The Bowdoin Orient

February 16, 2001
Volume CXXXII, Number 16

Men's hockey clinches playoff spot

by ALISON MCCONNELL, STAFF WRITER

   What a week for the men's hockey team. After taking a loss at Amherst last Friday, the team rebounded to defeat Trinity, but fell back against Colby this week. The team is now in the playoffs, but does not yet know its opponents.
   It's clear that it has been a mixed week for the Bears. "We've done well against some of the top teams in NESCAC, but we didn't show up to play against Colby and Amherst," first-year Mike Stevens said.
   Last Friday, the Bears bowed to Amherst in a lopsided game. After eight minutes of the second quarter, the Jeffs had taken a 4-0 lead. About a minute later, Mike Carosi '02 put Bowdoin's only goal on the board, assisted by sophomore Jared Porter. Amherst ended up on the winning side of a 6-1 score. "We didn't have a strong game," head coach Terry Meagher said. "They're one of the best teams in the league. We didn't have our game in order, and it led to a tough loss."
   Colin Robinson '01 made eight saves before first-year Mike Healey stepped in, adding eight of his own. Brian Losier '01 had four saves, bringing the Bears' total for the night to 20.
   On Saturday afternoon, the Bears put things together more successfully. "We didn't do anything too much different," Meagher said. "It's pretty tough to change things up late in the season."
   A goal by Chris Pelletier '04, in the first two minutes of the opening period, started things off for the Bears. Sophomore Adam Mantin dished an assist to Brian Shuman '02 three minutes later, who would go on to complete his second career hat trick in the game. Trinity's Denis Petrov put one past Robinson before the first period's conclusion, but the Bantams wouldn't get any closer to tying the score.
   In the second period, Shuman converted a feed from Stevens during a man-up advantage and Sean Starke '03 quickly followed with another Bear goal, assisted by Porter and Pelletier. Shuman completed his hat trick with about four minutes left in the second frame, pushing an unassisted goal past Trinity keeper Geoffrey Faulkner. The game would see one more goal from each team in the final period; Bowdoin's coming from Stevens with four minutes to play.
   The final tally had the Bears on top, 6-2. "It felt great to come back and beat Trinity like that," Stevens said. We were really fired up to play."
   The Bears couldn't hold a victorious streak, however. They traveled to Colby last Tuesday, and fell short in a 5-2 loss. Reminiscent of the Amherst game, the White Mules had gathered a commanding 5-0 lead by the second period's halfway mark.
   With six minutes left to play, Sean Starke '03 found senior John Glynne for the Bears' first goal. Five minutes later, Shuman scored off a Stevens assist, but the Colby lead was insurmountable. "We got better as the game went on, but weren't connecting," Coach Meagher said. "We made some coverage errors that led to their goals."
   Despite the up-and-down weekend, the Bears have secured a playoff spot. "We're in, but we don't know who we're playing yet," Meagher said. "We've got two more league games this weekend, and they will tell everything."
   The men take on Babson at home tonight at 7:00, and follow up with a visit from UMass Boston tomorrow at 4:00. Coach Meagher indicated that the team is up for the weekend, and is excited about the challenges ahead. "[Making the playoffs] was our goal, so now we are trying to get ourselves to be playing our best hockey."
   Stevens agreed. "I'm pretty confident about the playoffs," he said. "We've got a team that can go in and win some games." The divisional playoff schedule will be available in the next week; in the meantime, cheer on the Bears this weekend.