BOX SCORE
BRUNSWICK, Maine – For the second time in four years, the
Bowdoin College men's ice hockey team captured first place in
the conference standings and top seed for the NESCAC Tournament,
defeating New England College in their regular season finale on
Saturday, 5-2. The Polar Bears (17-5-1, 14-4-1 NESCAC) will host
eighth-seeded Colby College in a quarterfinal contest at Sidney J.
Watson Arena on February 27 at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets will be $3 for adults and $1 for children. Bowdoin
students will be free with ID. A full house is expected, so fans
are encouraged to acquire their tickets ahead of time. Ticket sales
will begin at noon on Tuesday, February 23, in the Athletic
Department Office on the second floor of the Peter Buck Center.
Seating is general admission and doors will open at 6:00 p.m.
Robert Toczylowski got the Polar Bears started on Saturday
afternoon, taking control of a turnover behind the NEC net and
tucking a wrap-around past Aaron Harvey just 2:50 into the contest.
The teams traded a pair of tallies just seconds apart, as Ryan
Blossom upped Bowdoin's lead with a redirection at 6:39. But
the Pilgrims cut the lead in half just 14 seconds later when Jeff
Armando cranked a slapshot from the right circle top-shelf to make
it 2-1.
New England College was able to tie the game early in the second
period when Alex Muse batted home a rebound 5:18 into the frame.
Bowdoin responded with a pair of outstanding bids to take the lead
– one off the stick of Toczylowski and another by Jordan
Lalor, but Harvey made two excellent stops to keep the game
deadlocked. Bowdoin regained the lead shortly before the end of the
period off a faceoff in the NEC zone. Lalor snapped a shot past
Harvey at 17:30 to make it 3-2 after two frames.
The Polar Bears gained their first power play of the game early in
the third period on a 5x3 chance. Brendan Reich converted on a
one-time feed from Daniel Weiniger to give the hosts a two-goal
advantage 6:22 into the frame. During a 4x4 situation later in the
frame, Blossom notched his second of the game on a slapshot from
the blue line to up the edge to three goals with less than 12
minutes to play. In all, the Polar Bears dominated the final
stanza, holding an 11-3 edge in shots for the frame.
Ryan Blossom led all scorers with two goals on Senior Day for the
Polar Bears. Chris Rossi closed out a near-perfect regular season
(12-0-1) by making 21 stops between the pipes for Bowdoin.
Harvey ended with 33 saves for the Pilgrims, who fall to 10-13-2
(6-11-2 ECAC) with the loss.
