"He never was down about anything, especially when times were tough," said Bruins forward Tim Schaller, who played with Brown in Brown's first year at Providence. "He was always smiling. You'd ask how he was doing, he was almost more worried about how we're doing vs. how he's doing. Just a good character kid. It's tough when a good one goes like that. But he definitely left behind good memories with everyone. He's definitely going to be missed.
"I think when they won the national championship, he had a lot to do with that team even though he didn't play. He was a big inspiration, a big reason why they won that ring."
Brown and Acciari had played together since prep school, both attending Providence and rooming together. While the Bruins practiced Monday, Acciari was in Michigan with Brown's family. Using
a GoFundMe page
, Acciari spent recent weeks trying to raise money for Brown's medical expenses in conjunction with the NHL's Hockey Fights Cancer initiative. He raised more than $57,000 as of Monday.
"Our condolences go out to the Brown family and to Noel," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "At a young age like that, I can't imagine."
Acciari played for the Bruins against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Cassidy said he would get as much time as he needs in terms of making his return to the Bruins, who begin a four-game road trip against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; SN360, PRIME, NESN).