BRUNSWICK

Bowdoin College men’s hockey coach Terry Meagher led his Polar Bears to a 3-1 New England Small College Athletic Conference win at rival Colby on Friday, moving the veteran coach to 499 career wins.

Saturday’s rematch with the Mules at Sidney J. Watson Arena was to be a celebration, milestone win No. 500 for Bowdoin’s longtime leader.

Colby forward Nick Lanza had other ideas, scoring three goals in leading the Mules to a 4-2 win in front of a packed house.

The Polar Bears (1-2-1) will look to get Meagher his 500th victory on Tuesday when Bowdoin visits the University of New England.

Meanwhile, Colby improved to 2- 2-1, 1-2-1 in the NESCAC.

“We kept the puck deep a little bit more tonight, and played a complete game, both along the goal line and in their zone,” said Lanza, who credited the play of goaltender Sam Parker, who made 35 saves. “Sam was great in goal, and even when Bowdoin came back, he made the saves to get us this win. We stuck to our gameplan, and things just went our way.”

“The tale of both games was the goaltending, and tonight their goalie stepped up and that was the difference in the game,” said Meagher. “We have a lot of work to do in this long season, and we are still a work in progress.”

Bowdoin pressure

The Polar Bears, energized by the sold out crowd, controlled the first period, outshooting Colby 13- 7. But, Parker stopped them all, including a diving glove save of a shot by Ollie Koo, along with a pair of stops on Colin Downey and Harry Matheson.

“One of the selling points of coming to Colby or Bowdoin is this rivalry,” said Lanza. “There is no other rivalry like it. The energy is unbelievable and to play in front of this type of crowd, it is like a playoff atmosphere. You don’t get that anywhere else in the NESCAC.”

The second period was evenly played, with both teams firing 10 shots on goal. Bowdoin senior netminder

Steve Messina made two key stops on Colby’s first power play, but had no chance on Lanza’s first of the game at 9:58 of the middle frame. Messina stopped both Ben Chwick and Ray Zeek, but the puck caromed into the slot and Lanza gathered before firing a hard shot into the back of the cage.

Bowdoin increased its pressure from there, with Parker stopping John McGinnis and Ryan Collier from in close as the team’s went to the intermission with Colby holding the 1-0 lead.

Unlike the first two periods, the scoring came fast in the opening minutes of the third. EJ Rauseo slipped behind the Bowdoin defense and beat Messina at 1:24, and Lanza’s second goal at 3:43 on the power play gave the visitors a 3-0 lead.

Bowdoin answered as freshman Kendall Culbertson gathered a rebound of a Matt Rubinoff shot and roofed a perfectly-place shot under the crossbar at 4:46.

But, Lanza completed his hat trick just 18 seconds later for a 4-1 Colby lead.

“The fourth one was a tough one to overcome, and Lanza had a great game,” said Meagher.

“It is always huge after allowing a goal to have a big shift, whether that is getting the puck deep, pass the puck a little bit, and obviously to get that goal was big, and we felt we were going to win after that,” said Lanza.

Rubinoff, assisted by Brendan Conroy, made it a 4-2 deficit for Bowdoin at 8:21, and the Polar Bears earned three straight power plays down the stretch, but an 0- for-4 performance with the man advantage doomed the hosts.

Messina had 20 stops for Bowdoin, with the Polar Bears holding a 37-24 edge in shots on goal.

Friday night

On Friday, Koo scored just 43 seconds into the game as Bowdoin never trailed in a 3-1 NESCAC win over Colby at Alfond Rink in Waterville.

Before many of the sold-out crowd at Alfond Rink had taken their seats, Koo put the Polar Bears up 1-0. Downey took a long pass from Joseph Lace and beat a defender on the right side, with his cross to Koo one-timed into the net.

The Polar Bears converted their only power-play opportunity quickly, scoring just 10 seconds in for a 2-0 lead. Senior defender Jay Livermore took a perfectly-placed feed from McGinnis and deposited it into the back of the cage.

Colby cut into the Bowdoin lead thanks to freshman Geoff Sullivan, who netted his first collegiate goal. Sullivan took a pass from Brendan Cosgrove at mid-ice. Sullivan got outside, beat a defender to the goal and knocked in a backhand from in front of the net.

With Colby putting pressure on in the third period, Bowdoin clinched the victory with a transition goal. Downey got the puck to Matheson for a two-on-one chance. With a Colby defender sliding to the goal, Matheson ripped a shot that caught the top-right corner of the goal to seal the victory.

Max Fenkell stopped 31 shots in goal for the Polar Bears, while Parker also played well with 30 saves for Colby.

Colby 4, Bowdoin 2

Saturday, at Watson Arena
Colby— 013—4
Bowdoin— 002—2
First period: No scoring. Penalties: (C) Devin
Albert, cross checking, 17:15; (B) Ryan Collier,
tripping, 19:33.
Second period: 1. (C) Nick Lanza (Ben Chwick,
Ray Zeek), 9:58. Penalties: (B) Bench, too many
men, served by Ollie Koo, 12:47.
Third period: 2. (C) EJ Rauseo (Matt Gelnaw),
1:24; 3. (C) Nick Lanza (Jack Bartlett), pp, 3:43;
4. (B) Kendall Culbertson (Matt Rubinoff, Chris
Fenwick), 4:46; 5. (C) Nick Lanza, 5:04; 6. (B)
Matt Rubinoff (Brendan Conroy), 8:21. Penalties: (B) Zack Kokosa, hooking, 2:37; (C) Kai
Frankville, holding, 11:43; (C) Tyler Lingel,
hooking, 14:42; (C) Bench, too many men,
served by Scott Fenwick, 17:11; (C) Jack
Bartlett, roughing, 18:47; (B) Harry Matheson,
slashing, 18:47; (C) Jack Bartlett, hit after the
whistle, 20:00; (C) Nick Lanza, hit after the
whistle, 20:00; (B) Kyle Lockwood, cross
checking, 20:00.
Shots on goal – Colby – 7-10-7-24; (B) 13-10-
14-37.
Saves – (C) Sam Parker 35; (B) Steve Messina
20.
Power play – Colby 1-3, Bowdoin 0-4.
Records – Colby 2-2-1, 1-2-1 NESCAC; Bowdoin 1-2-1, 1-2-1 NESCAC.
Up next for Bowdoin – Tuesday at the University of New England, 7 p.m.