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Volume CXXXII, Number 14 |
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Women's hockey remains undefeated
REBEKAH METZLER
STAFF WRITER
The Bowdoin Women's Ice Hockey Team continues to roll through the competition; piling up wins and records along the way. On Saturday, the Polar Bears took on western powerhouse Concordia and skated away with a 4-1 victory.
Gill McDonald '04 and Kelsey Wilcox '06 scored goals in the first period giving the Bears a strong start. Shelly Chessie '03 and Rebecca Selden '06 finished the job for Bowdoin by scoring goals in the final frame. Senior Emily McKissock made 17 saves in the win.
The following Monday, Bowdoin faced St. Thomas of Minnesota and subsequently defeated them 6-2. Marissa O'Neil '05 led the Polar Bears to victory with a hat trick. With one goal and four assists, Chessie racked up five points in the game, tying her for first on the all-time point list for Bowdoin with 166 points. She merely needs one more goal or assist to top the point chart to go along with the career assist record she currently holds with 89. No pressure, Shell.
Beth Muir '03 also notched two goals for the Bears, while McKissock again posted 17 saves in the win against the Tommies. The Bears' record stands at 16-0-2, and they remain ranked second in the nation for D-III and are the only unbeaten team left in college hockey, regardless of division.
Many times being a part of an extremely successful team will amount to sacrificing some of the friendships, but according to Katherine Duglin '05 and Cathie Quinlan '05 that's not the case.
Duglin said, "Being a part of the women's hockey team is a great experience here at Bowdoin. The team is very closely knit both on and off the ice, and it's wonderful to have such great support."
Quinlan echoed, "For me, its all about the friendships. We all share a common goal, and that pushes us to come out everyday and give it our all, while still leaving room for smiles in the locker room. Through good games and bad, we always support each other and have fun."
Despite the emphasis on fun, this team is still highly motivated. Duglin said, "We definitely expect to go undefeated this year, even though Coach gets nervous when we bring this up!"
According to Quinlan, "I think what makes our team special is that we all expect a lot not only from ourselves, but from each other. We are all on the same page and want to end the season as national champs. We've set our standards high and push ourselves very hard." In fact, Quinlan feels such support that she reports her teammates' "encouraging comments are something I look forward to whenever I have a bad shift. When in doubt, 'basics, people, basics.' "
In a revival of the international conversation from the international team, Duglin and Quinlan offer differing reports. Quinlan said, "The Canadians so far have won the on-ice CAN-AM competitions, most recently a shoot-out that left the Americans singing us our national anthem."
However, Duglin said, "The national rivalry is quite amusing, although the Canadians have become quite smug after winning the gold medal last winter. We Americans are definitely winning in the skills competition this season!"
Canadian Gill McDonald offered, "Just because we took gold in hockey in the Olympics doesn't mean we all can't still be friends. There is one player on the team that always gives me weird looks-I don't want to name anyone because that's not cool, so I will just call her Airsti Kanderson." McDonald continued, "I must say, I am just a nice Canadian, so I never know how to react." So despite the competition, there are still those attempting to bridge the gap.
As part of training for the postseason, the Bears have also been participating in highly competitive practice techniques. These foster unity and competition at the same time as Quinlan finds, "My favorite on ice episode was definitely when our mini-game team took the first victory of the mini-game series. It wasn't even close. The BRBs better get some extra practice time in if they actually want to even give us a challenge next time."
Whether it's mini-game training or trying to unite across the border, this team is full of drama and excitement. The one thing almost everyone agrees on is that heading to Hamilton on February 15 is not really something they look forward to. The eight plus-hour bus ride takes a toll on all the players.
McKissock and Sadie Wieschhoff '04 didn't sugarcoat it when they said, "It sucks to go all the way out there," and "it's brutal." Although, the ever upbeat Chessie claimed that they all, "Love it, love it."
However, Quinlan explains the mixed emotion best and stated, "Road trips are truly essential to our unique team chemistry. The best part about playing against Hamilton is the quality time we spend together on the bus. Usually when one half of us are ready to go to sleep, the other half is just waking up from a nap, and ready to have some fun! Good times!"
Bowdoin takes on N.A.H.A. tonight at 7:00 p.m., with their next home action taking place against Colby on Wednesday. February 12. Duglin encouraged a big showing for the game, saying, "We definitely need to get more fans at our games. I mean, when we win the NCAAs won't the Bowdoin student body wish that they had seen us play before the ticket prices go through the roof?"
Support the most successful team on this campus, swing on by the rink and watch some fur fly while it's still affordable!
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