NESCAC Quarterfinal: #5 Bowdoin at #4 Williams

Who: #5 Bowdoin (14-7-3; 8-7-3 NESCAC).at #4 Williams (14-8-2; 10-7-1 NESCAC)    
Where: Lansing Chapman Rink  Williamstown, MA
When: 1 PM Saturday 3/1/14
Video/Audio: NSN Sports
Preview: Williams 



Overall  (Conference Rank)                       Conference Games (conf. rank)
Offense: 3.67 G/GM (2nd)                          Offense: 3.17 G/GM (3rd)

Defense: 2.29 G/GM (3rd)                          Defense: 2.78 G/GM (7th)

Power Play 28/86 - 32.6% (1st)                 Power Play: 16/60 - 26.7% (3rd)
Penalty Kill 61/72 - 84.7% (2nd)               Penalty Kill: 51/60 - 85% (2nd)
Special Teams Net: +18 (1st)                    Special Teams Net: +7 (2nd)

Overall  (Conference Rank)                           Conference Games (conf. rank)
Offense: 3.08 G/GM (4th)                                 Offense: 3.06 G/GM (4th)

Defense: 2.50 G/GM (5th)                                Defense: 2.61 G/GM (6th)
Power Play:  24/94 - 25.5% (4th)                      Power Play: 17/67 -25.4% (4th) 

Penalty Kill: 54/69  - 78.3% (7th)                     Penalty Kill: 36/47 - 76.6% (8th)
Special Teams Net: +10 (3rd)                           Special Teams Net: +7 (8th)

The Lowdown
Williams hosts a team from Maine for the third straight year in the Quarters. The last two times they beat Chris Hall's Colby teams, but this year they'll get the reigning two-time NESCAC champion Polar Bears. Bowdoin enters the game as the fifth seed, the spot from which they ran the table and won the title last season and in 2011 as well. In terms of historical experience, Bowdoin enters with a 20-12 record in conferencce tournament play, while Williams is 9-15. The two have met three times in the playoffs, with Williams winning once and Bowdoin winning in the 2011 and 2013 title games (in a controversial decision, Bowdoin later vacated the 2011 title).

Williams heads into the game having been swept by Hamilton and Amherst last weekend to fall from the third to fourth seed. Bowdoin split home games with Conn College and Tufts to end up in the fifth spot. In the head-to-head matchups this year, the two teams tied 3-3 opening weekend in Brunswick in a matchup that had only one penalty whistle blown. Later in Williamstown, five different Ephs nettted goals on Max Fenkell (G, '15) as Williams won 5-2.


Coach's Corner with Chris Hall 

Key Matchup: Bowdoin’s 32.6% PP vs Williams 78.3% PK. A matchup that looks to decidedly favor the Polar Bears, Williams will have to out-perform their season average if they are to win this game. A good PK usually comes down to clears and goaltending – if Sean Dougherty and the Ephs PK can keep McGinnis and Quinn in check on the man advantage it will have a huge impact on the outcome. Of course, staying out of the box will go a long way as well, and Williams is the nation’s least penalized team, averaging only 7.1 minutes in the box per game.

Tactical Analysis: This game should be an offensive zone affair, as both teams are smart and active with the puck in the offensive zone. Look for pucks to change sides and go low to high in both ends – both teams like to activate forwards low in the offensive zone and play behind the net. Williams and Bowdoin both possess active and offensive-minded defensemen, so look for the points to be a threat whenever the puck is in the offensive zone. While not likely to be a high scoring affair, look for this game to have lots of offensive flair and puck movement – two fast and smart teams going head to head.

Bowdoin Wins If...: The Max Fenkell of 2012-13 is in net. The goaltender who took the Polar Bears to the NCAA Quarterfinals is looking to make a return in his Senior season. Posting a .922 save percentage this year, he is to Bowdoin what Grant Fuhr was to the 1980’s Edmonton Oilers. You know Bowdoin is going to score – when Fenkell is on, they are a hard team to beat.

Williams Wins If...:  The Sean Dougherty of 2011-2014 is in net. Entering this season, Dougherty possessed an out of this world .937 save percentage and 1.89 goals against average for his career. This season he has come back to earth with more human .911 save percentage and 2.46 goals against average. Dougherty is the type of goaltender that when he is on his game, everyone in the building knows it. For Williams to move on to the NESCAC Semifinals, Dougherty will need to return to being the dominant goaltender everyone knows he is.

Players to Watch (besides the goalies)

Connor Quinn (F, '15) The senior Polar Bear had 0 points in six games in his first three seasons against Williams. In his senior campaign, he has had three (2-1-3) in two games against the Ephs. 

David Italiano (F, '18) The Ephs' second leading scorer, the freshman Itialiano has three points  (2-1-3) in his first three games against the Polar Bears. 

Both of these teams enter the tournament with high hopes: Bowdoin that they can win their third straight NESCAC title, while Williams hopes they can get that elusive first conference crown. We present  a  live performance of Bruce Springsteen's  "High Hopes"   featuring Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine fame.