MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Gabe Shipper paced the Bowdoin men's hockey team with a hattrick to defeat host Middlebury 4-3 on Saturday evening.
 
The Polar Bears open the season 2-0-0 (2-0-0 NESCAC) for the first time since the 2010-11 season. The Panthers begin the year 0-2-0 (0-2-0 NESCAC).
 
Game Highlights

• Shipper scored his first collegiate goal and the first goal of the game at 12:59 to put Bowdoin ahead 1-0. Andy Stoneman drew three defenders to the right point and made a quick cross-ice pass to Shipper at the top of the far circle. Shipper unleashed a one-timer that bested Jake Horoho.
• Middlebury came out of the first intermission and scored just 34 seconds into action with both teams skating four a side. Jin Lee had his second goal in as many games to make it 1-1.
• Bowdoin regained the lead with a power play goal at 7:48. Aidan Lyons fed Bobby Pearl at the top of the zone and Pearl blasted a slapshot past Horoho.
• The Panthers scored a power play equalizer of their own two minutes later. Antoine Belisle collected a rebound on the right post and quickly found Andrej Hromic for a one-timer on the far side.
• Shipper added his second of the game with 5:17 remaining in the frame with a bang-bang play off a faceoff on the left dot.
• Shipper completed the hattrick at 12:05 in the third. Stoneman skated the puck into the zone along the left side and centered a pass to Shipper. Shipper closed the gap on net and backhanded a shot from the bottom of the left circle.
• The Panthers would not fold, scoring a 6-on-5 goal in the final 22 seconds. Chris Garbe waited at the top of the crease for a quick feed from behind the net to make it 4-3.

 
By the Numbers

• The Panters were 1-for-2 on the power play.
• Bowdoin went 1-for-3 on the power play.
• Bowdoin held a 37-33 shot advantage.
• Alex Kozic improved to 2-0-0 between the pipes with 30 saves.
• Horoho made 33 stops.

 
Up Next

• The Polar Bears play against Johnson & Wales at Colby on November 26 at 1:00 p.m.