In Bowdoin’s recent win against Wesleyan University, Chris Brown ’23 achieved something all hockey players dream of: a hat trick, three goals in the same game. With the Polar Bears up 3-1 late in the third period, Patrick Callahan ’24 made a sprawling play to break up a pass between two Wesleyan defenders and sent the puck careening towards the Cardinals’ empty goal. Out of the chaos, Brown lunged into action and nudged the puck into the back of the net for his third goal of the game.

Following Bowdoin’s 4-1 victory, Brown was amused by the final goal.

“I made sure to tell [Callahan], ‘I thought it was going a little wide, otherwise I would have let it go in,’” Brown said. “It was a pretty cool moment. I haven’t had a hat trick since I was a sophomore in high school. It was definitely a cool feeling. I got a lot of support from my teammates after the game, which was pretty special for me.”

Growing up, Brown was surrounded by hockey. His father was one of the doctors for an American Hockey League team, and his older brother competed in local hockey leagues. Naturally, Brown gave ice hockey a try and instantly fell in love with the sport. When it was time to make his college decision, the choice was clear.

“I followed in my brother’s [Mike Brown ’20] footsteps a little bit. He was a senior [at Bowdoin] when I was a [first year], so I got to play with him which was pretty cool,” Brown said.

With the hat trick, Brown moved to second in the NESCAC in overall goals. His ten goals this season represent a vast improvement from his two goals in the 2019-2020 season. He credits much of his success to his off-season training program as Bowdoin’s hockey season was canceled last year due to COVID-19.

“It was definitely different. It was a lot more off-ice stuff … It was kind of weird to get back into the swing of things with full games. It took a little bit for us to get going as a team,” Brown said. “But, it’s just playing hockey. I’ve done the same thing my whole life. This year is just working out a little better than it normally does.”

Brown also made sure not to leave out the contributions of his teammates in helping his game reach new heights this year.

“We have some special guys in the room,” Brown said. “We have a really diverse amount of skill in different aspects of the game that guys bring to the table … I wish I could take credit for everything, but there are a lot of different guys that have contributed. My success is a result of their hard work.”

With the win, Bowdoin improved to 6-9-4 (6-7-3 NESCAC) on the season and ended a four-game conference skid. Despite the slide, Brown has optimistic goals for the remainder of the season.

“Going in right now, I think we have a chance to finish sixth in the NESCAC. We want to win the last two games, obviously, and hopefully that ends up happening,” Brown said.
The Polar Bears next take the ice at Watson Arena on Friday, February 18th at 7:00 p.m. against Connecticut College.