BRUNSWICK — Upsetting No. 4 Hamilton and nearly duplicating the result against top-seed Middlebury in the 2018 New England Small College Athletic Conference women’s ice hockey tournament, the Polar Bears got a taste of success and look to build on that in the upcoming 2018/19 season.
“After a strong start, we had a handful of games where we struggled, but at the end, we gained momentum,” Marissa O’Neil, entering her ninth season as the Polar Bears coach, said. “Without question, we realized we could beat any team, but we couldn’t afford to take any weekends off.”
All-NESCAC and All New England honorees Brigit Bergin and Julia Dachille have graduated, leaving voids to fill. Bergin held down the defense, while Dachille led the team with 16 goals.
Despite losing Dachille’s offense, the Polar Bears return four of their top five scorers from a year ago.
Senior forward Brooke Solomon led the team last season with 25 points, grabbing six goals and 19 assists. Bowdoin will once again look to the co-captain to pace the team on offense. After Solomon, sophomore Julia Surgenor (five goals and eight assists) and senior co-captain Marissa Fichter (five goals and six assists) figure to chip in on offense.
“We’re going to be in a better position to start the year,” O’Neil said. “Solomon is such a playmaker. Dachille may have put the puck in places the goalie couldn’t reach, but she would not have had a lot of those chances if it wasn’t for her (Solomon) assists.”
Junior Tala Glass returns after having six goals and seven assists on defense, along with the return of Miranda Bell, who did not play last year after suiting up for the Polar Bears in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 campaigns. Bell led the team in scoring her sophomore season with 11 goals and 12 assists.
“We’re thrilled to have her back in the lineup,” O’Neil said. “She’s the most natural goal scorer I’ve coached. She sees the game really well and if she sees a vulnerability in a goalie, she takes advantage of it.”
Overall, O’Neil likes her team’s offensive depth.
“Our top three lines are as strong as anyone’s,” O’Neil noted. “If we are able to execute what our gameplan is and the kids let their natural ability play to the level they’re capable of for 60 minutes, we should be in a good position.”
Harpswell native Kerri St. Denis is back in net after logging more than 1,000 minutes in 17 games, turning away 426 shots for a .940 save percentage in 2017/18. Senior Sophia Lattanzio and sophomore Madeline Carlson will also see time in the cage, and O’Neil points to first-year Dani Marquez competing every day for playing time.
“We’re in a good position at goalie,” the coach said. “All four goalies are competing in practice and we’re really excited for the position this year.”
Bowdoin starts play this weekend with an important home-and-home series with Colby. The Polar Bears travel to Waterville on Saturday (7 p.m.) and host the Mules on Sunday afternoon at Sidney J. Watson Arena (3 p.m.).
“Even though we don’t really hit the our conference schedule until January, we can’t overlook this weekend against Colby,” O’Neil stated.
The squad travels to Boston to play in the Codfish Bowl (Nov. 24-25) before coming home to host the final five contests to finish up December — Endicott (Nov. 30), Saint Anselm (Dec. 1), the University of Southern Maine (Dec. 4), the University of New England (Dec. 8) and Lake Forest (Dec. 31).
The Polar Bears hit the heart of the conference schedule in January, hosting Williams (Jan. 4-5), at Amherst (Jan. 12-13), home against Middlebury (Jan. 18-19), and rounding out the month at Wesleyan (Jan. 25-26). Bowdoin will conclude the regular season in February with tilts at Hamilton (Feb. 1-2), home versus Connecticut College (Feb. 8-9) and at Trinity (Feb. 15-16).
“Like any year in the NESCAC, it’s a dogfight every weekend,” O’Neil said. “It’s tough to beat the same team twice in a weekend. We’re hungry to get more in the win column.”
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