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Volume CXXXII, Number 11 |
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Polar Bears skate to a tie with #1 Elmira
REBEKAH METZLER
STAFF WRITER
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| First-year goalie Cat MacEachern concentrates on the task at hand. (Karsten Moran, Bowdoin Orient) |
Currently ranked second in the nation and sporting a record of 3-0-1, the Bowdoin Women's Ice Hockey Team is looking forward to building on its current success against Hamilton and Amherst this weekend.
In their opening weekend of play, the Bears defeated Wesleyan College by a dominating score of 7-0 in a frenzy of goals scored by seven different players, speaking to the depth of the program. Alyson Lizotte '03 opened up the contest and her goal was followed by goals from All-American Shelly Chessie '03, Nicki Young '06, Cathie Quinlan '05, Katherine Duglin '05, captain Sadie Wieschhoff '03, and Gillian McDonald '04.
In the second game of the weekend, Bowdoin demolished Trinity by a score of 9-1. Scoring goals for the Bears were All-American Kirsti Anderson '05, Quinlan, Chessie, Monica MacLellan '06, Rebecca Selden '06, Duglin, Marissa O'Neil '05, topped off by McDonald, who netted two.
By far the most amazing accomplishment for the team was their performance against last year's national championship winning team, Elmira, currently ranked first in the country. Chessie and O'Neil led the offense, each scoring a goal, and captain Emily McKissock dominated the net racking up 23 saves during the contest.
The result was a 2-2 tie but the message sent by Bowdoin was clear. First-year Cat MacEachern said, "Our game against Elmira was amazing. When both of the teams were warming up on the ice, you could see the cockiness in every single one of their players. It made me sick. At the end of the game I felt like going up to each and every one of them and saying, 'How do ya like them apples?'"
MacEachern's sentiments were certainly echoed by her teammates. Britney Carr offered, "I think we proved ourselves to all those people who didn't think we were as good as them. It was a great second weekend of our season."
O'Neil also had some thoughts about the Elmira game. "Although it was only our second week of games, we can step up and play with any team in the country including the defending national champs who have been playing for two months and are very confident in their abilities."
Indeed, their highly competitive performance against the toughest team out there acts as a positive predictor towards continued success through the rest of their season. Chessie succinctly summed it up, "We are going to kick some major butt this year!"
Almost as an after thought of the weekend, the Bears defeated Utica 5-0 last Sunday. Beth Muir '03 and Young scored twice as Bowdoin skated its way to victory.
McKissock notched her second shutout of the season and currently stands with a .962 save percentage stopping 50 shots of 52 attempts thus far. Her career save percentage stands at a staggering .933 mark, which is incredible considering she has played in nearly 30 games and rests with a career goals against average of 1.17.
Certainly one of the largest factors in the all-around success of the Bowdoin program lies in the passion each player brings to the table. First year MacEachern said, "Being a part of the hockey team here has been amazing." It's the little things that make this team special as much as their obviously overwhelming talent.
MacEachern continued, "We walked out of the locker room [after the Wesleyan game] and into an excited crowd of kids looking for autographs from us. I know our signatures will probably never be worth anything, but hey, it made you feel pretty good just to write it anyway."
Indeed, this attitude of dedication to community and willingness to take the time to act as role models for the younger generation represent the ideals of women's ice hockey and prove that their influence carries past the arena and into the hearts of many inspired fans.
The team takes the ice for home games on Friday at 8:00 p.m. against Hamilton and Saturday at 3:00 p.m. against Amherst.
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