Last Saturday, both the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams hosted Bowdoin.
The puck dropped at 3 pm for the women’s rivalry matchup; however, this was the third meeting between the two sides this season. Colby kicked off their season with a bang, going 4–0 including a win in Boston over Bowdoin to secure the Codfish Bowl and another in Brunswick this past Friday for the first NESCAC competition of the season. A win this past weekend would provide the Mules with back-to-back-to-back victories over the Polar Bears.
The Mules came out of the gates firing in the first period, putting shot after shot on net. Bowdoin was able to win a few face-offs themselves and fire a few shots on goal; however, Mandy Busky `25 made key saves. Tate Senden `23 cracked the game open thirteen minutes into the period, assisted by Bri-Michaud Nolan `23 and Meg Rittenhouse `24.
The Polar Bears followed up the score with a power-play for themselves and were able to dominate face-offs; however, they were not able to find the back of the net, giving the Mules the lead going into the second period.
Colby did not waste any time coming out of the break, with Breanna Studley `26 scoring off an assist from fellow first-year Courtney Shumacher `26. Earning themselves a 2–0 lead, the Mules continued to apply pressure on Bowdoin’s net and choke their offense. The Polar Bears did find themselves with two power plays off Colby’s penalties, but the Mules were able to successfully kill each one.
Bowdoin was able to even the fight marginally in the third period; however, they were not able to successfully claw their way back into the game. The contest ended 2–0, securing a shutout victory and the third consecutive win over the Polar Bears and the second of the weekend.
The 5–0 start for the Mules offers a bright outlook for the `22–`23 season in which they will look to build on their NESCAC playoff run and NCAA tournament appearance from last year. In the `21–`22 season, the Mules finished 16–6–1, with their only losses coming from Amherst, Bowdoin, Middlebury, and SUNY-Plattsburgh in the NCAA tournament. The Mules finished second in the conference, behind Middlebury and ahead of Amherst.
When the Mammoths matched up against Colby in the NESCAC semifinal, they defeated the Mules 2–1 in overtime, before ultimately falling to Middlebury in the finals. The Mules can look for revenge when they host Amherst on Feb. 2 and Feb. 3. Congratulations to the Mules for starting the season 5–0, and good luck keeping the momentum.
~ Rohan Sinha `24
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