Colby-Bowdoin: A Sibling Rivalry Renewed

by Benet Pols 

The sibling rivalry within the Sibling Rivalry: Chris (bucket)
and Scott (standing) Fenwick 

As a little independent sports blogger, it’s hard to do justice to the annual renewal of the men’s ice hockey rivalry between Bowdoin and Colby when the last meeting, their 200th, was chronicled by the Grey Lady herself. That’s right, the NewYork Times dropped in on the fiercest of small college hockey rivalries to take notice of its history, its legendary coaches and to pepper the article with enough vintage images to make you think Grantland Rice himself had written the piece.

In fact, the national media has been swarming on the Bowdoin-Colby rivalry lately with the recent wild season finale on the gridiron being featured as the third of ESPN SportCenter’s "Top Ten" plays on 11/9.

A Hail Mary pass with only three seconds left put Bowdoin back up by six points, just after Colby had fought back from a late 20-6 deficit. When Colby blocked the extra point and returned it all the way for the score, Mules fans went wild until they realized that the return counted for just two points and not the six they needed.  

The ensuing kick-off -- with those three seconds still on the clock-- had everything but the Stanford band. A series of laterals led to a Colby fumble and recovery until finally a lateral was picked off by Bowdoin and retuned for six more points. Final score 32-22 with a total of 21 points scored in the last 51 seconds.

For just a moment it seemed like folks on the Bowdoin side almost felt sorry for their Colby brethren. Almost.

And that’s the way it is. A sibling rivalry. Two small colleges in Maine have been slugging it out on the fields, courts, slopes and ice sheets of Maine for generations.  Sometimes one kid gets dumped in the bucket; sometime the other kid gets dumped in the bucket. 

This year’s Bowdoin Colby games, the 201^st meeting Friday in Waterville, and the 202^nd Saturday in Brunswick, feature a real brotherly match-up. Chris, a sophomore at Bowdoin, got the bucket treatment from his younger brother Scott, now a freshman at Colby, back in the day (picture above); he looks to return the favor this weekend. The brother’s of Quispamsis, New Brunswick have a third brother in the NESCAC; Andrew is a junior forward at Amherst.

The Polar Bears' Chris Fenwick (F, '16) picked up an assist in the season opener at Middlebury, while Scott Fenwick (F, '17) is scoreless in two games for the Mules.

On the ice Bowdoin has a lot more to lose this weekend than Colby. Last year’s NESCAC champion and NCAA quarterfinalist had a rough opening weekend, tying Middlebury and taking a solid beating from Williams. The NESCAC  travel partners are coming off what may be the toughest road trip in the 'Cac to ranked Williams and well-regarded Middlebury. Both the Ephs and the Panthers should be on contention for the conference title this year.

While both Bowdoin and Colby came out with 0-1-1 records it seemed like Bowdoin squeaked out their tie against Middlebury while Colby earned their opening night draw against Williams. Both were soundly beaten on Sunday afternoon with the Polar Bears dropping a 5-2 contest at Williams, and Colby being pasted by Middlebury 7-1.

However, Colby has gotten one more game under their belt taking a solid out-of-conference win over University of Southern Maine Tuesday night in the Mules home opener.  The Huskies, members of the ECAC-East, have been playing games since early November and are 2-2 in their conference with wins over Skidmore and St. Mike’s, and losses to Castleton State and a 4-1 loss to perennial conference favorite Norwich.

Colby’s Sam Parker (G, '15) played well in goal, making 41 saves against USM. He’d also stopped 41 against Williams but played just two periods against Middlebury after giving up five goals. It’s hard to tell much about scoring this early in the season with five different Mules scoring against USM in the 5-2 win. Overall, Ray Zeek (F, '15) has three markers, while last season’s two leading scorers, Nick Lanza (F, '14) and Ben Chwick (F,'14), each have two assists with each chipping in a helper on Zeek’s late goal at Williams that earned the tie.

With only three Bowdoin goals in two games there aren’t any offensive trends to note. Both goaltenders played well for Bowdoin last week; junior Max Fenkell (G, '15) stopped 34 Middlebury shots in the overtime contest on Saturday while senior Steve Messina (G, '14) stopped an equal number in regulation play at Williams. Messina was victimized by sloppy defensive-end play. Expect to see both goaltenders again this weekend.

Last year’s most consistent first year player, Gabe Renaud (Quebec, QC), saw action on the blue-line in 28 games last season, but did not play at all last weekend. Meanwhile newcomers Brendan Conroy (Batavia, IL), Mitch Barrington (Cambridge, ONT), and Joseph Lace (Pascoag, RI) saw a lot of time. What Barrington and Lace lack in experience, they make up for in size. Lace is listed at a solid 6' 4", 240lbs, while Barrington stretches out to  6' 3".

It’s early in the season but Bowdoin needs points this weekend. For Colby any points at all will solidify their claim as the team most likely to make an upward move in the standings this year. But these concerns are secondary. It’s Bowdoin versus Colby numbers 201 and 202. The Grey Lady may not take note again for another 48 games or so, but someone in Waterville or Brunswick will end up in the bucket, children in Brunswick will once again ask: “What’s Cuck Folby mean?” and we’ll all look forward to number 203.

Photo courtesy of the Fenwicks.