A rugged defenseman whose precise deliveries allowed others to
share the glory, Gerry Ciarcia anchored the Bowdoin ice hockey team
during its dominant era, winning a pair of ECAC Championships and
twice earning All-American honors.
An immediate contributor as a first-year, Ciarcia was part of a
superb freshman class that contributed mightily to Bowdoin’s
second-straight ECAC crown in 1975–1976. Ciarcia dished out
18 assists to go with five goals and collected ECAC Honor Roll
recognition. He was one of three freshman that year who were the
first-ever freshmen to play varsity hockey at Bowdoin. The talented
defenseman continued his consistent play as a sophomore, dealing
out 19 assists in 23 games.
Ciarcia enjoyed perhaps his finest season as a junior, finishing
fourth on the team in scoring while establishing a new school
record for assists by a defenseman (24) as Bowdoin cruised to their
third ECAC crown in four years. Ciarcia’s efforts earned him
College Division All-American honors and First Team All-New England
recognition.
Ciarcia again earned All-American and All-New England honors as
a senior captain, totaling 20 assists to give him 81 for his
career, setting the record for a Polar Bear defenseman. At the time
of graduation, his 20 career goals were also the most ever by a
Bowdoin defender and Ciarcia was the first-ever Polar Bear
defenseman to surpass one hundred career points (101).
Drafted by theMinnesota North Stars after graduation, Ciarcia
played for their Eastern Hockey League affiliate—the
Baltimore Clippers—for two seasons before moving to Italy and
playing professionally for a decade. The grandson of native
Italians, Ciarcia earned citizenship and played for Team
Italy at the 1982 and 1983 World Championships and was a member of
the Italian National Team at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics.
Gerry and his wife, Betsy, are owners of Homeland Realty on Cape
Cod and have raised their three children there, where he has been
active in coaching high school and youth hockey.
