1926–27 Bowdoin Polar Bears men's ice hockey season

1926–27 Bowdoin Polar Bears men's ice hockey season

Conference	Independent
Home ice	Delta Rink
Record
Overall	4–4–0
Home	2–0–0
Road	2–4–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Ben Houser
Captain(s)	Clem Cole
Bowdoin Polar Bears men's ice hockey seasons « 1925–26 1927–28 »

The 1926–27 Bowdoin Polar Bears men's ice hockey season was the 8th season of play for the program.

Season

Bowdoin had a difficult time getting on the ice prior to the first game and was forced to find other methods to get ready for the season. Coach Houser had invented a training regimen that mixed football, soccer and basketball called "Houserball" that the team used to keep in shape.^[1] The team lost several key members of last year's squad that it would find difficult to replace as three regulars from the freshman team (Rice, Howland and Clark) were ineligible until at least February.

The team opened with a practice game against the Westbrook Ramblers, hoping that the match would set them up for the beginning of the in-state series. However, due to the weakness of their opponent, Bowdoin didn't get much benefit out of the game. The Bears had their way with the Ramblers with goals from six different players. Sure enough, once the first game rolled around, the lack of practice and talent showed that the Polar Bears weren't up to their previous standard. Bowdoin was outplayed by Colby all game and were unable to withstand the physicality from the Mules, coming out on the short end of a 2–7 drubbing. Lord played a credible game in goal but he received little help from the defense.^[2] The Bears were better in their next game and played New Hampshire close until the Wildcats pulled away with a pair near the end of the game. Lord was again the best player for the team, making 29 saves in the match.^[3]

The Polar Bears played and exhibition match with Bates before heading south on a trip to Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Auditorium had opened the previous February and two college teams were immediately formed. Bowdoin earned a split against these inexperienced teams but the ice time did wonders for the Bears as they headed into the exam break. The team returned from the layoff with a rematch against Colby and played a much stronger game the second time around. The lineup had been rearranged in the interim with Cole and Walsh moving to wing while Thayer was shifted to center. Stone and Forsythe were now the starting defensive unit and they proved to be much more effecting in breaking up the Mules' attack. Playing on rough ice with snow falling around them, Bowdoin allowed just 1 goal to Colby at the very end of the game. The team was also buoyed by the first appearances of Howland, Parker and Dick Thayer's younger brother and the new arrivals helped carry the team to victory.^[4] The following day, Bowdoin travelled to play off the series and the two fought through another defensive slug fest with no goals in regulation. Bowdoin finally broke the tie in the second overtime and eliminated Colby from championship contention.

The Bates series began the following week and Bowdoin's defense was again the strength of the team. Dick Thayer demonstrates a quickness that the Bears were sorely in need of but it wasn't enough to stop the Bobcats from taking the game.^[5] A rematch was supposed to take place in Brunswick the following weekend, however, poor ice called the game to be cancelled and a return match was never held. The lone win by Bates was allowed to stand and enabled the Bobcats to win the state title.^[6]

Calvin Hubbard served as team manager.

Roster

Player	Class	Pos	DoB	Hometown
Paul S. Andrews	Sophomore	D	1907-01-19	Clinton, Maine
Gordon W. Bryant	Junior	D/C	1906-03-08	Boston, Massachusetts
Clarence L. Cole (C)	Senior	D/LW	1905-06-28	Limington, Maine
J. Reginald Forsythe	Senior	D/F	1902-11-12	Middlebury, Vermont
John D. Frates	Sophomore	C/LW/RW	1906-05-17	Portland, Maine
Winslow R. Howland	Sophomore	G	1906-07-17	Framingham, Massachusetts
John A. Lord	Senior	G	1904-08-18	Foxboro, Massachusetts
James M. Parker	Freshman	RW	1908-03-31	Portland, Maine
Clark S. Sears	Junior	RW	1906-10-15	Danvers, Massachusetts
Stuart R. Stone	Freshman	D	1906-08-27	Newton, Massachusetts
Harry B. Thayer Jr.	Freshman	RW	1907-11-08	Boston, Massachusetts
Richard S. Thayer	Junior	C/LW	1905-10-31	Stoneham, Massachusetts
Paul Tiemer	Junior	C	1905-06-11	Orange, New Jersey
William L. Walsh	Junior	D/LW	1905-02-24	Lewiston, Maine
Wendell Ward	Sophomore	RW	1907-06-23	Houlton, Maine

^[7]

Standings

1926–27 Eastern Collegiate ice hockey standings v t e
	Intercollegiate							Overall
	GP	W	L	T	Pct.	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Amherst	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	4	2	3	–	–
Army	3	0	2	1	.167	5	13	4	0	3	1	7	20
Bates	7	3	3	1	.500	11	13	9	5	3	1	16	14
Boston College	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	3	3	0	15	18
Boston University	7	2	4	1	.357	25	18	8	2	5	1	25	23
Bowdoin	7	3	4	0	.429	12	17	8	4	4	0	21	18
Brown	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	4	4	0	–	–
Clarkson	9	8	1	0	.889	42	11	9	8	1	0	42	11
Cornell	7	1	6	0	.143	10	23	7	1	6	0	10	23
Dartmouth	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	11	2	2	68	20
Hamilton	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	6	4	0	–	–
Harvard	8	7	0	1	.938	32	9	12	9	1	2	44	18
Massachusetts Agricultural	7	2	4	1	.357	5	10	7	2	4	1	5	10
Middlebury	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	6	0	0	–	–
MIT	8	3	4	1	.438	19	21	8	3	4	1	19	21
New Hampshire	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	6	0	0	22	7
NYU	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Princeton	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	5	7	1	–	–
Providence	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	1	7	0	13	39
Rensselaer	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	0	2	1	–	–
St. Lawrence	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	3	4	0	–	–
Syracuse	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Union	5	3	2	0	.600	18	14	5	3	2	0	18	14
Vermont	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Williams	12	6	6	0	.500	38	40	12	6	6	0	38	40
Yale	12	8	3	1	.708	72	26	16	8	7	1	80	45
YMCA College	7	3	4	0	.429	16	19	7	3	4	0	16	19

Schedule and results

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Record
Regular Season
January 6	Westbrook Ramblers*	Delta Rink • Brunswick, Maine	W 9–1	1–0–0
January 8 ^†	at Colby*	College Avenue Rink • Waterville, Maine	L 2–7	1–1–0
January 12	at New Hampshire*	UNH Ice Rink • Durham, New Hampshire	L 1–4	1–2–0
January 18 ^†	Bates*	Delta Rink • Brunswick, Maine (Exhibition)	L 5–6
January 21	at Providence*	Rhode Island Auditorium • Providence, Rhode Island	W 4–1	2–2–0
January 22	at Brown*	Rhode Island Auditorium • Providence, Rhode Island	L 1–2	2–3–0
February 11	Colby*	Delta Rink • Brunswick, Maine	W 2–1	3–3–0
February 12	at Colby*	College Avenue Rink • Waterville, Maine	W 1–0 ^2OT	4–3–0
February 19	at Bates*	Bartlett Street Rink • Lewiston, Maine	L 1–2	4–4–0
*Non-conference game.

† Bates and Colby records indicate the first games with both as being exhibition matches. Bowdoin reported the Colby match as being an official game but did not mention the status of the Bates game. ^[8]

References

^ "The Hockey Squad Has Four Veterans of Last Year". Bowdoin Orient. December 22, 1926. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "HOCKEY TEAM LOSES TO COLBY AT WATERVILLE". Bowdoin Orient. January 12, 1927. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "BOWDOIN LOSES GAME TO N. H. STATE". Bowdoin Orient. January 19, 1927. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "BOWDOIN ICEMEN DEFEAT COLBY BY A UNIT MARGIN". Bowdoin Orient. February 16, 1927. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "HOCKEY TEAM LOSES TO BATES SEXTETTE". Bowdoin Orient. February 23, 1927. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "'no title'". Bowdoin Orient. March 2, 1927. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "General Catalogue of Bowdoin College and the Medical School of Maine: A Biographical Record of Alumni and Officers, 1794-1950". Bowdoin College. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
^ "Bowdoin Orient". Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved July 14, 2023.

v t e <span style="color:#FFFFFF;">Bowdoin Polar Bears men's ice hockey</span>
Venues	Hyde Hall Rink (1919–1920) Delta Rink (1920–1956) Dayton Arena (1956–2009) Sidney J. Watson Arena (2009–present)
Coaches	no coach (1919–1921) Allen Morrell (1921–1923) no coach (1923–1924) Ben Houser (1924–1930) Linn Wells (1930–1941) H. Taylor (1941–1942) Danny MacFayden (1946–1957) C. Nels Corey (1957–1959) Sid Watson (1959–1983) Terry Meagher (1983–2016) Jamie Dumont (2016–2022) Ben Guité (2022–present)
<span style="color:#FFFFFF;">Seasons</span>	1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2021–22 2022–23
Conference affiliations	New England Intercollegiate Hockey League (1936–1942, 1946–1954) ECAC Hockey (1961–1964) ECAC 2 (1964–1984) ECAC East (1984–1999) NESCAC (1999–present)
Rivalries	Colby
All-time leaders	Charlie Gaffney (228 Points) Marcello Gentile (101 Goals) Colin Robinson (50 Wins)
NCAA Tournament appearances	1996 2002 2010 2011 2013 2014 2023
Conference Tournament titles	ECAC 2: 1971 1975 1976 1978 ECAC East: 1986 1993 NESCAC: 2011 2013 2014 2023
Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME

This page was last edited on 12 August 2023, at 15:29