Senior winger Aaron Volpatti led Brown Bears in goals this season, but don’t let the numbers mislead you: Volpatti is a brawler, no doubt about it.
That’s why he took special pride in breaking the school’s single-season penalty record with 14 minutes in his final collegiate game.
The sure-fire pro — he’s had numerous bites already, and will likely be practicing in a new jersey next week — is in the top five in numerous Brown penalty categories, but he cemented his spot at the top with a 10-minute misconduct late in the third period of Saturday’s consolation game.
Volpatti’s second minor of the game boosted him to 105 on the year — but didn’t lift him past anybody on the leader board. That’s when he decided to go the extra mile.
“Before the game, I was informed that I needed [a few] penalty minutes for the single-season record, so I saw (referee) Chip (McDonald) before the game, and I said, ‘Chip, don’t be afraid, ya know … ‘ and he said, ‘well I’ll give you a 10 at the end of the game, or something.’
“I try not to get too many misconducts, but I got that penalty, and I said to Chip, ‘is that a 10?’ And he said, ‘do you want a 10?’
“I can’t really repeat what was said, but … yeah.â€
The contrived chatter put him at 115, seven minutes past Ryan Mulhern, class of ’96. There are many, many more sin-bin visits ahead for Volpatti, but for just a moment, a player was happy to be skating in the consolation game instead of the championship. The misconduct probably wouldn’t have sat as well with head coach Brendan Whittet otherwise.
“The guys that were ahead of him were guys that I played with,†said coach and Brown alumnus Whittet. “We had some real knuckleheads back then. I’m glad [Volpatti] is the king of the knuckleheads.â€
