Brown goaltender Yann Danis broke the school record for shutouts in a season with his fourth, Friday at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Danis blanked Vermont for the second time this year, turning away 30 shots in a 3-0 victory.
On November 8, Danis beat the Catamounts 5-0 with a 29-save performance at Meehan Auditorium.
Brown’s Chris Legg scored two goals and captain Tye Korbl along with Jason Wilson added two assists in the win.
“I thought our goaltender stole a game for us,” said ex-Vermont assistant coach Roger Grillo, now in his fifth season behind the Brown bench. “We got a couple of bounces, and their bounces went the other way.”
The two teams played a scoreless but exciting first period. After the first 10 minutes, in which both played defensive-minded hockey, the scoring chances picked up. At the seven-minute mark, Vermont was on the power play. A shot from the point came in on Danis, who made the save but could not corral the rebound. Sophomore Brady Leisenring found the puck in the slot but fired it over the crossbar.
On the ensuing faceoff Leisenring had another chance, but Danis came up with his best save of the night. The puck was labeled for the top right corner. He snatched it out of the air.
Brown (12-10-3, 10-7-2 ECAC) got its chance when Jason Wilson took a shot from the slot. Conschafter made the save but had no idea where the rebound lay. The puck was sitting on the goal line, and backchecking Bryson Busniuk was there to get it out of harm’s way.
Catamount defenseman Jaime Sifers sent Jeff Corey in on a mini-breakaway with 3:37 remaining. The pass was flipped over the Brown defender and Corey skated onto it at center. He took it down the right wing boards but couldn’t sneak it past Danis’ legs.
Vermont held a 10-4 advantage in shots after one period.
Early in the second, Vermont’s Jeff Miles walked around a Brown defender and spun the net for a wraparound. Danis had his skate glued to the post and kept it out.
Brown broke onto the scoreboard first at 11:47 of the second period. Korbl found Legg on a 2-on-1, and Legg slid the puck by a pileup in front of the net and past Conschafter for the lead. Wilson also assisted on Legg’s third goal of the year.
Later in the period, Vermont did some tremendous work on the penalty kill. Leisenring, forechecking in the defensive zone, stole the puck from the Bears behind the net. He fed it out front into the slot for Scott Mifsud, who missed the net high and wide.
Midway through the third, the Catamounts got two consecutive power plays. The first was on a dangerous hit on Mifsud in the corner by Keith Kirley and the other, a holding call on Korbl. Danis was at his best when the Bears were a man down, stopping nine shots on five Vermont power plays including numerous close calls in the third.
Just after the second Vermont power play expired, Chris Swon scored on a scramble in the Cats’ end, as the puck barely crept over the goal line. Korbl and Pascal Denis assisted on the sophomore’s first goal of the season, at 15:02.
Legg scored his second of the night from Wilson into the empty net for the capper.
“That’s as well as we played and lost in years,” said Vermont head coach Mike Gilligan, “I thought we played well enough to come up with a couple of points, but their goaltender was fabulous.”
Conschafter seemed to be fighting the puck all night, and finished with a shaky 18 saves.
“Mike’s team played tremendously,” Grillo said. “We’ve been on the other end of those, so we know what its like.”
Vermont (11-15-3, 8-11-0 ECAC) looks to rebound Saturday, when it faces Harvard. Brown, which is in good position for a first-round playoff bye, travels to Dartmouth.
