, as well as short-stick defensive midfielder Jon Yozzo-Scaperota. Look for Michael Panepinto, Brian Prigmore, and the return of Jimmy Coughlan to step up as potential d-middies. With Will Gural gone, Ted Ottens will now have to carry the majority of the face-off draws for the team. And with no more Jack Kelly in the crease, freshman and U.S. U-19 goalie Phil Goss has the lead over Acie Newton, Peter Scott, and Brad Peters as the starting goalie for the season.
And we almost forgot Mike Daly taking over for Lars Tiffany as head coach. The former Tufts BOSS will retain Brown’s fast tempo, which is what former assistant Sean Kirwan brought over from the Jumbos a few years ago. With his assistants, what will be different with this year’s Brown squad compared to last year’s, and will they still be dangerous? They have a ton of huge losses on offense to fill, but they should still be strong in 2017.
To see every team’s schedule and which one’s we’ve highlighted, check our our master schedule list.