BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Bowdoin College men's ice hockey team returns to the NESCAC semifinals for the first time since 2014 on Saturday when they battle Colby at Amherst College. It will be the 219
th meeting between the two longest-running rivals in small-college hockey history and the first in the postseason since 2011.
The teams will play at noon on Saturday, March 4, at Orr Rink in Amherst. Amherst and Williams will play the other semifinal at 3:30 p.m. The semifinal winners will meet for the NESCAC title Sunday at 2:00 p.m. All games will be carried live on the
Northeast Sports Network.
Bowdoin (13-9-3) is in the NESCAC Semifinals after recording its first NESCAC Tournament win since 2014 with a 2-1 overtime victory against No. 2 Trinity.
Chris Brown netted the game-winner four minutes into extra time and
Alex Kozic made a season-high 46 saves, including 19 in the first period, to keep the game scoreless through the first 20 minutes. The Polar Bears are in the semifinals for the first time since 2014, the same year they won their last NESCAC title.
Andy Stoneman is Bowdoin's leading scorer with eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points (9th in the NESCAC).
Gabe Shipper has netted a team-leading 11 goals (4th in the NESCAC) with six assists for 17 points and
Albert Washco has contributed 19 points on seven goals and 12 assists. Kozic has been the Polar Bears' top goaltender all season and owns a 2.38 goals against average and a .919 save percentage entering the semifinals. Bowdoin ranks third in goals scored per game (2.84), just ahead of the Mules (2.72), and the Polar Bears have the second-best faceoff winning percentage at 54.1 percent.
Dan Juzych's goal at 9:25 of overtime helped Colby (13-10-2) erase a two-goal deficit and lift the Mules past No. 4 Hamilton, 3-2, in Clinton, N.Y. Colby, the 2022 NESCAC Runner-Up, will play in the semifinals for the second consecutive tournament when it faces rival and No. 7 Bowdoin.
Carter Breitenfeldt leads the team in scoring and ranks fourth in the NESCAC with 23 points. The forward is tied for the team lead in goals (10) and has handed out 13 helpers. Teammate John McElaney has also netted 10 goals and owns 12 assists for 22 points to rank sixth in the NESCAC. The Mules own the highest faceoff winning percentage in the NESCAC (58%) and Alex Bourhas and Nick Stapleton rank 1-2 in the stat category, winning 64.8 percent and 58.8 percent of their faceoffs, respectively. Andy Beran has seen the most time in net and carries a 1.88 goals against average and .934 save percentage into the semifinals. As a team, Colby is tied with Amherst for the second most power-play goals, scoring 18 markers with an extra skater, the Mules also own the top penalty kill in the NESCAC at 96.2 percent.
The NESCAC semifinal matchup marks the third game in this rivalry this season. The Mules won both regular-season contests, posting a 4-2 win in Waterville, Maine on December 3 and a 4-0 win at Bowdoin on January 28. Bowdoin holds a 2-0 edge over Colby in the NESCAC Tournament series, including a 3-1 win in the 2011 semifinals, the most recent meeting between the teams.
