The men’s hockey team lost to Trinity 5-4, but defeated Wesleyan 3-1 in its last two away games of the regular season. The games were played on February 13 and 14 respectively. With two games to go in the regular season—against Connecticut College and Tufts at home this weekend—the team has a NESCAC record of 7-6-3 (13-6-3 overall).
Goalie Max Fenkell ’15 had 35 saves against Trinity. Camil Blanchet ’18, John McGinnis ’15 and Zach Kokosa ’17 each scored a goal against Wesleyan.
Head Coach Terry Meagher expressed pride in his team.
“I felt pretty good,” he said. “Obviously, you’d like to win both. [Trinity] played very well, but we came back and played what I thought was a complete game against a tough opponent on Saturday.”
He also noted the pressures of performing with the playoffs just around the corner.
“You don’t want to be streaky this time of year,” he said. “You want to be playing your best hockey.”
Though it can be easy to pay attention to statistics like goals, assists and saves, Meagher emphasized the importance of something that is harder to measure: defense.
“Our backs have been a real strength,” he said. “We’re also an up-tempo, layered team. It’s hard to get through our defensive layers.”
At the same time, he suggested that the team had, at times, been too cautious in terms of taking shots on goal and that the team has the tendency to pass too much.
Given his fast-paced tactics, Meagher explained that quick substitutions are an integral part of his strategy.
“When we’re going and going well, we’re a rhythm team. We play four lines for the most part. Everybody’s with their unit and playing with their unit,” he said.
He noted that while some NESCAC teams take similar approaches to substitution, other teams play zone defense that allows their players more rest on the ice and thus also allows for longer shifts. Still, few teams, according to Meagher, use shifts much longer than 45 seconds.
In preparation for this weekend’s games, Meagher said the team would watch film of their opponents, but generally stick to the strategies it has used throughout the season.
The team won the NESCAC Championship in its last two seasons, setting the bar high for this year’s squad. Bowdoin is currently tied with Connecticut College for fourth place in the NESCAC standings, making the game against Connecticut College this weekend all the more important.
Tufts, the team’s other opponent this weekend, is ranked eighth out of ten NESCAC teams. Since the top eight teams make the playoffs, Tufts will just sneak in if they can hold their ranking. The playoffs will occur in late February and early March.