The men’s hockey team will open the season with two home games against perennial powerhouses Williams and Middlebury this season.
The Polar Bears will face off against the Ephs on Friday night. Williams exited the NESCAC tournament in the semi-finals last year after losing to Amherst, the eventual champion.
Bowdoin will then face Middlebury on Saturday.
The Panthers defeated the Polar Bears last year in the NESCAC semi-final before losing to Amherst in the final.
The team has had a shorter preseason than usual to prepare for the games.
“This is by far the shortest amount of time we have had before our first game, but we have really come together as a team in preseason to put ourselves in a great position,” said senior captain Daniel Weiniger. “We have balanced conditioning and team work extremely well and I know that we will be ready come game time this weekend.”
Head Coach Terry Meagher agreed.
“The things you can really control is your attitude, your preseason, your work ethic and your commitment to group and a playing structure. I’m very pleased with how we are in those areas,” said Meagher. “Arguably I think we have two of the best captains we’ve ever had here, they pay attention to what they have to control while still producing at a high level.”
This year’s team includes many veteran players and will look to improve on last year’s performance.
“I think the major difference is the overall hunger and desire to win of this team,” said senior captain Tim McGarry. “The majority of our lineup is made up of returning players that know their way around our system and were disappointed by our semifinal exit in last years playoffs.”
“We are going to outwork teams with our ‘Hot N Spicy’ style of play that requires a hard work ethic and supreme conditioning,” said Weiniger.
The team will need to come out sharp this weekend if it hopes to start off the season on a good foot.
Friday’s game against Williams “is not the ideal way to begin the season, but it will be a ‘trial by fire’ type of situation that will ultimately bring the team closer together,” said McGarry. “All in all, after two weeks of playing against each other, we are ready to see a different colored jersey across from us and find out what we’re made of.”