BOX SCORE
NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Bowdoin outshot Norwich 31-28 and Richard Nerland
made 26 saves, but the Polar Bear men's ice hockey team lost their
regular season finale to the Cadets on Saturday, 2-1. The Polar
Bears finish the year with a record of 11-11-2 (8-9-2 NESCAC) and
will play at Williams in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC Tournament
that begins on Saturday, February 28. Faceoff is set for 3:00 p.m.
next Saturday in Williamstown.
Norwich (13-7-4, 11-5-3 ECAC East) got on the scoreboard first when
Emmond Bell took a feed from Tim Houston and scored on a
four-on-four situation at the 8:59 mark of the opening period.
Houston and Owen Carpino picked up assists on the marker, which was
Bell's ninth of the season. Bowdoin tied the score at 1-1
late in the first period when Mike Collins scored on the power
play. Graham Sisson and Brendan Reich were credited with assists on
the goal, which was Collins' fifth of the year. Bowdoin
outshot Norwich 12-9 in a very entertaining first period.
The Cadets outshot the Polar Bears 8-7 in the second stanza, but
Bowdoin had the better scoring chances. The Polar Bears broke in
with odd-man rushes several times, but Norwich goaltender Ryan
Klingensmith stopped each one to keep the score tied at 1-1
following 40 minutes of action.
Nikita Kashirsky tallied his team-leading 17th goal of the season
on the power play at the 1:51 mark to put the Cadets in front for
good, sneaking the puck just inside the left post. The Polar Bears
brought pressure throughout the remainder of the third period,
outshooting the Cadets 12-11 in the stanza. Klingensmith stood tall
in the Norwich net, though, stopping all 12 third-period shots. The
junior goaltender finished the night with 30 saves.
