Brown Wins Liberty Hockey Invitational

Newark, NJ - The Brown Bears finished last season with a deep run through the ECAC Tournament all the way to the championship game before bowing out to Union. It appears Brown is ready to use last year's playoff run as a springboard to a successful season.

Brendan Whittet's team, picked to finish eighth by both the media and coaches in the preseason polls, is off to a 2-0 start after winning both games at this weekend's Liberty Hockey Invitational at the Prudential Center.

Brown knocked off Yale, the defending NCAA Champions and preseason favorite, in the first game. The next night the Bears downed Dartmouth, 5-3.

Sophomore forward Mark Naciero tallied three goals and added four helpers to pace the Brown offense. The Milford, Conn. native was not surprisingly named the MVP of the tournament. Sophomore forward Nick Lappin had two goals and two assists while last year's leading scorer Matt Lorito had a goal and three assists.

One area of concern entering the year for Whittet's squad was the goaltending position due to the graduation of Anthony Borelli. Senior Marco DeFillipo stopped 31 of 32 shots in the upset of Yale, and freshman Tyler Steel made 28 saves on 31 shots against Dartmouth.

Up next for Brown is a pair of home games against Clarkson on Friday and St. Lawrence on Saturday. Both squads are off to good starts, particularly the Golden Knights who will invade Meehan Auditorium with a 6-1-1 record.

Final Tournament Results

Friday, October 25

Saturday, October 26

Jeff Cox covers college and junior hockey, NCAA recruiting, NHL Draft prospects and the AHL for SBNation. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSBNation.