It has been a while since the Bowdoin program has seen success on the ice. The Polar Bears last won the NESCAC title in the 2013-14 season and have not seen a winning record in the past five seasons. This year Bowdoin brought in new head coach Ben Guite to guide the program and early results show this team may revive some of the luster to a long-time successful hockey institution in D-III.
“It has been a great experience coming to Bowdoin,” said Guite. “Despite all my time in Maine I had never been here in Brunswick, so it has been exciting to come here and everyone on campus has been very welcoming and supportive. I am excited to be here and the players have certainly embraced the change and have bought in to what we are trying to do here.”
So far this season, the Polar Bears are 4-0-0 overall and 2-0-0 in NESCAC play with opening weekend wins over Williams and Middlebury. Last weekend Bowdoin extended their winning ways with wins over Johnson & Wales, 5-2 and Massachusetts-Boston, 6-0 in the Bowdoin/Colby Face-Off tournament hosted by Colby. The fast start has energized the group and has their new coach appreciating the commitment from his team, top to bottom.
“The early wins help cultivate the buy-in,” noted Guite. “I am fortunate to come into a roster that has so many seniors. It is a very mature group and the seniors usually have a bigger sense of urgency knowing they don’t have many games left in their collegiate careers or competitive hockey careers in general. It’s not only our captains Chris [Brown], Cam [Berube], and Jimmy [Duffy], its all eleven of them providing leadership and excellence on and off the ice. Bobby [Pearl], Ethan [Kimball], Andy [Stoneman], Joe [Alexander], Patrick [Ault], Albert [Waschco], Ean [Small], and Bobby [Murray] have all been a big part of our getting off to a good start. This group has been outstanding with their leadership and that has gone through the roster with lots of different players leading us in different categories. Our team goals are more process oriented than just wins and losses and the whole roster has embraced the process and shown a lot of initiative in many areas.”
During the interviewing process, senior Cam Berube and others were able to take their future coach on his first tour of the campus so the connections began early for the coach and his players.
“The tour was like the players part of the selection process,” stated Guite. “I felt like that was part of their having a say in the selection of their new coach. I mentioned a book on leadership (Legacy) that I thought it would be good for the team to all read and was told they all had already done that as a group the previous spring after the season. Whether it has been the big push to the weight room or other team activities off and on the ice, this group has been engaged and shown initiative from the start.”
This weekend marks coach Guite’s first Bowdoin v. Colby games in Waterville on Saturday night. The rivalry is one of the oldest and most intense in college hockey. While Bowdoin’s new coach is excited to experience his first game in the rivalry, he isn’t going to give any bulletin board material to his coaching peer (Blaise MacDonald) with the Mules.
“I am really excited to get a taste of this rivalry this weekend,” said Guite. “I had the great experience while playing and coaching at Maine to play in the big rivalry games with New Hampshire. It is a special thing and I know how much it means to the alums, players, and the communities for both schools.”
Going into the game on Saturday, the Polar Bears have been getting contributions up and down the lineup and exceptional play from defenseman Bobby Pearl (2-5-7) who has shown up on the scoresheet in every game this season including a pair of power play goals for Bowdoin.
“Bobby has been great,” stated Guite. “He has great tools as a player and the most important thing is he isn’t forcing things from the back. He isn’t cheating the game from his defensive position and is using his skills and instincts to transition well with the offensive aspects of the game. Bobby has been a big factor but we are getting a lot of contributions from many different players which is exciting from a balance and depth perspective.”
After playing the Bowdoin/Colby Face-off last weekend in Waterville, Bowdoin returns to face their long-time rivals on Saturday night in what should be a great hockey game between two of NESCAC’s unbeatens.
