Volume CXXXIII, Number 19 March 29, 2002 f

Norwich ends Polar Bears' national hopes
ALISON L. McCONNELL
ORIENT STAFF

The men's ice hockey season ended at the hands of Division III powerhouse Norwich on March 9. The Bears took 3-0 and 7-0 losses in first-round series play against the Cadets, who went on to compete in the championship game against the University of Washington-Superior.

All-American Mike Carosi '02 looks for an opening against Norwich. (Henry Coppola, Bowdoin Orient)

While the season's finish was relatively disappointing for the Bears, news of significant honors for team captain Mike Carosi '02 brightened the postseason. He was named to the Eastern All-America first team by the American Hockey Coaches Association, and was selected for the Gridiron Club's second annual Joe Concannon Award given to the top American-born hockey player from NCAA Division II and III colleges in New England.

"We're very proud of Michael; it's one of the highest individual honors to be named an All-American and is well-deserved," Meagher said. "I'm happy for him and for the program."

Carosi totaled 47 points in the 2001-2002 season, tallying 13 goals and 34 assists. His 124 career points place him among Bowdoin's top scorers of all time.

Meagher said that Carosi affected the team's mentality. "More than anything, he showed them the way to play: hard, with passion and accountability to show up for practices and games…. He led by example and reminded them to work hard," Meagher said. "I'm really proud of how he conducts himself away from the rink as well, he's just an outstanding Bowdoin citizen."

He cited the senior class as crucial to this season's achievements. "You can correlate success with the type of leadership you have," he said. "This was one of the best classes we've had here. The seniors set a high standard for next year; they are competitive and play within the rules, but also have wonderful personalities and bring a lot of joy to a long winter season. More than anything else, I'm going to miss them as people.

"I thought it was one of the most enjoyable winter seasons we've had," he continued. "The success of all our teams, the interaction of athletes, coaches, students.... It was so healthy, and just a lot of fun."

The Bear hockey season ended in the first weekend of March, in the first round of NCAA Division III competition. Before the men reached nationals, however, they faced Trinity in a NESCAC semifinal game, and ended up on the losing end of a 3-2 score after overtime.

Trinity struck first, getting on the board at 14:03 in the first period. Bowdoin's Sean Starke '03 answered just under a minute later, tying the game at 1-1.

Later in the second frame, the same sort of sequence occurred-Trinity got a goal, this time from Joseph Ori, and was answered about a minute later by Polar Bear Matt Kovacich '05. The game stayed tied through the end of regulation play, despite several chances for both sides and a disqualified Bowdoin goal that was kicked into the net.

Ryan Stevens of Trinity got the winning goal past sophomore goaltender Mike Healey at 9:45 in the extra period. Healey totaled 28 saves on the night.

"We lost a heartbreaker in overtime," Meagher said. "But I thought we played very well.

"We actually played very well all through the playoffs," he continued, referring to the two NCAA quarterfinal games-both against Norwich-in which the Bears were shut out. The first, played on March 8, ended with a 3-0 score, while the second resulted in a more lopsided 7-0 margin for Norwich.

"It was just the nature of goal sports; they were a very strong defensive team," Meagher said. "[In the second game,] we outshot them 13-2 in the first 12 or 13 minutes of the game, but we couldn't score. Then they came down and capitalized, and before we knew it, it was 3-0. That made it a different game."

"They were the hottest team going at that time; they ended up losing the national championship," he said. "Although we didn't score, I thought we really competed as a team. We played hard, and I'm happy with how we played."

After returning from spring break, the men began wrapping up the season this week. "We're going through the 'debriefing' right now," Meagher said. "It was a wonderful year, and we enjoyed it. It's always hard not to win your last game, but when you reflect back, the year had a lot of positives."

The team won't attempt to reassess and reorganize until the 2002-2003 roster is finalized. "We'll see how recruitment goes, then we'll start to focus on needs," Meagher said. "We also have to look at people's health; we've got some players out and we're really hoping they're going to be well."