"We have a special group that can accomplish a lot" : Bowdoin defeats UMD and earns trip to NCAA Quarterfinals

by Benet Pols

BRUNSWICK, ME -  “Absolutely. We have a special group that can accomplish a lot” answered Bowdoin’s Junior defender Jay Livermore (Wilbraham, MA) when asked after the game if, at the beginning of the season, he foresaw such success. “Our goal was to win the NESCAC and then make it a deep run in the NCAA.”

With Wednesday’s 5-2 win over the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs in the first round of the NCAA D-III men's ice hockey tournament, the Polar Bears advance to play the Utica College Pioneers in the tourney's  quarterfinal round on Saturday, March 9th at the famed Utica Auditorium. It’s an 8:30 PM start due to a State High School tournament that will feature four HS games throughout the day.

Livermore, who had scored just one goal in 26 games this season, got the Polar Bears on the board at 9:21 of the first period with a slap shot from dead center at the point. Assists went to Ryan Collier (So. Pointe Claire, Que), who’d missed last weekend’s NESCAC tournament due to an injury incurred during warm-ups of the Middlebury game, and to John McGinnis (So. Cocoa, FL). The goal developed after Collier went deep down the right side on a break to the goal but was stuffed on the short side by the Corsairs’ senior goaltender, Ryan Williams (Milton, Ont). McGinnis fished the puck out of the corner and found Livermore. Livermore traded passes with Collier, who’d dropped back to the top of the circle, before letting his low slap-shot go.

NCAA Tournament First Round Game: A Bowdoin victory in tweets and pics

 Pre-Game

#Gameday #calmconfidence #NCAAtourneytime
— Erik Bertin (@Berts_33) March 6, 2013

Bowdoin opens up the NCAA Hockey playoffs tonight and Greely plays Camden Hills in Class B West. News 13 Sports will be at both big games!
— Dave Eid (@DaveEidWGME) March 6, 2013

What do you think a Corsair is? Daughter #1: either a bird or some kind of donkey @nescachockey
— Benet Pols (@BenetPols) March 6, 2013

casual trip to Bowdoin with @marissa1108 #UMDHockey
— Kate Gillen (@kaaaattte) March 6, 2013

NCAA Tournament First Round FINAL: Bowdoin 5/UMASS-Dartmouth 2

UMass-Dartmouth       2
Bowdoin                    5
FINAL   Preview  Round Table  Box Score    Bowdoin Recap   The Bowdoin Orient Article 

Pre-game: It appears Coach Meagher has internalized all the variables and will go with Steve Messina in net tonight. Ryan Collier also back in the lineup for the PBs (we can call them that, right?). Curious as to what a Corsair( UMD's mascot) is? Check out a pic(click to enlarge) of their unis (hat tip Benet Pols).

Corsairs are a type of pirate

1st Period: And we're underway at the Sidney J Watson Arena. Downey/Matheson/Weiniger get the start and not the "Legion of Doom" line that started the NESCAC playoffs. Four officials tonight, 2 refs and 2 linesmen. Not sure if it is NCAA tourney rules are not. One of the refs calls a hitting from behind penalty on the Corsairs Nick Marquis 6:21 in, a penalty the Bowdoin announcers call "soft", and the Polar Bears go on the PP. They briefly have a 5-3 on a tripping penalty against player to watch Stephen Ginand. Bowdoin eventually scores on a 5-4 when Jay Livermore rips a shot from the point. Not long after getting out of the box, Ginand gets called for cross checking at 10:45 and the PBs go on the PP for the third time.

It takes almost 15 minutes of game action and 17 Bowdoin shots before UMD gets a shot on goal. At the end of the period, shots in favor of Bowdoin 19-3. Crosair's Ryan Williams (G, Sr. ) keeping UMD in the game with 18 saves. Trending topics from the announcers include midterms, MIDTERMS and the pace of the game being a bit slower than the NESCAC Championship weekend games. 

One of Ryan Williams 51 saves 

2nd Period: About five minutes into the period, Ollie Koo gets absolutely robbed by Williams' glove. Despite being outshot by over 20, UMD ties it up when  Evangelos Stefanou stuffs in a rebound from a William Colclough shot 6:19 in. Dylan Shamburger puts a backhander in on a rare rebound left by UMD's Williams with 10:20 left in the period. UMD' gets their first PP chance when Rob MacGregor is called for contact to the head 11:27 in. PBs kill the penalty but UMD's Casey Skolnik scores his first collegiate goal on a soft rebound 14:32 in to tie it at 2. The Corsairs captain asks the ref for the puck so Skolnik can take home the momento. 

Action packed end of the period. Bowdoin goes on the PP at the two minute warning on a penalty on UMD's William Colclough. Kyle Lockwood goes across the middle, uses the D as a screen and rips a wrist from the top of the circle to put Bowdoin up 3-2. Announcer (former Bowdoin goalie) calls it "one of the toughest shots to save in hockey," blocker side low. Jay Livermore then gets an interference penalty moments later, and UMD will start the 3rd on the PP. Shots in favor of Bowdoin for the game 41-14. 

3rd Period: In the first twenty seconds, Bowdoin star Dan Weiniger goes down. After a minute or so laid out on the playing surface, Weiniger is able to skate off the ice on his own volition. The Bowdoin announcers credit the PBs fore-check on the penalty kill, but point out they don't actually score that many short handed goals. After the ole' reverse jinx, John McGinnis scores a short-handed goal on a beautiful feed from Downey at 1:18 in to make it 4-2.  As they did after their third goal, Bowdoin commits a penalty almost immediately, Toczylowski to the box for boarding at 2:05. Call draws jeers as Weiniger had taken a hit to the head just a few minutes earlier.

Despite going to the sixth ranked liberal arts college in the country, the announcers call themselves "unintelligent" because they only discover the pronunciation guide for the visiting Corsairs with 15 minutes left in the game. Just a period removed from his first goal as a collegian, Skolnik puts Bowdoin on the PP halfway through the period when he is called for hooking (no, he doesn't go to Yale). Shortly after the Crossairs kill the penalty, Al Milley scores his first goal of the year, a wrist shot in from the point with an assist from Downey. 7:22 to go. Continuing the trend of Bowdoin penalties after goals and the Skolnik Corrolary of getting a penalty after your first goal of the year, Milley gets called for charging with 5:24 remaining. 

Meagher's men kill off the penalty and in the final minutes pursue 60 shots with much encouragement from the Bowdoin announcers. They don't get there, but the PBs do end the game with a 56-22 shots advantage. It's off to Utica, NY for Bowdoin for a quarterfinal matchup with the Utica Pioneers in the NCAA D-III men's ice hockey tournament on Saturday, March 9th at 8:30 PM.  

The win is the 23rd of the season, a school record for wins in a season by a Bowdoin men's hockey team, and the 498th of Coach Terry Meagher's career. 

Thanks to Bowdoin Sports Info, here are all five Polar Bear goals from this evenings contest. 

NCAA Tournament: U-Mass Dartmouth at Bowdoin 7 PM 3/6/13

Who: UMass-Dartmouth Corsairs (12-7-7) vs. Bowdoin Polar Bears (22-3-2)
Where: Sidney J. Watson Arena Brunswick, ME
When: 7 PM Wednesday 3/6/13
Video / Audio: Video   Live Stats


                                   Overall  Stats (National Rank)                                   Statistical Leaders 
Offense: 3.00 G/GM  (41)                             Dave Mcdonald (F, Sr)   (12-12-24)
Defense: 2.81 G/GM (29)                             Phil Broner (F, Sr.)        (15-6-21)
Power Play: 19/101-18.81%  (39)                 Shaun Walters (F, So.)   (8-11-19
Penalty Kill: 80/98 - 81.6% (31)                   Ryan Williams (G, Sr. )  2.48 GAA                                                                           

Overall  (National Rank)                                         Statistical Leaders 
Offense: 4.30 G/GM (5)                             Ollie Koo (D/F, Jr.)         (15-17-32)       

Defense: 2.58 G/GM (22)                           Dan Weiniger (F, Sr.)     (17-12-29)        

Power Play: 32/120 - 26.67% (7)                 Harry Matheson (F, Jr.)  (12-16-28)         

Penalty Kill: 111/135 - 80.8% (27)              Max Fenkell (G, So)        2.03 GAA       

The Lowdown: The Road to Utica...

The Bowdoin College Polar Bears won the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) qualifying tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA D-III men's ice hockey tournament. The first seed Polar Bears overcame a 3-2 third period deficit against eighth seed Hamilton to win the quarterfinal round and earned the right to host the semifinals and finals the following weekend. In the semis against Middlebury and finals against Williams, the Polar Bears took 2-0 first period leads and never trailed in either contest. After having their 2011 'CAC crown vacated due to a hazing incident, it was the first official NESCAC men's hockey title for Bowdoin.

NCAA Tournament 1st Round: U-Mass Dartmouth at Bowdoin Round Table Preview

As we did last week for the NESCAC semifinal between Middelbury and Bowdoin, we invited the opposing schools' student papers to join our Bowdoin writer Benet Pols for a round table preview of tonight's UMass-Dartmouth Crossairs at Bowdoin College Polar Bears NCAA Division-III men's ice hockey tournament game. For the student writers, we have the return of  Luke Lamar, men's hockey correspondent for The Bowdoin Orient, and Mark Ogle, Sports Editor for the Umass-Dartmouth Torch. 

The X Factor in this game is...

A (mostly) packed Sid may be the X Factor

Luke Lamar The X Factor for this game is the setting.  Bowdoin plays well at home and the seniors will love another chance to play in front of the home crowd, but home is where the team had two of its three losses.  Given that it is crazy midterm week the student support may not be as stadium shaking as it was on Sunday.  UMD seems to have played well on the road, with a better winning percentage away than at home, but it will be up to them to keep up that sort of energy in a play-off atmosphere.

Mark Ogle The X-Factor in this game for the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs is Sophomore defenseman Stephen Ginand (D, So).  He deserves as much credit as anybody for the team's wild ride through the post-season.  Ginand scored the game-winning goal in the 2-1 win over Plymouth State in the MASCAC Championship game.  He also scored 2 goals in the team's improbable 5-4 triple-overtime win over Salem State in the semi-finals.  All the while he has played solid defense, making him an indispensable player for the Corsairs.  He has been the catalyst behind the team's last two wins.  If he can continue to play at this high level then the Corsairs have a chance to pull off the upset.