The Bowdoin Women's Ice Hockey Team opened the season with high hopes. For the first time in recent history, the roster was filled. With 22 skaters, up from 17 rostered players the previous season, the team seemed poised for success.
However, by mid-season, the numbers had dropped to less than three lines, and the squad was down to one goalie.
"Three players are out for the rest of the season, a couple are dealing with chronic injuries, and one is recovering from a knee injury," sophomore Caroline Currie said.
Junior forward Katie Forney said, "Having a full roster allows practices to run at the highest tempo." In response to the shrinking roster, she said "Every player has had to step their game up to the next level."
Sophomore Katie Coyne echoed this sentiment, saying, "We work hard to stay positive even when the odds are against us."
Recently, the team received even more bad news, losing starting goaltender, senior Cat MacEachern, to hip surgery as result of a nagging injury.
"Losing Cat as a mentor, friend, and teammate has been particularly hard on everyone and the goalie situation," first year Emileigh Mercer said.
Mercer replaced MacEachern and has recorded an undefeated record against conference rivals Amherst and Connecticut College.
The squad returned to campus at the end of December to prepare for eight games and build team unity before the beginning of classes. The team ventured to a BOC cabin for hiking and snowshoeing.
"Winter break was the perfect opportunity to get to know the team in a different light," Mercer said. "We not only built our team on the ice, but off the ice as well."
The trip wasn't just for recreation. "The cabin trip gave us a chance to get away from the rink but still get a workout," first year Scooter Walsh recalled. "Because, trust me, pulling sleds full of jugs of water is one hell of a workout."
Senior captain Rebecca Selden said, "We saw what we could accomplish together in an environment where we weren't all comfortable. It was an incredible feeling to get to the top of the mountain and share that moment with my team."
Since first semester ended, the Bears have boasted an impressive 6-2 record, losing only to top-ranked Middlebury and Williams.
Over the break, the squad combined for 42 goals scored by 13 different players, beating Trinity, Connecticut College, and Amherst, in addition to UW-Stevens Point, Hamilton, and USM. This weekend, the girls take on Williams and Middlebury, the only NESCAC teams the squad has yet to defeat.