BRUNSWICK

Playing outdoors at Fenway Park in Boston last week was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the Bowdoin College women’s hockey team. Problem was, it came right in the middle of a tough stretch on the schedule.

The Polar Bears have now lost three straight games since their win over Connecticut College at the home of the Red Sox, and Tuesday night’s non-conference 5-1 setback at the hands of Endicott College was their fourth game in five days.

It just wasn’t Bowdoin’s night.

“After this loss, we’re not feeling great obviously,” Bowdoin coach Marissa O’Neil said. “But we have two big games against Mid(dlebury) and we knew this stretch. We didn’t get to plan when the Fenway game was and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity we’re not going to pass up. But it’s a tough stretch just based on who we have in conference play.”

Bowdoin (8-5-2), which is right back in action in game one of a doubleheader against Middlebury on Friday at 7 p.m., killed an early power play in the first period and set the tone with waves of shots on the Endicott (13-2-1) net. By the end of the frame, the Polar Bears held a 15-5 shot advantage and momentum was theirs heading into the second.

But then, in the blink of eye, Courtney Walpole scored just 15 seconds into the frame to steal it away and give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

The scoreboard didn’t add up, but Bowdoin wasn’t worried.

“We realized, even in the first period, that we grew complacent,” O’Neil said. “It was great that we were getting possession and shots, but we weren’t playing that well. One goal in the second period, at the time it was, we still had 39 minutes left in the game. I don’t think it was demoralizing, I just think our minds may have been just as tired as our legs were.”

“It was tough because obviously you get down, but it definitely wasn’t something we couldn’t come back from,” Bowdoin forward Marissa Fichter said. “We’ve definitely come back from one-goal leads before. After that first goal, it wasn’t anything we couldn’t handle.”

Fichter got the Polar Bears back into the game when she punched in a rebound 4:53 into the third period, but it came after a second goal from Endicott just 48 seconds in.

And it wasn’t close for long, as Lexi Klein rifled a slap shot high into the net just over five minutes later to make the score 3-1. Fewer than 70 seconds after that, a Maggie Layo goal off the pads of Bowdoin goalie Sophia Lattanzio made it 4-1.

“I think they did a great job in transitional play,” O’Neil said of Endicott. “Certainly what they did and we didn’t was stay out of the box, but they did a great job. Every time they broke the puck out, they had for- wards get up the ice and so they were able to put pressure on us.”

“Endicott, they’re a great program. They’re a great team,” Fichter said. “I wish we could go back and play them again, because I feel like we could give them more of a game. I think they’re a great team and it’s a tough group.”

The Gulls fired 16 of their 27 total shots in the third period, which was capped off with a Klein wrister at 17:19. Lattanzio made 12 saves in the frame and finished with 22 on the night.

Moving on

Five penalties hurt the Polar Bears, as well as transition defense, which Endicott exploited on most of its goals. According to O’Neil, a number of things went wrong, but it’s not something to dwell on at the moment.

“At this point in the season, a game like that, we’re not going to learn a lot,” O’Neil said. “It’s ‘we didn’t show up,’ and that’s the only thing we can take from it. We’ve got to kind of put it behind us because in two days we have Mid(dlebury).

We win as a team, we lose as a team. That’s the one thing I can say is that even through that game, it was ugly and we weren’t playing with that urgency, but our kids didn’t point fingers. It was like ‘alright, we have to bury it.’ We didn’t show up to play tonight and we kind of have to bear the weight of that.”

After two games with Middlebury this weekend, Bowdoin will hit the road for four straight against Wesleyan and Hamilton.

“It’s probably pretty good that there’s not a ton of time to think about this one,” Fichter said. “Probably good to just sort of move on from it.”

For Bowdoin, which held a majority of the puck and took 40 total shots to Endicott’s 27, the key to turning things around might not even be about hockey.

“Not playing frantic,” O’Neil said. “Just keeping our composure. Certainly not growing complacent, but we need to be composed, with still that sense of urgency. We’re trying to strike that balance right now and we’re having trouble finding it. That’s what’s kind of going to make or break us looking ahead.”

Endicott 5, Bowdoin 1

At Watson Arena

Endicott		—	0	1	4	—	5
Bowdoin		—	0	0	1	—	1

First period — Penalty — (B) Jill Rathke, slashing, 3:22. Second period — 1. (E) Courtney Walpole (Jade Meier, Caroline Hughes), :15 Penalties — (B) Jessica Bowen, checking, 3:15; (E) Meaghan Farragher, hooking, 6:18; (B) Marissa Fichter, holding, 9:40; (B) Julie Dachille, holding, 15:06. Third period — 2. (E) Maggie Layo (Nicole Demers, Lexi Klein), 0:48; 3. (B) Marissa Fichter (Brigit Bergin, Maegan Sheehan), 4:53; 4. Lexi Klein (Allison Young), 9:55; 5. Maggie Layo (Nicole Demers), 11:03; 6. Lexi Klein (Teneal Perry), 17:19. Penalties — (E) Meaghan Farragher, checking, 1:21; (B) Cassidy Pratt, holding, 10:22; (E) Ellen Carter, slashing, 13:03. Shots on goal — (E) 5-6-16-27; (B) 15-11-14-40. Saves — (E) Vendela Jonsson 39; (B) Sophia Lattanzio 22. Power-play opportunities — Endicott 1-for-5, Bowdoin 0-for-3. Records — Endicott 13-2-1, Bowdoin 8-5-2. Up next for the Polar Bears — Friday at home against Middlebury, 7 p.m.