Brandon Pfeil Headed to Brown University

The second half of the Merritt Centennials top defensive pairing is headed to Providence, Rhode Island to compete for the Brown Bears against his partner Reece Wilcox who will skate for the Cornell Big Red.

Brown University is another Ivy League school with a great educational program, and without knowing for sure, I wouldn't be surprised if they were one of the many options Reece Wilcox was looking at as well. They play in the ECAC Division with the likes of big-name schools like Princeton, Yale, Harvard, and of course, Cornell. For the record, in their only meeting so far this season, Cornell beat up on Brown 9-0. However, the Bears last game was a 10-0 triumph over Sacred Heart, which is the same way they opened the season on October 22nd.

As for Brandon Pfeil, this is definitely a very well-earned achievement. This is a guy that might have been on the bubble coming into this season, but has been nothing short of outstanding. He is the quietest guy on the team, and that goes for both on and off the ice, which is a compliment. Brandon is the picture of consistency and hardly ever seems nervous or unsure of himself. He plays with confidence and intelligence on the ice, and is hardly ever caught out of position or making a mental mistake. And oh yeah, there's also the offensive part of his game. He played 55 games and recorded 16 points last year, but this year has already surpassed that total by 8 points, in only half the amount of games, collecting 24 points in just 28 games, good for 4th on the team in scoring, behind the top line trio of Merritt's. He is a great power play quarterback with maybe the most accurate shot on the team... it's hardly a bomb, but I think most, if not all of his 7 goals have been seeing-eye wrist shots through a maze of traffic. To say that Pfeil's play has been a pleasant surprise would be an understatement... he has arguably been the Centennials best defenseman, and one of the most consistent. Hopefully this commitment can be a bit of a springboard for Brandon Pfeil to an even better 2nd half of the season.

While it's sad to know that both Wilcox and Pfeil will not return to the Centennials next year, it's a great indication of just how far the franchise has come. It's been a long time since they had two division 1 scholarships in one season, and in only just over half a season. Last year, Jeff Jones was the only player to commit to a Division 1 school, currently playing with Robert Morris University.

Meehan Auditorium, home of the Brown Bears

As good as Merritt has been this season, and as many standouts as they have who have yet to be recognized, I wouldn't expect this scholarship to Brandon Pfeil to be the last. And despite the losses that will need to be made up for next season, these early commitments will make life a lot easier for head coach Luke Pierce when it comes to recruiting for 2012/2013. Maybe the easiest for any Centennials coach in about a decade.

Here is the official media released from the Merritt Centennials:

http://www.merrittcentennials.com/leagues/newsletter.cfm?page=58024&clientID=3359&leagueID=8957

I was able to catch up with Brandon Pfeil ahead of the game Dec 29th vs the Westside Warriors, and here's what he had to say on the scholarship:

Brandon Pfeil on Brown University by agreb21