2015-16 Bowdoin Polar Bears Men's Hockey Season Review

As we enter the 2015-16 academic calendar and the fall athletic season, we are reviewing the 2015-16 campaigns for each of the NESCAC men's hockey teams from #10 to #1.  Next up is third place Bowdoin.

The 33rd and final season
for Terry Meagher

3. Bowdoin
2015-16 Reccord
9-5-4 (3rd in NESCAC)
13-8-4  Overall

Stats:
Overall (Conf. Rank)                                     Conference Games (Conf. Ranks)
Offense - 3.20 G/GM (2nd)                                                       Offense - 2.94 G/GM (2nd)
Defense - 2.80 G/GM (8th)                                                       Defense - 2.33 G/GM (6th)
Power Play - 13/78 16.7% (5th)                                              Power Play - 8/51 15.7% (6th)
Penalty Kill - 62/76 81.6% (7th)                                              Penalty Kill - 45/58 77.6% (10th) 
Penalty Minutes - 8.4/Gm (6th)                                             Penalty Minutes - 9.2 /Gm (6th) 

Season Review
The Polar Bears entered the season knowing that Terry Meagher's 33rd year behind the Bowdoin bench would be his last. They were looking to make one last run for Meagher after a disappointing 2014-15 campaign saw them lose in OT of the NESCAC Quarterfinals to Williams after two straight NESCAC tournament championships in 2013 and 2014.

The PBs faced the challenge of losing 46 points in graduating seniors John McGinnis and Connor Quinn.  45 of these points were filled by underclassmen in returning sophomore Matt Lison ( 11-10-21) and NESCAC Co-Rookie of the year Cody Todesco (12-12-24). 2015-16 also saw a definitive end to the goalie duos of yesteryear as sophomore Peter Cronin laid claim to his spot between the pipes with a .933 save% and 2.24 GAA in 22 games.

It was the tale of two seasons for Bowdoin, who started out the season 4-7-3 but carried a ten game unbeaten streak into the playoffs as the third seed with a 9-0-1 end to the regular season. This momentum carried into the second intermission of the NESCAC Quarterfianl matchup with Amherst in which the host PBs enjoyed a 4-2 lead. The wheels came off the season in the third, however, and Meagher's career ended with an 8-5 vanquishing at the hands of the mascotless Purple and White.


High Point
Midway through the season it seemed unlikely that the Polar Bears would earn Meagher one last home playoff game. The ten game unbeaten streak down the stretch included wins over the other three home playoff seed teams (Williams, Trinity, Hamilton) and included seven straight games in which Bowdoin help opponents to two or less goals.

The offseason high point would be Bowdoin blueliner Matt Sullivan's father Mike Sullivan coaching the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup.

Low Point 
Rather than the whole game, let's just go with the third period of the NESCAC Quarterfinals. It was a very unfitting way to end the career of Meagher, but hey, crazy things happen in hockey.

MVP
Terry Meagher Sure, he isn't a player, and we could go with someone like smooth passing defenseman Mitch Barrington, who was the only Bowdoin player to earn All-NESCAC honors, but we'll break the rules here. Meagher was honored at a May banquet emceed by Bruins announcer and Bowdoin alum Dale Arnold and as you can see from the tweet from webcast voice of the PBs, Rob Kennedy, Meagher's impact speaks for itself.

No surprise: it's a full room to honor Coach Terry Meagher at the Sid Watson Arena. #NESCAC. pic.twitter.com/jZL3Q0p75Q

— Rob Kennedy (@RobKennedy70) May 8, 2016