BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Bowdoin College women's hockey team improved to 5-2-0, its best pre-break record since 2002, in a 3-1 win over Colby on Friday afternoon at Sidney J. Watson Arena. The Polar Bears (5-2-0, 4-2-0 NESCAC) claimed their fourth straight over the Mules. Colby fell to 2-5-0 (1-5-0 NESCAC) with the loss and has not won in their last 13 trips to Brunswick (0-11-2 dating back to 1997).

Bowdoin took it to their rivals in the first period, out-shooting the Mules 11-3. The Polar Bears broke into the scoring column at 7:39 when Kendra Sweet ripped a shot from the point that Kayte Holtz tipped in front to give the hosts a 1-0 advantage. The Polar Bears doubled their lead with 1:05 left in the frame when Madeleine Lane snapped a wrister from the blue line that slipped through the pads of Colby goaltender Brianne Wheeler to make it 2-0 after one period of play.

Colby bounced back to start the second frame and cut the lead in half when Sylvia Xistris found Samantha Slotnick loose behind the Polar Bear defense. Slotnick deposited the breakaway top-shelf to make it 2-1 at 12:13. Bowdoin rebounded with a goal of their own when Shelagh Merrill banged home a rebound at 15:13 to increase the Polar Bear lead to 3-1 after two periods of play.

Tara Connolly made the lead stand in the third period, making seven saves and finishing with 15 for the game as the Polar Bears held a 25-16 advantage in shots on goal. Wheeler made nine stops and allowed a pair of goals in the first period before being replaced by Grace Dickinson, who stopped 13 shots over the final two periods.

Photos courtesy of Brian Beard and Creative Images Photography.