This weekend, the men’s ice hockey team will look to start their season off well with new Head Coach Jamie Dumont at the helm. Dumont replaced Terry Meagher, who coached the team for the past 33 seasons.
Dumont, however, is no stranger to the program. He began his assistant coaching career at Bowdoin in 2001, assisting in the recruitment of many All-NESCAC and All-American players until 2005 when he left to coach in Europe, in the American Junior Hockey League and at Division I Bowling Green State University before returning to Bowdoin in 2011. Upon his return, Dumont assisted Meagher in tallying 83 victories and a remarkable .681 winning percentage, as well as two NESCAC titles.
“Dumont definitely has his own style. It’s the same in some ways and different in ways. Meagher is a legacy and will always have a place in Bowdoin hockey, but coach Dumont is definitely bringing his own style this year,” said Sebastian Foster ’19. “He is very into fast-paced practices and has been a little more up tempo this year, and hopefully that leads to good results for us.”
Dumont is not the only coaching change that has been made this season—Eric Graham, former head coach at North Yarmouth Academy, was named assistant coach and is brand new to the Bowdoin program.
“He is a local guy that has done a really good job building up the North Yarmouth Academy program and has had a handle at developing college players,” Dumont said. “His handle on recruiting and networking is outstanding. He has done a really good job stepping in here and having a great relationship with our players.”
While the team is excited about its new coaching staff, the loss of key leaders of the Class of 2016—Chris Fenwick, Matt Rubinoff and Johnny Malusa—calls for new leaders to take their spots this year. However, both the coaches and players alike are confident that this void can be filled.
“We had some really good leadership and character last year from the graduating seniors,” Dumont said. “But if you are graduating some good people, you are doing some good things. The big thing for us, I think, is that those guys were really good role models and really led the way so that our seniors can adapt to that role this year.”
Likewise, the players are confident that they have prepared the team with the leadership, coaching and teamwork needed to have a successful season.
“Dumont understands the history and tradition that the hockey program was built on and that is clear in his approach,” said Camil Blanchet ’18. “As players, we are confident and excited about our first opportunity to play under him on Friday.”
This weekend, the Polar Bears will kick off their season with a double-header at home—facing Williams at 7 p.m. on Friday, followed by Middlebury at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Polar Bears hope to sweep the weekend and avenge last year’s season-opening 4-1 loss to Williams.
“Williams is a fast, skilled and disciplined team. They are always tough to play against. We’re excited to see how we match up with them,” Blanchet said. “It should be a good measuring stick for us. Our goal is to get four points this weekend.”
Dumont plans to play many first years this weekend in order to get them accustomed to college hockey. Despite their inexperience, Dumont has high hopes for all of them in their upcoming games and the rest of the season.
“We have some really talented first years, especially on paper,” Dumont said. “We knew coming in that they would have a lot of good qualities, but the rubber hits the road now that they are playing different teams and the referee is on the ice and the clock is on.”
“It will be a challenge for them, but we really like what we see so far,” Dumont added. “There are going to be some growing pains, just like anything else. The big thing about that first year group is [that] their outstanding coachability has been through the roof.”
Looking at the upcoming season, both Dumont and his players are ready to come out strong and battle in each game, just like they have in previous years. Dumont plans to retain the positive culture of the Bowdoin hockey team and capitalize on their past success.
“We have a really good core of leaders in our senior class that have seen what it is like to win a championship their [first] year, and they are certainly eager and ambitious to go out as champions,” Dumont said. “We have a great great nucleus of players. The juniors and seniors are eager to lead and willing to play hard for the jersey and play hard for their teammates.”