The Bowdoin Orient

December 8, 2000
Volume CXXXII, Number 12

Women's ice hockey begins season with win

by DAVID HUTCHINSON, STAFF WRITER

   In its first game of the season, the women's ice hockey team had an impressive 4-1 victory over USM on November 28. After that, the Polar Bears came into last weekend's doubleheader with the fire. On Saturday, they stepped into the rink with the Williams Ephs, one of their toughest conference opponents, who also defeated the team in the ECAC tournament last year.
   The game started strong with the P-Bears in control, with Jen Pelkey '04 scoring with an assist from sophomore Beth Muir. The Ephs answered quickly back, however, evening the score just twenty-three seconds later.
   At the end of the first period, the score remained tied at one. Then, at 11:24 in the second period, Williams pulled ahead by one. By the end of the second, the Polar Bears tied it back up with a power-play goal from sophomore Alyson Lizotte. The third period, however, plagued Bowdoin, as the Ephs forced three unanswered goals to end the game: good guys two, bad guys five. The loss, however, did not discourage the team in the slightest.
   "I think that we played very well with our systems. In the end, we piled up more shots, but we just didn't capitalize on them. In the second and third periods we dominated more, but the scoreboard didn't reflect that," said Muir, a native of Chelmsford, Massachusetts.
   The Polar Bears finished the game out-shooting the Ephs 47 to 37. Last year's leading scorer for the team, Shelly Chessie '03 said, "We played really well at Williams. Technically, we played awesome. Between periods, the coach had no technical complaints.
   "It's still the beginning of the season, and the team is working with eight first years and nine new players in total. The coach is still switching stuff around; we haven't figured everything out yet. Williams was good, but I think we're going to beat them later in the season."
   Sunday, against the Holy Cross Crusaders, presented a different story. From the beginning, the Polar Bears dominated the ice, which led to a 7-0 victory. Last year, Holy Cross only had club women's ice hockey. That, on top of the game's mark as the first two-day doubleheader of the season, left expectations up in the air for the team.
   "Going into the game, everyone was still really psyched because we played so well on Saturday, and we wanted to carry that intensity throughout the game," said Chessie. After the first period, the game remained scoreless, although the Bears out-shot the Crusaders 16-4. "After the first scoreless period, the coach was basically like, 'move it,'" said Muir.
   And that's exactly what they did-starting in the second period. By the time 12:26 passed in the period, the Bears had scored four goals, led by first year Gillian McDonald who had two goals and two assists that day.
   "It was the first weekend with a doubleheader, so everyone is still getting into it, but we're a much stronger team than Holy Cross, so the coach emphasized seeing who worked well together," said Chessie.
   Muir, who scored the Polar Bears' final goal in the third period, was also positive. "After the first period, we played well, and overall it was a good game for us. A lot of different people scored; the distribution was good to see," said Muir.
   Tonight, the team faces off against RIT at 5:00 p.m. in what look to be an intense match-up.
   "They're really scrappy; its not going to be pretty hockey, but everybody is psyched for the game, especially since practices have been going really well. We've got a lot of depth; all the lines are strong," said Chessie.
   With a current record of 2-1-0, the team has high expectations for the year, and we can expect some serious conference action against Middlebury in January and a playoff rematch with Williams.