The men’s ice hockey team begins its annual rivalry weekend against Colby this Friday night in Watson Arena before traveling to Waterville for a rematch on Saturday.
The Polar Bears are coming off of an impressive undefeated five-game opening series, with four wins and one tie. The team opened the season before Thanksgiving break against conference rivals Williams and Middlebury.
Against the Ephs, seniors Rob Toczylowski and Harry Matheson both netted a goal, while Steve Messina ’14 made 29 saves in the goal to preserve the 2-0 shut out.
The Polar Bears brought considerable firepower against Middlebury early on, with a goal from Ollie Koo ’14 and a shorthanded goal from Connor Quinn ’15. The Panthers clawed back to a 2-2 tie before goals from Koo and first year Gabriel Renaud lifted Bowdoin back to a two goal lead. Middlebury hung on and managed to even the score, forcing the game into an overtime draw.
“One of the things we have to do is find the balance between attacking late in games and defending,” said Head Coach Terry Meagher. “We try to play up-tempo, which is enjoyable for the players to play and the people to watch.”
Last Tuesday, Bowdoin faced the University of New England (UNE) in a non-league matchup. Once again, the Polar Bears found themselves with an early lead after goals by senior captain Daniel Weiniger and Danny Palumbo ’15. UNE managed enough scoring to stay close, but Bowdoin secured the 4-2 victory with additional goals from Matheson and Kyle Lockwood ’14.
This past weekend Bowdoin faced Salve Regina and Suffolk University at Colby. By the second period against Salve Regina, Bowdoin had created what looked to be a commanding 6-2 lead with goals from Quinn and Lockwood as well as two apiece from Toczylowski and Weiniger. Salve Regina fought back to within one goal, but the Polar Bears were able to preserve the 6-5 victory.
Against Suffolk on Saturday, Bowdoin found itself with a 3-1 lead at the end of the first period after an early hat trick by Koo. The Polar Bears completed the win 5-2 with goals added by Quinn and senior captain Tim McGarry.
The Polar Bears have had little time to breathe after this opening sequence of games.
“It is always difficult playing many games in a short amount of time but we have handled it very well,” said Weiniger. “Coach Meagher and Coach Dumont have be strategically designing practices to keep us fresh as well as making sure we continue to improve. These are the hardest games to win because of the lack of rest as well as students being extremely busy with exams. We need to overcome these challenges to make sure we finish the first half of the season strong.”
Bowdoin has found itself pressured late in many of its games so far, but remains undefeated.
“I think we allowed late pressure so often due to a little bit of contentedness towards the end of games resulting from the fact that we were controlling much of the play although the scoreboard didn’t indicate it,” said McGarry. “Coach Meagher is always telling us to mind our ABC’s, which stands for Always Be Closing. We have done a good job building leads heading into the final period, so our next challenge is to find our killer instinct to finish teams when we have them down instead of letting them hang around.”
The Polar Bears will look to make this mantra a reality during the intensity of the Colby hockey weekend.
“Colby has a new coach, someone who is very well respected, a new playing structure and they’ve played a lot of close games,” said Meagher. “I know they’ll be well coached, prepared and bring their A-game.”
Nevertheless, Meagher said that either team’s record heading into the weekend is unlikely to dramatically effect the outcome of the matches.
“What’s interesting about the Colby weekend is that no matter the record of both teams, the game is always so close,” said Weiniger. “In order to be successful we are going to need to stay focused on our goals, suffocate them with our aggressive play, and get timely saves and timely goals. We are so lucky to be able to play in such a great arena, and nothing tops it off better than when it is packed with our rowdy fans.”
Those rowdy fans hopefully have their tickets already, as there are no remaining tickets for the game. However, a few seats may be available on Friday. Doors open at 6 p.m.