BRUNSWICK

The odds were stacked against the Bowdoin College women’s hockey team on Tuesday night at Sidney J. Watson Arena.

Figure the shorthanded Polar Bears, still missing key players who recently completed their field hockey campaign, were coming off back-to-back wins over rival Colby over the weekend and were playing their third contest in a mere five days. Also, the University of Massachusetts Boston Beacons were more battle-tested, having already played eight games on the young season.

Despite looking the part of a tired team throughout the second and third periods, Bowdoin still managed to come away with a hardfought 2-2 overtime tie, giving the Polar Bears an early 2-0-1 mark and a much-needed day off today before gearing up for a home contest on Saturday against Holy Cross (7 p.m.).

“We had two kids come back that are freshmen from soccer, and we needed that depth after playing 13 over the weekend, and you could see the fatigue setting in,” said Bowdoin coach Marissa O’Neil. “Despite that, I think we did a better job in our decision-making, and I thought we played a lot better with some room to grow.”

Bowdoin will receive a shot in the arm after the Holy Cross contest when field hockey players Rachel Kennedy, Kimmy Ganong and Colleen Finnerty return full-time to the lineup. NCAA rules require players coming in from another sport to have five on-ice practices before taking part in a game.

Still, Bowdoin junior Ari Bourque, who scored the game-tying goal on a Polar Bears power play 2:39 into the third period, feels the players in the locker room are in good shape.

“Physically, we came into the season in shape, but our legs are feeling it a little bit,” said Bourque. “We found a way to come back. This was an important tie, to keep the loss column at zero. We need to fight through some things.”

Bowdoin leads

The Polar Bears didn’t show much wear and tear in the first period, outshooting the Beacons (5-1-3) 11-9 and grabbing a 1-0 lead on a Maureen Greason goal 5:07 into the contest. Julie Dachille did the work to set up the goal, skating between two UMass-Boston defenders before slipping a pass to Greason, who was left unmarked near the left post.

Bowdoin tired in the second as UMass-Boston picked up the pace. The Beacons tied the game at 10:51 of the middle frame when Jane Morrisette’s shot slipped through netminder Beth Findley’s pads and just across the goal line.

The tie lasted just 41 seconds as Jenny Currie pounced on a rebound of a Alexandra Karlis shot and scored for a 2-1 Beacons lead.

Bowdoin, which was outshot 14-6 in the second period, earned a power-play opportunity 44 seconds into the third as UMass-Boston’s Kat Armstrong was called for hooking. Little worked for Bowdoin on the power play until Marne Gallant rushed the puck up ice, passed to Maddie Baird, who found Bourque just to the right of Beacons goaltender Moe Bradley (20 saves) to make for a 2-2 contest.

“They scored two quick goals in the second period, and we were definitely having a tough period, but it showed our resiliency leading into the third when we were able to score early and tie the game,” said O’Neil. “Their goalie is tough, and we earned those two goals against her.”

“I was thinking to get it on net and I was trying to crash the net hard,” said Bourque of her tying goal. “I didn’t really get a good stick on it, but it got by her pads.”

O’Neil praised the work of linemates Bourque, Schuyler Nardelli and Gallant.

“The three of them are certainly able to create on their own, but when they work together they have the ability to put the puck into the back of the net,” said O’Neil. “Ari has shown that she is capable of being a clutch player and she was tonight.”

Both teams managed five shots on net in the third as the game slipped into a fiveminute overtime. The Beacons had two scoring chances in the extra session, with Findley stopping Alyssa Sullivan and Kayla Kieman from point-blank range to earn a point for the Polar Bears.

UMass-Boston finished with a 31-22 shots advantage, with Findley turning aside 29 shots in her first start of the young season.

After hosting Holy Cross, the Polar Bears will finish the first semester with home contests against Nichols (Dec. 3), Saint Anselm (Dec. 6) and Norwich (Dec. 7).

UMass-Boston 2,
Bowdoin 2

At Sidney J. Watson Arena
UMB—0200—2
Bowdoin—1010—2
First period — 1. (Bow) Maureen
Greason (Julie Dachille, Schuyler
Nardelli), 5:07. Penalty — (UMB)
Kristen Embrey, body checking, 7:42.
Second period — 2. (UMB) Jane
Morrisette (Jess Salisbury, Alexa
Cappione), 10:51; 3. (UMB) Jenny
Currie (Alexandra Karlis, Maren
Brown), 11:32. Penalties — None.
Third period — 4. (Bow) Ari Bourque
(Maddie Baird, Marne Gallant), ppg,
2:39. Penalties — (UMB) Kat Armstrong, hooking, :44; (Bow) Jill
Rathke, tripping, 13:25.
Overtime — No scoring. No penalties. Shots on goal — UMB — 9-14-5-
3—31; Bowdoin 11-6-5-0—22.
Saves — (UMB) Moe Bradley 20;
(Bow) Beth Findley 29.
Power play — UMB 0-for-1; Bowdoin 1-for-2.
Records — UMass-Boston 5-1-3;
Bowdoin 2-0-1.
Up next for the Polar Bears — Saturday at home against Holy Cross, 7
p.m.