|
Volume CXXXIII, Number 17 |
 |
Bowdoin skaters suffer season-ending loss
ALISON L. MCCONNELL
ORIENT STAFF
 |
| Bowdoin skaters regroup on the ice. Hamilton shut out the Polar Bears 4-0 in the first round of the NESCAC tournament to end the men's season. (Hans Law, Bowdoin Orient) |
In ice hockey-a goal sport-even the strongest offense can be defeated by a hot goaltender.
That was the case in the men's 4-0 loss to Hamilton last Saturday. The Continentals ended the Bears' season in the first round of the New England Small Athletic Conference playoffs.
While head coach Terry Meagher repeatedly praised the Continentals for a "solid road win," he added that the single-elimination nature of NESCAC playoffs makes for quick exits.
"There's a fine line between winning and losing," he said. "It would be nice if there was a two-out-of-three series. But we still have to congratulate Hamilton on a job well done."
Hamilton goaltender Rob MacNeil shut out the Polar Bears for the second time this season. The Bears lost at home, 2-0, on February 20.
"[MacNeil] had as good a 120 minutes in this building as I've ever seen," Meagher said. "You have to tip your hat to him."
Two Hamilton players were responsible for the game's score. Elliot Altberg scored off an assist from Erik Kallio at 3:15 in the first period, and his goal was followed by Chris Clarkson's at 11:42 in the second. Altberg added another less than a minute later, bringing the Continental lead to 3-0 at the break.
"Their first goal was a bit of 'puck luck;' it bounced around and went in," Meagher said. "The second goal got us out of rhythm and got into our heads a bit."
The Bears stayed scoreless in the final frame as Altberg's empty-net goal, again assisted by Kallio, sealed the deal at 16:51.
Bowdoin did muster an offense on Saturday. However, the 40 shots they took on goal were not enough. "In the key offensive situations, players have to be difficult to guard and play with a high level of urgency," Meagher said. "Every shift is cumulative over a 60-minute game. I think some of our guys were a bit too easy to cover."
George Papachristopoulos '06 made 29 saves, and senior captain Mike Healey added two.
Though the Bears' season came to a close last weekend, additional news that Adam Dann '06 and Nate Riddell '05 had been picked for All-NESCAC teams was announced Wednesday.
Dann, the Bears's season goal leader, was selected for the first team, and defenseman Riddell was named to the second team.
Though they won't be advancing to this weekend's NESCAC semifinals, Meagher indicated that he was happy with his squad's performance over the course of the year.
"It was a wonderful season," he said. "We played some very aesthetically pleasing hockey, we tried things, we enjoyed ourselves, and we practiced hard."
"What keeps this in perspective is that people don't just come here to play hockey," he continued. "They come here to develop their character, to grow during the ups and downs of competition. They play to be a part of the educational process here."
Meagher also expressed satisfaction about the ways in which several players handled a tough season. "You have to factor in some of the difficult off-ice issues," he said. "I'm very proud of this team."
"For us to be third in the NESCAC at the end of the year is quite an accomplishment," he added. "The league is very, very deep, and we did it with a relatively young group."
For information on sending a letter to the editor, please click here.
|
FastCounter by bCentral |