May 14, 2015

Drew Brown ’16: Inspiration, and more

Drew Brown ’16 hoists the NCAA trophy during the on-ice celebration.
Drew Brown ’16 hoists the NCAA trophy during the on-ice celebration.

Recognized for its physical grit and relentless determination, the Friars’ men’s hockey team modeled its persona after teammate Drew Brown ’16 (Grass Lake, Mich.) in its resolute drive to the NCAA Championship.

Brown, who missed the 2014-15 season to battle Ewing sarcoma in his left leg, was declared cancer-free on March 11. He joined his team on the sidelines for the NCAA Frozen Four. He even laced up his skates for the first time in over a year and skated with the Friars the day before the Frozen Four began in Boston.

“I don’t think my doctors would have appreciated that,” he said sheepishly. It was an uplifting and poignant moment — for Brown and the Friars — as he stepped back on the same ice where he had been injured the year before in the Hockey East Tournament semifinals.

The injury eventually led to the diagnosis of his bone cancer. After a series of chemotherapy treatments, he had surgery in August in Michigan to remove the tumor and to replace the diseased bone with a cadaver one. He then underwent a series of follow-up chemotherapy treatments.

Brown said he felt the Friars always had the talent and drive to win the NCAA Championship. The quarterfinal series loss to New Hampshire in the Hockey East Tournament startled the team and gave it focus, he said. He had a “good feeling” about advancing to the Frozen Four when PC was selected to play in the NCAA East Regional in Providence and the field included teams it had played well against.

“We scored lots of goals in the regionals, and if you score that many, you know Jon Gillies isn’t going to give it up,” he said.

Sitting behind one of the goals in the championship game against Boston University, Brown said he couldn’t help but feel overjoyed for the program, and particularly for the seniors he played with for three years.

“The past year had its ups and downs,” he said. “To get the news I did before I came back out here and for the guys to do what they did, winning a national championship, is just amazing.”