Field of Eight Set for 2007 Men's Ice Hockey Championship
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.
