ECAC(HL) Men's 1st Round Playoff Preview - Part 1

Our first preview will look into the matchup between the #5 seed St. Lawrence and the #12 seed Brown. On paper this is a mismatch in the favor of SLU, but that's why they don't play the games on paper, they play them on tabletops with little plastic men.

Why SLU will win:
SLU is a team that relies highly on its offensive talent. Led by probable All-American forward TJ Trevelyan, they have been averaging 3.21 goals per game. However their offense took a major hit when senior forward and the team's second leading scorer John Zeiler inexplicably left the college last week. No telling if his departure was critical in SLU's poor showing at Harvard and Dartmouth, but if SLU plays like that this weekend we could be seeing a major upset in the first round. However, one forward does not make a team and it is well known that head coach Joe Marsh can get the most out of any set of players he puts on the ice. SLU is still loaded with talent and can score goals when they need to.

SLU relies heavily on it's senior talent which is a major advantage in the playoffs. The top five scorers on the team are upperclassmen and the defense is anchored by senior Mike Madill. In net has been sophomore Justin Pesony, who has made big saves when he needed to. If he can heat up SLU will be very dangerous in the tournament. SLU holds all of the statistical advantages over Brown and all of the intangible as well. SLU posts a dominate 12-2-1 record at home and despite internal problems, should come away with an opening round sweep.


Why Brown will win:
Brown will need an absolutely huge weekend from sophomore netminder Adam D'Alba. D'Alba has been in the net for all of Brown's four wins this season and he will be the linchpin for Brown to have any success this weekend. The absence of Zeiler plays to the advantage of the Bears who will hope the Trevelyan and Zbriger duo will lose some chemistry with a new linemate. Brown will also look to exploit SLU's young defense who has allowed three goals a game. This will be a chance for Brown to look to expand their 2.05 goals per game average. For this to happen look for Jeff Prough to have a big weekend. Brown's leading scorer will need to lead the way for the Bears to have any shot this weekend.

Brown is coming off a win at home in the season finale against Quinnipiac and despite their rough stretch in the second half they were in nearly every game and took six games to overtime. Keep in mind that Brown defeated SLU 3-1 back in November as well when SLU was starting hot and had only lost to Wisconsin and RIT. Brown can beat the Saints but it's going to take a total team effort, solid goaltending and a bit of luck.

Prediction
SLU will sweep, but Brown will keep it close.

SLU 3 - Brown 2
SLU 4 - Brown 3 OT