1927–28 Bowdoin Polar Bears men's ice hockey season

1927–28 Bowdoin Polar Bears men's ice hockey season

Conference	Independent
Home ice	Delta Rink
Record
Overall	4–5–0
Home	2–3–0
Road	2–2–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Ben Houser
Captain(s)	Dick Thayer
Bowdoin Polar Bears men's ice hockey seasons « 1926–27 1928–29 »

The 1927–28 Bowdoin Polar Bears men's ice hockey season was the 9th season of play for the program.

Season

Just after Thanksgiving, the team met for the first time. Coach Houser had a sizable contingent of men trying out for the team led by captain Dick Thayer.^[1] While the rink was being rebuilt, the team played 'Houserball' to get in shape. New equipment for 12 men was ordered and set a goal for the 46 candidates. In addition to Houserball, coach Houser had the boys playing 'tag hockey'. Because ice was not yet available, the prospective players broke up into groups of six and arranged themselves on a field in the same formation that they would on the ice. A football was used in lieu of a puck to demonstrate the passing, movements and arrangement of players that they should understand once the Bears got onto the ice. While the team was training, the school also set about addressing an issue with the rink. Floodlight had been used in the past few years for night games, however, this caused glare to reflect off of the surface and into the players' eyes. To alleviate this problem, additional lighting was place over the rink.^[2] Due to the increasing popularity of the sport, the student council called for a referendum from the student body to vote on whether ice hockey would be made a major sport.^[3] Bates and Colby, the two in-state rivals for Bowdoin, had already adopted ice hockey as a major sport and there was an urgency from some quarters for the Polar Bears not to fall behind.^[4] After returning home from the winter break, the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of hockey being a major sport. By a count of 282 in favor and 32 against, the program was promoted to major status, joining the football, baseball and track programs. With the huge support it was hoped that the effort to secure an indoor rink would soon be adopted by the school but those plays were only in their planning stages.^[5]

While receiving the good news, the team had been getting themselves arranged and were set for a busy opening week. A lack of ice time showed in their opening game of the season when they travelled down to Boston to take on Boston University. The Terriers got off to a quick start and score twice in the first three minutes. Dick and his younger brother Bob were the best Bowdoin could offer in the match, with Bob scoring twice, but they could never catch BU.^[6] The two succeeding games had to be postponed due to a lack of ice but the weather cooled down enough over the weekend to allow the first match with Bates to be held. Bowdoin was still hampered by a lack of teamwork and were unable to penetrate the Bobcat defense for large stretches of the game. They picked up the pace in the middle frame, managing to get 14 shots on goal, but the puck refused to enter the Garnet cage. Bates was able to score once in each period while the Polar Bears' only marker from Rice came with just 2 minutes left in the match.

Bowdoin hit the road for the next game and faced one of the best teams in the nation. Despite their lack of practice time, Yale took no pity on Bowdoin and hammered the Bears 0–8.^[7] Bowdoin returned home for their final match of the first half and played a much closer contest with New Hampshire. The two were tied for much of the game but the WIldcats were able to pull out a victory on a late third period goal.^[8]

After ending the first half of their season without a win, Bowdoin needed a break to address their issues. After some hard work and fortunate ice time, the Polar Bears returned triumphantly by sandwiching a pair of wins over Colby around a second loss to Boston University. In their first game back, the lineup was altered, moving Rice and Bob Thayer to wing while allowing Stone and Rice to take over on defense. A strong third period saw Bowdoin score three goals to take a commanding lead that they would ride to their first win of the year.^[9] Bowdoin then played Acadia, their first game against a Canadian college, and doubled their win total. They weren't able to keep the winning streak alive as BU arrived in town to repeat the earlier match the following night. A few days after losing the rematch with BU, Bowdoin got off to a poor start against the Mules by allowing two goals in the first 6 minutes. Howland buckled down afterwards and refused to allow any more to Colby. His superlative goaltending enabled the Bears to tie the match before the period was out and then take a lead with two goals less than 5 minutes into the second. With a 2-goal lead, Bowdoin played a defensive game for the rest of the match and were content to lob the puck down into the Mules' end. The second win gave Bowdoin a shot at the state championship.

Because Colby had twice defeated Bates previously, Bowdoin was sitting atop the standings and a win over the Garnet would give the title outright. Because a match with MIT was cancelled due to warm weather next game ended up being against Bates for the title.^[10] The two teams ended up in a goaltending battle with Howland matching the Bobcat netminder, Violette, save for save. Near the end of the second, reserve player Parker got the puck out of a scrimmage in front of the Garnet cage and lifted it into the top corner of the net. It was Parker's only goal of the season and it turned into the biggest score for the Polar Bears as it won them the title.^[11]

Roster

Player	Class	Pos	DoB	Hometown
Gordon W. Bryant	Senior	C/RW	1906-03-08	Boston, Massachusetts
Basil S. Dwyer	Freshman	C/LW	1910-04-08	Hebron, Maine
Winslow R. Howland	Junior	G	1906-07-17	Framingham, Massachusetts
James M. Parker	Sophomore	D/RW	1908-03-31	Portland, Maine
Edward W. Rayner	Sophomore	C/LW	1907-05-21	Newton, Massachusetts
Parker H. Rice	Junior	D/LW	1906-11-03	Cambridge, Massachusetts
Clark S. Sears	Senior	LW	1906-10-15	Danvers, Massachusetts
Stuart R. Stone	Sophomore	D	1906-08-27	Newton, Massachusetts
Harry B. Thayer Jr.	Sophomore	D/RW	1907-11-08	Boston, Massachusetts
Richard S. Thayer (C)	Senior	C	1905-10-31	Stoneham, Massachusetts
Paul Tiemer	Senior	LW/RW	1905-06-11	Orange, New Jersey
William L. Walsh	Senior	D/C	1905-02-24	Lewiston, Maine

^[12]

Standings

1927–28 Eastern Collegiate ice hockey standings v t e
	Intercollegiate							Overall
	GP	W	L	T	Pct.	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Amherst	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	4	2	1	–	–
Army	8	1	7	0	.125	6	36	9	1	8	0	9	44
Bates	10	5	5	0	.500	21	26	12	6	5	1	26	28
Boston College	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	2	4	1	19	25
Boston University	9	6	2	1	.722	42	23	9	6	2	1	42	23
Bowdoin	8	3	5	0	.375	16	27	9	4	5	0	20	28
Brown	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	4	8	0	–	–
Clarkson	10	9	1	0	.900	59	13	11	10	1	0	61	14
Colgate	4	0	4	0	.000	4	18	4	0	4	0	4	18
Cornell	5	2	3	0	.400	11	29	5	2	3	0	11	29
Dartmouth	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	6	4	0	64	23
Hamilton	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	5	2	1	–	–
Harvard	6	5	1	0	.833	28	8	9	7	2	0	45	13
Holy Cross	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Massachusetts Agricultural	6	0	6	0	.000	5	17	6	0	6	0	5	17
Middlebury	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	7	1	0	–	–
MIT	4	1	3	0	.250	6	35	4	1	3	0	6	35
New Hampshire	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	7	1	1	33	26
Norwich	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	0	2	2	–	–
Princeton	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	5	7	0	–	–
Rensselaer	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	2	1	1	–	–
St. Lawrence	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	2	2	0	–	–
Syracuse	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Union	5	0	4	1	.100	10	21	5	0	4	1	10	21
Williams	8	6	2	0	.750	27	12	8	6	2	0	27	12
Yale	13	11	2	0	.846	88	22	18	14	4	0	114	39
YMCA College	6	2	4	0	.333	10	15	6	2	4	0	10	15

Schedule and results

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Record
Regular Season
January 12	at Boston University*	Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts	L 2–5	0–1–0
January 16	Bates*	Delta Rink • Brunswick, Maine	L 1–3	0–2–0
January 18	at Yale*	New Haven Arena • New Haven, Connecticut	L 0–8	0–3–0
January 21	New Hampshire*	Delta Rink • Brunswick, Maine	L 1–2	0–4–0
February 7	at Colby*	College Avenue Rink • Waterville, Maine	W 5–2	1–4–0
February 10	Acadia*	Delta Rink • Brunswick, Maine	W 4–1	2–4–0
February 11	Boston University*	Delta Rink • Brunswick, Maine	L 2–5	2–5–0
February 13	Colby*	Delta Rink • Brunswick, Maine	W 4–2	3–5–0
February 21	at Bates*	Bartlett Street Rink • Lewiston, Maine	W 1–0	4–5–0
*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. ^[13]

References

^ "LARGE SQUAD OUT FOR HOCKEY TEAM". Bowdoin Orient. November 30, 1927. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "LARGE NUMBER OF CANDIDATESREPORT FOR HOCKEY PRACTICE". Bowdoin Orient. December 7, 1927. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "STUDENT REFERENDUM ON HOCKEY QUESTION IS CALLED FOR JAN. 5". Bowdoin Orient. December 14, 1927. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "Communication". Bowdoin Orient. December 22, 1927. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "HOCKEY IS VOTED AS MAJOR SPORT". Bowdoin Orient. January 11, 1928. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "BOWDOIN PUCKSTERS DROP INITIAL GAME TO B. U. BY 5 TO 2". Bowdoin Orient. January 18, 1928. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "BOWDOIN SEXTET BOWS TO UNIVERSITY PLAYERS". Yale Daily News. January 19, 1928. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "Three Wins For Varsity Hockey". The New Hampshire. January 26, 1928. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "HOCKEY TEAM WINS TWO BUT". Bowdoin Orient. January 18, 1928. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "'no title'". Bowdoin Orient. February 29, 1928. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "BOWDOIN SEXTET CAPTURES 1928 MAINE HOCKEY TITLE". Bowdoin Orient. February 22, 1928. 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 13 August 2023, at 05:58