The men’s hockey team, defending NESCAC Champion, is still looking for a win this season after an opening weekend of mixed results. The Polar Bears tied Middlebury 2-2 last Friday, before losing to Williams 5-2 the following Sunday.
The team started out with an early lead in Friday’s game against Middlebury, with Kendall Culbertson ’17 scoring a transition goal—his first as a Polar Bear—at the 12-minute mark. Middlebury responded with a goal of its own less than two minutes into the second period, and within 15 minutes, the Panthers took the lead with another quick goal.
Roughly halfway into the third period, John McGinnis ’15 managed to tie the game, sending it into overtime. Neither team was able to score in the extra frame.
“It really could have gone either way,” explained Head Coach Terry Meagher. “I think Middlebury is very close to us in how they play and in their concepts,” he added. “They don’t play a controlled defending game—that can be tough.”
Meagher also mentioned that, unlike Bowdoin, Middlebury did not graduate many key players last year, and consequently started with a strong cadre of veterans.
Tim Coffey ’15 noted how fast the Panther’s seemed, an advantage Bowdoin has traditionally held.
“[Middlebury is] fast, not that big, with a lot of offense. It’s really hard to play against a team that’s so much like your own,” he said.
The Polar Bears faced another tough opponent at Williams on Sunday. The Ephs managed to score just five minutes into the game, and added another goal before the period’s end. Harry Matheson ’14 was able to slip in a goal for Bowdoin in the last two minutes of the first period, but Williams took back control in the second period, scoring a third goal nine minutes in. Joe Lace ’17 scored less than five minutes later, but in the third period, the Ephs landed two more goals to finish the game with a three-point lead.
According to Lace, Williams’ home-ice advantage played a role in its victory.
“They had music after every whistle,” he said. “[It] maybe kind of got into our heads...every team makes mistakes, and I think Williams might have done a better job capitalizing on those in a couple places.”
For the men, these two games represent a frustrating—though not unexpected—start to the season, as the team graduated seven seniors last spring, all of whom were key members of last years’ NESCAC championship roster.
“What we’re doing is tough, especially when you have so many young guys in the line-up,” said Coffey.
In rebuilding their lineup, the Bears must integrate the various strengths of new recruits and learn how best to draw on the support of returning players. According to Lace, the adjustment has been pretty Meagher so far.
“Each [year’s] team is unique and presents its own challenges,” he said. “We’re just trying to build this team and make it a contender in the league. Last year was special; it was one for the record books and it’ll be a great memory for a lot of people.”
Success, Meagher said, “doesn’t just happen.”
The level of talent in this year’s conference will be yet another challenge for the team moving forward. Bowdoin faces what Meagher described as an extremely competitive league:
“I’ve been doing this a long time and this is as tight as I’ve seen this league,” he said.
Because nearly every NESCAC school is competitive in the league each year, no school has been able to draw an overwhelming number of quality recruits. This forces coaches to become more creative, explained Meagher.
“As close as the talent pool is, each coach is relatively unique in how they present the game,” he said. “It’s always a challenge, and it’s an exciting challenge. It makes [hockey] more of a chess-match.”
But for Bowdoin, the biggest challenge may turn out to be living up to its own expectations.
“There seems to be a definite expectation to win games and championships,” senior captain Harry Matheson said in an email to the Orient. “Once the team had a taste of the NESCAC Championship… it’s as if anything less is an extreme disappointment.”
Today, the Polar Bears will face off against Colby (1-1-1) on the Mules’ ice before returning home tomorrow at 7 p.m.