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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – After losing the game
and home-ice advantage to the Williams College Ephs last weekend,
the Bowdoin College Polar Bears redeemed themselves this afternoon,
advancing to the NESCAC semifinals with a 4-2 win. A breakaway goal
by Al Chlebeck that broke a 2-2 tie at 3:50 into the third period
proved to be the deciding score. The Ephs end their first winning
season in four years with a record of 12-11-2, while the Bears will
head to either Amherst or Middlebury next weekend for the
quarterfinal game.
Although it was a disappointing finish to a promising season,
Eph rookie head coach Marissa O'Neil and the 2009-10 Ephwomen
certainly made vast improvements this winter, in what was
ultimately a turn-around year for the program.
"I told the girls that they left everything out on the ice here
today," said an emotional O'Neil after the game, "and I couldn't
ask for more than that as a coach. They really played their
hearts out this afternoon and all season long.... It's a
never-say-die group of players and I have no regrets about the
effort they put forth this year, both on and off the ice."
The opening 20 minutes featured the masterful goaltending of
Williams senior Sara Plunkett, who stopped all 14 Bowdoin attempts
in a period dominated by the Polar Bear offense. Of her
better work, an incredible diving stop off a rebound try from the
circle may have been her finest save of the entire contest.
Her fantastic reflexes and nerves of ice-water kept it a scoreless
match through one period, and gave the Eph offense a chance to
respond in the second frame.
"Bowdoin definitely outplayed us in the first period," admitted
O'Neil. "Plunkett did an amazing job of holding them off and
giving us the opportunity to take the lead in the second. We
kept plugging away and we had faith that our offense would come
through eventually."
That faith was rewarded early in the period, when the forechecking
of Eph freshman Sam Weinstein opened up space for a shot from the
circle. The rookie sniped home her 6th goal over the shoulder of
Bowdoin's first-year netminder Kayla Lessard at 1:32, putting
Williams in front 1-0. Sophomore Kristen Tubbs notched an
assist on the play.
The Polar Bears would answer five minutes later with their own
even-strength score, after sophomore Alexandra Fahey's low
blast kicked off the left pad of Plunkett directly onto the stick
of an uncontested Kim-Tess Wanat '13, who tossed into the
open net for her 8th of the year at 6:37.
The stalemate was broken again a short while later on a Williams
power-play. After Weinstein was denied on a shifty shot from
between the circles, the puck found its way to the reigning NESCAC
player of week, senior tri-captain Tracey Ferriter, who uncorked a
wrister on net that bounced off Lessard into a crowd of
bodies. A diving effort by sophomore Hannah Systrom reclaimed
the lead at 9:37, as she wrapped the loose puck through traffic and
goalie pads to earn her 4th and biggest lamp-lighter all year.
The score would remain in favor of the Ephs until 2:24 into the
final stanza, when the Polar Bears countered with a power-play
strike on a deflection by freshman Stephanie Ludy that leveled the
count at 2. Fahey's low slapshot from the point earned her
another assist on the score.
Then just moments later, the speedy Chlebeck caught the Williams
defense pinching at the blue line and scampered down the ice on a
breakaway. The sophomore finished the play with a strong
forehand-to-backhand move to give Bowdoin their first lead of the
day at 3-2.
Both teams continued to generate chances for the rest of
regulation, but Williams could not solve the riddle of Lessard and
the Polar Bear defense. The Ephs yanked Plunkett for the extra
attacker with about two minutes remaining on the clock, and
although they made a valiant final push, it was not enough to force
an overtime period. Following a blocked shot from the point,
sophomore Shelagh Merrill maneuvered into space and fired in an
empty netter to punctuate Bowdoin's 4-2 victory.
Bowdoin will face an opponent yet to be determined this coming
Saturday in the quarterfinal game. As it stands, it will most
likely be a road battle against top-seeded Amherst, who are this
year's defending national champions.
"They [Bowdoin] certainly played very well for the full sixty
minutes and I have to give them a lot of credit," remarked
O'Neil. "We had the momentum there in the second but their
attack never subsided and we just couldn't find an answer for it in
the third. We're about as even matched as two teams can
be...both 1-1-1 against each other this season. It's just
unfortunate that our loss had to come in the playoffs."
Looking forward to next season, O'Neil felt very confident about
the core group of returners and their prospects for another strong
campaign in 2010-11, although she acknowledged that the four
seniors--Plunkett, Ferriter, Torrey Taussig, and Kait O'Brien--will
be "sorely missed."
"I'm just happy I got here when I did so that I could have the
privilige to coach them and watch those four play. They've
been such outstanding leaders all season for us, especially last
weekend and this weekend.... The contributions and dedication
those girls gave to this program on and off the ice are invaluable
and they are going to be very difficult to replace."
