BRUNSWICK

It was Cody Todesco’s weekend.

After netting the gamewinner in Friday night’s New England Small College Athletic Conference game against Williams College, Bowdoin’s freshman forward was at it again Saturday against Middlebury. With less than two minutes to go in the game, Todesco got in one-on-one with the Panthers’ goalie and took advantage, scoring and giving Bowdoin a 2-1 victory at Sidney J. Watson arena.

“It was a hard-fought game,” Bowdoin coach Terry Meagher said. “We were showing a little bit of the effects of the game last night. The bench got short, and it gets short in both games. But I think we came out, regrouped, and had a good third. Seven (Todesco) was around the net all day. He got the goal, deserving so.”

The goal started when Bowdoin’s Sebastian Foster avoided a Middlebury defenseman and slung the puck up the ice to teammate Daniel McMullen on the left. Then it was on to Brendan Conroy, who found Todesco open on the far side and fed him the puck on the way to the goal. Todesco moved towards the net, skated around goalie Stephen Klein, and wristed a backhand high into the goal to complete the game-winning build-up play.

“Once it came up, I jumped on the ice and Brendan Conroy chipped it over to me. I saw the goalie stretching out front, he was kind of cheating a little bit on my shot, so I just brought it to my backhand and put it in,” Todesco said.

Bowdoin, 7-7-3 (4-5-3 NESCAC), came out firing to start the game, keeping a strong spell of possession and testing Klein with four straight shots on frame. But it was Middlebury, 5-7-4 (4-2-4 NESCAC), that controlled the shots most of the night, firing 16 at Polar Bears’ netminder Peter Cronin by the end of the period and finishing with a 40-29 edge.

“I don’t watch shots. I don’t believe in shot charts that much,” Meagher said. “It’s a stat you have to pay attention to, to a degree, but we go up to Colby and get 47 shots on net and don’t score a goal.”

Cronin (39 saves) stood strong, giving Bowdoin the chance to open the scoring at the 10:15 mark in the first period. After Klein pushed two Polar Bear shots away, Matt Sullivan came flying in from the left and smashed a third rebound into an open left side of the net to put the home side up 1-0.

The lead was safe until midway through the second frame when the power play came into play. Bowdoin failed to capitalize on two man-up opportunities in the first period, and Meagher said it’s something his team hasn’t had enough experience in this season.

“We’re not getting a lot of power plays,” he said. “We just have so many guys in the tank. People that have scored at all levels that just can’t seem to find the back of the net. Goal scoring is a mind set. You get dirty, you get scarred up, you get beat up. The power play can certainly score big goals for you but it can be a downer to a team when it’s frustrating to a team. That’s one area we wish we were better at.”

When Middlebury’s first power play chance arose at the 10:40 mark, the Panthers took advantage. After sliding the puck around the top of the zone, Ronald Fishman gathered a pass, geared up, and fired a long slap shot into Bowdoin traffic in front of net. The puck deflected off of teammate Vincent Gisonti and slipped past Cronin to level the score.

Middlebury converted 1- of-2 power plays and Bowdoin 0-for-2.

The score stayed level heading into the hard-fought final period, where Gisonti opened play with two quick shots on Klein’s net. The Middlebury sophomore made 27 saves in all, but was finally beaten by Todesco at the 18:36 mark. The goal was Todesco’s ninth of the season, which is tied for best in the NESCAC.

“He’s a kid that’s been a proven scorer,” Meagher said of Todesco. “He’s a player that gets lost out there and then reemerges, so he’s hard to figure.

He’s very deceptive. He’s one of those players that when the puck’s on his stick, he’s a much better skater than when he doesn’t have it. I think that surprises people.”

Conroy assisted both of the host’s goals. The Polar Bears host the University of Southern Maine on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Friday night

Todesco scored early in the second period while Cronin blanked the Williams offense leading the Polar Bears to a 1-0 win over the visiting Ephs.

Todesco scored the lone goal just 36 seconds into the second period. Spencer Antunez wrapped behind Williams’ net, with the puck squirting out to Chris Wallace, who waited low in the right face-off circle. Wallace fed Todesco in the high slot for open shot to beat Michael Pinios.

Cronin ended the day with 33 stops to collect the shut-out victory. Pinios had 29 saves for the Ephs.

Bowdoin 2,
Middlebury 1

At Watson Arena
Middlebury—010—1
Bowdoin— 101—2
First period — 1. (B) Matt Sullivan
(Brendan Conroy), 10:15. Penalties
— (M) David Belluche, hooking, 2:20;
Mark McLellan, boarding, 18:48.
Second period — 2. (M) Vincent
Gisonti (Ronald Fishman), 10:40.
Penalties — (B) Austin Ricci, elbowing, 9:16.
Third period — 3. (B) Cody Todesco
(Daniel McMullan, Brendan Conroy),
18:36. Penalties — (B) Sebastian
Foster, interference, 9:17; (M) Evan
Neugold, roughing, 19:07; (B) Chris
Wallace, roughing, 19:07.
Shots on goal — (M) 16-11-13 —
40; (B) 10-8-11 —29.
Saves — (M) Stephen Klein 27; (B)
Peter Cronin 39.
Power play — (M) 1-for-2; (B) 0-for-
2.
Records — Bowdoin 7-7-3, Middlebury 5-7-4.
Up next for the Polar Bears — Tuesday at home against the University of
Southern Maine, 7 p.m.