The Bowdoin Orient

March 2, 2001
Volume CXXXII, Number 18

Men's hockey heads to semis

by ALISON MCCONNELL, STAFF WRITER

   The playoffs started on a good note for the men's hockey team last weekend. They dealt fourth-seeded Trinity (15-7-2) a 4-3 overtime loss on Saturday, and advanced to today's 4:00 semifinal against second seed Amherst (17-4-3).
   Head Coach Terry Meagher said that Saturday's game was pretty exciting. "It was one of the all-time greatest games I've been associated with here," he said. "It wasclassic college hockey."
   Trinity's Steven LaBrie netted the game's first two goals. Mike Carosi '02 and captain Alex Tatum '01 assisted first-year Chris Pelletier on a power play goal three minutes after LaBrie's second, and the deficit was reduced to 2-1. Thirty-five seconds into the second period, Carosi took passes from Pelletier and Jared Porter '03 to tie the score. Mark Colwell of Trinity put one past senior goaltender Colin Robinson about seven minutes into the third frame, but was answered by Pelletier, who bagged a short-handed goal off a pass from senior Mike O'Leary.
   Tatum said the team kept its intensity flowing into the overtime period. "We wanted to make sure we came out with the same focus," he said. "Everyone understood the fact that if we didn't go out ready, we wouldn't be playing the next week."
   After 17 minutes of overtime play, Carosi netted the game-winning goal off a feed from Pelletier. Carosi said that some serious teamwork produced the victory. "We had everyone going, in goal, the forwards, and the defense," he said. "It was a complete team effort."
   Robinson made 37 saves in the victory, and Meagher asserted his importance in the net. "Colin played very well; you have to have solid goaltending to advance in the playoffs," he said.
   Meagher also cited Brian Shuman '02, Chad Hart '03, and Ryan Seymour '03 for their defensive efforts. "Ryan being out there gave the team a lift," he said. "And Alex played his usual game. He always plays hard, gives 100 percent each day.
   "Everyone paid attention to their responsibilities; the team pulled hard for each other, and it was a collective effort," Coach Meagher said.
   Middlebury (21-2-1), as the top seed in the tournament, earned a first-round bye. The Panthers also host the semifinal and championship games at Chip Kenyon '85 Arena this weekend.
   The Bowdoin/Amherst semifinal winner will face either Middlebury or Hamilton (11-12-1) in the NESCAC championship game tomorrow at 7:00.
   The conference title comes with a spot in the NCAA Division III tournament, but Coach Meagher indicated that his team isn't thinking about national competition just yet. "We'll focus on some of the things we'll see from them, but all year we've been trying to have systems that adapt to different opponents," he said.
   Amherst shut out seventh-seeded Williams 3-0 last weekend to advance to the semifinals. The Jeffs defeated Bowdoin by a score of 6-1 a Feb. 9th regular-season matchup. "We felt we didn't have our 'A-game' on that one, but they played very well," said Coach Meagher. "In this division, it's a rare second opportunity to meet them again."
   "In terms of Amherst this Friday, we are looking forward to the chance of playing them again," Tatum said. "We know that we didn't play our best game the last time. We have proved that we can play with the best teams in the league when we play our style of hockey."

Bowdoin faces Amherst this afternoon for a chance to reach the NESCAC championship. (Colin LeCroy/The Bowdoin Orient)