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Volume CXXXII, Number 12 |
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Men's hockey secures spot as team to beat in the NESCAC
MIKE BALULESCU
STAFF WRITER
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| Junior goalie Mike Healey squares to the shooter. Healey's strong play has pushed the Polar Bears to the top of the NESCAC. (Hans Law, Bowdoin Orient) |
The idle boredom of winter break often leaves students longing for the comfortable immersion of the Bowdoin Bubble. And while disappointed students returned this week to find the Bowdoin Pines buried under a mountain of snow and ice, they also returned to find their beloved Polar Bears in first place in the NESCAC standings.
Despite losses to Salem State College and Middlebury College during the semester break, the men's hockey team is once again poised to make a run for the playoffs.
"This is some of the best hockey I have ever seen," said Coach Terry Meagher, in reference to the last three weeks of play, which included an overtime win against rival Williams College. "There are areas of the game we need to work on," said Meagher, "but on the whole I couldn't have asked for more from these guys at this point in the season."
After wins on the road against Skidmore College and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts December 6 and 7, the Polar Bears took a much needed break from the ice, confident in their perfect 6-0 record.
Bowdoin picked up the reins after Christmas at the annual Salem State Invitational Tournament on December 27 and 28, where the Polar Bears took on Worcester State College and host Salem State College. The first match of the weekend was highlighted by a hat trick from Albert Mayer '03, as the Polar Bears pummeled Worcester State, 14-2. Freshman Andy Nelson also turned in an impressive performance, and tied a school record by collecting five assists in the game.
However, the following day did not bring the same success, and the Polar Bears suffered their first loss of the season to Salem State. Despite out-shooting the host Vikings 48-27, Bowdoin was unable to get past the goaltending of Kaleb Christenson, losing 5-2.
"This league is deep, and there are so many good teams," said Coach Meagher about the loss. "[Salem State] had a great goaltender, and they played well."
Nevertheless, the Polar Bears were not discouraged, and they returned home to Dayton Arena on January 10 to take on UMass-Boston.
Bowdoin celebrated the first match of the new year with a win, and sent UMass-Boston home packing, defeating the Beacons 4-3. Captain Sean Starke '03 scored the winning goal in the third period, and the Polar Bear defense held off a late Beacon shooting flurry.
The next day saw even more success under the Dayton rafters, as the Polar Bears beat Babson College 5-2. When the Williams hockey team arrived in Brunswick on January 17, Bowdoin held an impressive 9-1-0 record on the season.
Before a bustling crowd, and led by the incredible goaltending of Junior Mike Healey, Bowdoin stood tied with a scrappy Williams squad at the end of regulation last Friday. But just a minute into overtime, Chris Pelletier '04 put the game-winning shot into the net, and carried the evening for a breathtaking 2-1 victory.
"It was a great game, and it was even better to see so many fans there, even before the start of school," said a grateful Meagher.
The following afternoon, the Polar Bears could not muster the same magic as the previous evening, and suffered their second loss of the season last Saturday to a nationally ranked Middlebury team, 4-2. Despite strong performances from seniors Adam Mantin and Chad Hart, Bowdoin dropped to a still impressive 10-2-0 on the season.
"The score doesn't reflect how close the [Middlebury] game was," said Captain Jared Porter '03. "Nine times out of ten, I think we could have won that game. Middlebury has always seemed a cut above us, and this year we proved that we can play on par with them."
As the Polar Bears travel to Massachusetts to take on Tufts University this afternoon, their spirits are high and their will is strong. "We had some big wins over break," remarked Senior Captain Ryan Seymour. "The win against Babson was huge. Beating Williams was amazing. Tufts is going to be a challenge, and we have a huge game against Trinity next week. The fate of this team is in our hands."
Go U Bears!
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