The men’s hockey team will face Middlebury tomorrow in a NESCAC semifinal game after fending off Hamilton last Saturday in a hard-fought quarterfinal, winning 5-3.
The first period started well for Hamilton. Decked out in new jerseys they received on game day, the inspired Continentals scored in the eighth minute when a redirected blue-line snapshot slipped past Steve Messina ’14.
The Polar Bears went on the power play a few minutes later after an interference call and they did not waste the opportunity. A bit of creative passing from John McGinnis ’15 set up Kyle Lockwood ’14 for the easy put away.
Lockwood went on to give Bowdoin the lead at the end the period after he won the puck from a crowd in front of the Hamilton net and was able to slide it in the left post.
“The game unfolded as I think a lot of us thought it would, playing a team that was very disciplined, very structured,” said Head Coach Terry Meagher. “We knew that goals wouldn’t come easy.”
Hamilton opened the second period with a shot from behind the blue line that bounced off Messina’s glove and into the net for the equalizer. The Continentals kept up the pressure and were able to force a turnover while shorthanded midway through the frame. The one-on-one match up favored the attacker and Hamilton went up 3-2.
“It stays that way for a long time. The game had that kind of OK [feeling], it didn’t become frenzied and it didn’t become panicky, it became a confident game on both sides,” said Meagher. “We’re trying to make up the deficit and they’re trying to build on the lead.”
The Polar Bears skated hard in the opening of the third period, but all of their shots seemed to find post instead of net. Finally, with eight minutes left, senior Rob MacGregor found an angle from between the circles and was able to fire off a shot that clinked down from the crossbar and over the line to tie the game.
Bowdoin found the lead four minutes later on a shot reminiscent of Hamilton’s equalizer. The puck fell from a neutral zone faceoff to senior captain Tim McGarry, who fired a low slap shot and scored on the Hamilton goalie with less than four minutes left in the game. Facing elimination, Hamilton pulled their goalie, which allowed Lockwood to seal a 5-3 victory and a hat trick with an empty net goal.
“What really won the game for us, pure and simple, is that three experienced players in the league just willed those goals in,” said Meagher. “The [Rob] Toczylowski ’13, MacGregor and Lockwood group said that this season is not going to end.”
The season is not over for the Polar Bears, who face a Middlebury team that knocked off defending champs Amherst last week.
Middlebury is “a very formidable opponent that we have great respect for,” said Meagher. “The history is not a short one; we go way back.”
One of the more poignant episodes in that history dates back to the Sid Watson era, when his son, who played for Middlebury, scored a regular season overtime goal at Bowdoin to beat his father.
Three Polar Bears received All-Conference honors this year, including two on the First Team for the third year in a row.
Two-year captain Tim McGarry ’13 was elected to the First Team after ranking fourth among NESCAC defensemen with 17 points, while leading Bowdoin to a 2.60 goals-against average this year.
Captain Dan Weiniger ’13 made it to the All-Conference First Team for the second year after being named NESCAC Rookie of the Year in 2009. His team-best 16 goals paved the way for Bowdoin to lead the conference with 4.40 goals per game.
Ollie Koo ’14 rounded out the All-Conference selections by being named to the Second Team. He led Bowdoin with 29 total points this year off of 14 goals and 15 assists, and tied for the team lead with six goals on power plays.
Weiniger and Koo were also selected as two of the 16 finalists for the Joe Concannon Award earlier this month, which honors the top American-born men’s ice hockey player in D-II or D-III.