Courtesy of Brian Beard

The women’s ice hockey team (8–10–2; 3–7–2 NESCAC) is taking to the ice in a doubleheader weekend against Hamilton College (11–4–3; 4–4–2 NESCAC) with a chip on its shoulder.

Coming off a turbulent season last year (7–13–3; 2–12–2 NESCAC), the team entered this season energized and hoping to prove itself. Last weekend’s doubleheader against Amherst (14–2–2; 8–2–2 NESCAC) left the team frustrated and hungry for more. The Polar Bears saw a 0–1 shutout in the first game and a near comeback in their second game, which ended in a last-minute goal from Amherst to deliver the 2–3 loss.

Elena DiMagno ’26, the forward responsible for both of Bowdoin’s goals against Amherst last weekend, sees the games as a turning point.

“I think our mindset has changed. Even though it’s been frustrating, we’re in more of a winning mindset. We know we can compete. I think there has been a little switch in how we think of ourselves,” DiMagno said.

DiMagno had six shots on goal in the matchups last weekend, two of which she scored.

“These last two weekends, we played really well against [Middlebury College and Amherst College], even though we didn’t win. We grew a lot as a team because we saw that we could compete with them. And there were moments where we were outplaying them, playing how we have been trying to play the whole season. But it was frustrating not getting the result that we wanted,” DiMagno said.

DiMagno is one of eight sophomores on the team. Anyi Sun ’26 said the team is largely made up of younger players this year. Together, Sun and DiMagno are currently leading the team in goals with five apiece.

“The bulk of our team is [first-years] and sophomores…. Our team feels pretty young and lively,” Sun said.

DiMagno’s goals against Amherst came with assists from Sun and defender Jane McCarter ’25. Although both matchups of the weekend ended in losses, Sun is undaunted by the team’s upcoming games.

“I’m excited because I think we’re improving by the day. And I think these next two weekends, we’ll get to showcase what we’ve been building,” Sun said.

Going into each game, the team makes a list of four goals to help simplify the process and streamline its gameplay.

“We need to stay sharp and focus on our four points and just believe that we can do it. I like where we’re going,” Sun said. “We’re so excited to go into Hamilton…. I’m excited to see how different teams play.”

The team will play at Hamilton at 7 p.m. tonight and 3 p.m. tomorrow.