Men’s ice hockey opened the season last Saturday with a dynamic 6-0 win against Middlebury, shutting out the Panthers with solid goaltending from Max Fenkell ’15. The Polar Bears, ranked No. 14 nationally by US College Hockey Online, then tied Williams 3-3 on Sunday afternoon. After the weekend Bowdoin and Williams have records of 1-0-1 in the NESCAC, and Middlebury’s conference record stands at 0-1-1.
Just 2:36 into the opening frame of the Middlebury game, forward John McGinnis ’15 took a feed from forward Matt Lison ’18 and scored to give Bowdoin the lead. Then, with 2:55 remaining in the period, McGinnis put another goal on the scoreboard, firing the puck into the net from inside the faceoff circle.
In the second period, defenseman Matt Sullivan ’17 scored off an assist from forward Matthew Melanson ’18, shooting the puck into the top right corner of the net from the left of the faceoff circle.
With just three seconds remaining in the middle frame, McGinnis again connected with Lison, who slid the puck across the crease to forward Connor Quinn ’15, who knocked it into an open net.
In the third period, first year forward Spencer Antunez scored the fifth goal of the game, and Sullivan scored his second of the night on a power play to send the Panthers off with a 6-0 defeat.
Middlebury tested Fenkell with 20 shots, but the Polar Bear goalie came away from the game with his first shutout performance.
The next day against Williams, the Polar Bears had a far closer game.
“I think the big thing is when you look at that game, to come off of such an emotional game the night before and then come right back the next day, it was a big adjustment for our young kids,” said Assistant Coach Jamie Dumont. “Everyone was pretty amped up Saturday night, but you have to be just as amped up on Sunday. I think some of our guys were a little stagnant in some areas, but I think that’s chalking it up to experience.”
The first frame of the game was scoreless, but defenseman Mitch Barrington ’17 opened the second period by slamming home a slapshot for the lead. The Ephs answered quickly with two goals from freshman forwards Colby Cretella and David Italiano. However, McGinnis tied the game up by redirecting a Barrington slapshot into the net.
Williams regained a one-goal edge in the third when Cretella put another shot past goalie Peter Cronin ’18. The Ephs’ lead stood for most of the third period, but with 52 seconds remaining in regulation, Quinn scored to force overtime. Neither team was able to score in the extra period, so the game ended in a tie.
Cronin made 21 saves in the game, and Polar Bears gave away only one power play.
A number of rookies excelled on the ice this weekend, according to captain Ryan Collier ’15.
“The leadership of the team has been focused on making [the first years] feel welcome and starting out with good chemistry even before the season began,” said Collier. “Right off the bat, given the fact that we just had two games, most of the freshmen—not all—have played and stepped up to the plate and contributed in different ways. I think they are generally a deep group. All across the board they bring something to the table.”
The Polar Bears will play rival Colby at 7 p.m. in Watson Arena tonight, then travel to Waterville to face the Mules at 7 p.m. tomorrow. Tonight’s home game—Bowdoin’s most poplar sporting event of the year—is sold out.
“We just need to focus on what our game plan is and what we do well,” said Dumont. “We need to establish our forecheck and go after their defensemen—really put on some pressure. If we can stay out of the box and stay emotionally connected, I think we can be successful.”
The team continues its season with an away game on Tuesday, against the University of New England.