Photo-Finish Yields Bowdoin as Number-One Seed for First Time

HADLEY, Mass. - The buildup to the last weekend of the regular season lived up to its billing, as a thrilling finish saw five teams enter Friday night's action with a shot at the top spot in the standings. When the final horn sounded on Saturday, Bowdoin College emerged just ahead of the rest of the pack to claim the number-one seed in the 2007 NESCAC Men's Ice Hockey Championship. The top-seeded Polar Bears are one of many firsts in this year's field of eight, as Wesleyan earned home ice in the first round for the first time and Connecticut College will compete in the tournament for the first time ever. The 2007 NESCAC Men's Ice Hockey Championship begins on Saturday, Feb. 24, with quarterfinal round action at the top four seeds.

Bowdoin (14-6-3, 11-6-2 NESCAC) earned the number-one seed for the first time in tournament history on Saturday thanks to a little help from Norwich. While the Polar Bears fell to the Cadets on Friday night, 7-4, the Polar Bears picked up an 8-2 win over St. Michaels on Saturday. The win combined with a 4-2 win by Norwich over Colby on Saturday put Bowdoin back on top in the NESCAC standings at the end of Saturday's action. Although Middlebury tied Bowdoin in the standings, the Polar Bears hold the head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to a 6-2 win over the Panthers on Jan. 13 in Brunswick, Maine. Bowdoin finished the season as one of the hottest teams in the NESCAC, going 6-2-0 over the final four weekends, and will host eight-seeded Trinity (8-12-4, 6-10-3 NESCAC) on Saturday afternoon. These two teams met just two weeks prior in Brunswick, with the Polar Bears edging the Bantams 5-4 on Feb. 9. Trinity comes into this year's tournament having lost four straight outings, most recently dropping a pair of one-goal games during the final weekend of the regular season, 4-3 to Castleton St. on Friday and a 3-2 overtime loss to Skidmore on Saturday. 2007 will mark as the third year in a row that these two teams have met in the conference tournament and fifth meeting overall in playoff history. The Polar Bears hold a 3-1 record over the Bantams in tournament play, with Bowdoin earning a 3-1 win during last year's semifinals.

Second-seeded Middlebury (14-7-3, 11-6-2 NESCAC), the three-time defending NESCAC champions and winners of six of seven titles, rebounded from a slow start to the season with a strong finish, going 5-1-2 over the last four weekends of the season. The Panthers capped the regular season with a pair of road wins at Hamilton on Friday, 7-4, and Amherst on Saturday, 6-2. Middlebury, which holds a 15-1 record all-time in the playoffs, will host its travel partner in the quarterfinals, seventh-seeded Williams (8-13-2, 8-9-2 NESCAC). After picking up a big 3-2 win over NESCAC rival Amherst on Friday, Williams had a shot at earning the sixth seed, however a 6-4 loss on the final day of the season at Hamilton relegated the Ephs to seventh. The only meeting between the Panthers and the Ephs came on Jan. 16 this season in Middlebury, Vt., with the Panthers earning a 3-1 win. Saturday's quarterfinal meeting between the two clubs will be the first in seven years in the playoffs, as the last time these two teams met came during the final game inaugural championship in March of 2000. Middlebury won the match in overtime, 3-2.

Third-seeded Colby (13-8-2, 11-7-1 NESCAC) came up just short in its bid to earn the number-one seed in the playoffs, falling 4-2 at Norwich on Saturday. The loss halted a four-game winning streak for the Mules, who have gone 7-3-0 over their last 10 outings. Colby will play host to sixth-seeded Connecticut College (10-12-2, 9-9-1 NESCAC), which is making its first appearance in the NESCAC Men's Ice Hockey Championship. The Camels' nine wins in conference play this year are the most for the program in the history of the league. Connecticut College is currently in the midst of a modest four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1), and closed out the regular season with a 5-4 overtime win at Babson on Saturday afternoon. Colby took the lone meeting of the season 3-1 on Jan. 19 in New London, Conn., the ninth-consecutive victory for the Mules. The last Connecticut College win over Colby came on Dec. 5, 1998, 5-4.

Fourth-seeded Wesleyan (11-7-5, 9-6-4 NESCAC) picked up a 2-2 tie with Castleton St. during the Cardinals' regular season finale, and that combined with an Amherst loss to Middlebury gave Wesleyan the final home ice slot. Just over two weeks ago, the Cardinals were flying high in first place in the NESCAC standings for the first time this year, however an 0-3-1 record to finish the season knocked Wesleyan out of contention for the number-one seed. Wesleyan will still host a first round game for the first time in tournament history when the Cardinals face fifth-seeded Amherst (13-9-1, 10-8-1 NESCAC). After cruising atop the league for most of the season, the Lord Jeffs hit a rough patch at the start of February, going 1-5-0 over their final six games. Saturday's meeting will be the third this year for the two squads, with Amherst taking both meetings, a 5-4 win to open the season on Nov. 17 and a 6-3 decision on Nov. 26 in the championship of the Ben McCabe Tournament. This will be the first time these two teams have met in the tournament. Amherst is the only one of the two squads to ever make it to the semifinals, with the Lord Jeffs' lone trip coming in 2001.

2007 NESCAC MEN'S ICE HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals - Saturday, Feb. 24 at Higher Seeds
No. 8 Trinity at No. 1 Bowdoin - Time TBA
No. 7 Williams at No. 2 Middlebury - 4:00 p.m.
No. 6 Connecticut College at No. 3 Colby - 4:00 p.m.
No. 5 Amherst at No. 4 Wesleyan - 3:00 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, March 3 at Highest Remaining Seed, 1:00 p.m./4:00 p.m.
Highest remaining seed vs. Lowest remaining seed
Remaining quarterfinal winners

Championship - Sunday, March 4
Semifinal winners - 1:00 p.m.