BOX SCORE

BRUNSWICK, Maine - The Bowdoin College men's ice hockey team won their final season-opener at Dayton Arena on Friday, taking a 4-2 victory over Babson College. The Polar Bears, ranked 15th in the latest Division III poll, improve to 1-0-0 while the 13th-ranked Beavers fall to 0-1-0.

After Bowdoin took the first five shots of the contest, Babson scored on their first shot of the night, with Ian Goodwin banging home a rebound on the far post to give the visitors a 1-0 lead just 2:23 into the game. Bowdoin responded before the end of the period as a Ryan Blossom shot caromed off the pads of Babson netminder Skylar Nipps to the waiting stick of Colin MacCormack, who netted the loose puck and deadlocked the score at one apiece.

Bowdoin took the lead early in the second period when Brendan Reich found the back of the net at 1:36. The third period featured a series and up-and-down play with neither team committing a penalty or giving up a great scoring chance until late in the frame. A flurry of Bowdoin shots resulted in Jeff Fanning putting home a bouncing puck with just 5:35 remaining to give the hosts a 3-1 edge.

After a Bowdoin slashing penalty, the Beavers pulled their goalie and trimmed the lead to a single goal as Mike Hoban's first career tally made it 3-2 Bowdoin with 2:10 remaining. But with Babson pressing for the game-tying tally, the Polar Bears notched an empty-netter to seal the victory with Mike Corbelle scoring at 18:47 to clinch the victory.

Nerland was strong in his debut for Bowdoin, making 27 saves between the pipes. Nipps stopped 25 shots for Babson. Multiple point-scorers for Bowdoin included MacCormack, who earned an assist in addition to his goal, and Blossom, who posted a pair of assists.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS